Holiday Highlights

All too soon, our sojourn in the UK will draw to a close.  It has been a whirlwind of time with cherished family and friends, sprinkled with new experiences.   I hope you enjoy these highlights!  

We rarely fail to fit hiking into our holiday, and this trip was no exception.  Some walks were short strolls; others offered a bit more challenge for a variety of reasons.  Beginning at the end (why not?), a few days ago we climbed 3,000 feet in a little more than 4 miles to scale the tallest mountain in England, Scafell Pike.  I was suffering from congestion that day, and it was a push to complete the final mile or so on very rocky terrain.  But our smiles say "We did it!"

Below, Spousal Unit on a bridge near the beginning of the hike.

Can you see the red arrow in the picture below?  That is our destination!!!

Scenes along the way.

 

(By the way, Spousal Unit has done this hike one time before - the day that Charles and Diana were married - July 29, 1981.  He hiked it with his father and one other family friend.) 

The day after arriving in the UK, we completed a short walk along the River Tees.  Rain was threatening, so we took in two waterfalls and then retreated to the cafe for coffee and cake while the rain lashed the windows.

 

After the pandemic, we started a new tradition with my in-laws: each time we visit, the four of us go away for a week or so to some part of the UK.  You can read about a couple of those trips (November 2021 - Post 1, Post 2, Post 3, Post 4, Post 5); April 2022 - Post 1, Post 2, Post 3).  A mental note for me - check that I have finished both of those trips, and start posting about the October 2022 trip!!!

This year, we went to the Isle of Skye.  Connected to Scotland's northwest coast by bridge, it is known for its rugged landscapes, picturesque fishing villages and medieval castles.  The largest island in the Inner Hebrides archipelago, it has an indented coastline of peninsulas and narrow lochs, radiating out from a mountainous interior.  

It is such a long drive to get there that we stopped for our first night in the village of Dunblane, hometown of tennis champ Andy Murray.  Nearby is Stirling Castle, famous for the Stirling Heads.  

The Stirling Heads, displayed on the ceiling of the King's Chamber, declared King James V's status as a European monarch.  They proclaimed his royal bloodline, his powerful connections, his fashionable court and his aspiration to be a wise and virtuous ruler.  As one of the docents said, "It was his Instagram!"

The pictures to the right and above show hand-carved and painted copies of the originals.  When the ceiling collapsed in 1777, the originals went to the four winds, and have since been painstakingly re-collected.  Many of them can be seen at a special display in Stirling Castle - check out an example below.

The picture to the left does a poor job of demonstrating the scale of these "medallions" - each one is a little more than three feet wide (a meter), and was hand-carved from 16th century oak.

Check back next week for a post about our time on the Isle of Skye!

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Linking to Leeanna's Not Afraid of Color for I Like Thursday.  Prompt for June 1: What is your favorite flavor of ice cream at the moment?  Who makes it?  Soft serve or dipped?  Do you buy it in the huge box or a pint at a time? 

My favorite does not waver - mint chocolate chip.  I don't have a preferred brand, and we don't buy it for home consumption - not because I am worried about calorie count - we just don't generally tend to sweet snacks or desserts - we much prefer salty snacks.  Ice cream (dipped almost always) is a treat when we are out for the day and the conditions are right - hot and sunny, or any day at the seaside!

Linking to Mosaic Monday