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

Mosaic Monday #155: The Rolling Hills are Calling

The pandemic has written many stories of loss, of cancelled plans, of isolation.  I can only hope that the sequels contain joyous reunions, and adventures that were all the sweeter for the waiting.  It was certainly true in our case, as we traveled to the UK for the first time in two years, and were clasped in tight hugs by my in-laws upon emerging from immigration at the airport.  For the next two weeks, we indulged in all that we had missed ... Spousal Unit's childhood home, pork pies, the generous hospitality of his parents, British beer, pub food, outings with friends and our beloved walks through the countryside.  How fitting it was to find this sign along one of the dry stone walls. 

The UK is the 51st most densely populated country on earth, 8 times more so than the US.  And yet, you can easily find green spaces.  A trip "home" is never complete for me without a walk through Gypsy Lauren and past the Bunny Banks, a mixture of woods and rolling farm fields where Spousal Unit might have gotten up to the occasional mischief (see picture above).  I was delighted to see these dahlias brightening a home garden within the village.

My in-laws are avid gardeners, nourishing vegetables and flowers in the allotments directly across the street from their house.  We can always count on fresh vegetables for dinner.  These are just a couple of the carrots we savored during our visit.

On our fourth day in country, we drove to Leyburn, hoping that the weather would hold while we explored the Leyburn Shawl, a remarkable limestone terrace.  The name "Shawl" could possibly have come from "shalle", a local derivation of the Vikings "scali" meaning huts or dwellings.  Other historians suggest it is an abbreviation of "shaw-hill", "shaw" meaning a wood.  You may prefer the alternative explanation written below - probably not historically accurate, but far more romantic!

(you can click on the image to enlarge)

This rocky scar is often mentioned in local history books as the route taken by Mary Queen of Scots while making an unsuccessful attempt to escape her imprisonment in Bolton Castle 1586-9.  Legend tells us she dropped her shawl during her flight and hence the name of this formation.

The limestone terrace extends almost unbroken for two miles, gradually rising to 870 feet above sea level.  At this point, the limestone is about 60 feet thick, forming a very striking escarpment overlooking Wensleydale.

As we left the escarpment and descended to the valley floor, we passed this smokestack.  Despite a little sleuthing on the Internet, I have not been able to learn anything about it.

We had neared the midway point on our walk, and paused for coffee from Dad's flask, and assorted snacks.

As we left the grounds of the Bolton Estate, we entered the village of Wensley.  Despite the chance of rain and cooler temperatures, we took advantage of the covered part of the outdoor patio at the Three Horseshoes pub for an adult beverage.  Nearby, the grim skies lent a distinctly Bronte air to this church and its graveyard.

Two minutes further on, this garden delivered us from the gray.  I stood on the pavement, snapping macro shots, when what to my wondering eyes should appear but a gentleman swinging a set of keys that promptly unlocked the narrow gate to - you guessed it - the garden!  

"May I come in and look more closely at your beautiful flowers?" I asked.  Well, no gardener can resist that opening!!!  We stood just inside the gate, immediately at ease as happens with people who share deep interests in common.  I was aware that I was holding up my fellow walkers, so after some minutes of discussing the history of his garden, the scourge of climate change and his passion for dahlias, I excused myself and took micro shots with some assistance from Spousal Unit.  What a find!

The second half of the walk took us through the fields we had observed from the escarpment above.  

Stone walls and hedges marked our progress, and autumn berries promised food sources for birds and squirrels to store up winter reserves.

As we reached the final uphill section to return to Leyburn, this barn anchored a corner of the field.  I wondered about the hands that had laid the stones, and painstakingly placed the slates on the roof.  Hands that squeezed a living from the land, creased hands that passed the legacy onto younger, softer hands.  Did they know the gift they would give to those of us just passing through, those of us answering the call of the rolling hills?

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.

Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.

The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Tuesday (U.S. Mountain time).

Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog.

Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back.

As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by.

Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully.

Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Mosaic Monday #49: And perhaps a hedgehog

We're going on vacation!  I must admit, I am amused by the concept of "vacation" for folks who are retired.  "Vacation: An extended period of leisure and recreation, especially one spent away from home or in traveling."  We are already enjoying leisure and recreation, and we sure are extending it.  Our destinations are Northeast England and Hamburg, Germany, which ticks the box for time away from home/traveling.  That settles it, then.  As of today, we are officially on vacation!

Faithful readers know my in-laws live near Durham, England.  While I may have lost count of the number of times we have returned to the village of my husband's youth, I maintain my enthusiasm for our visit and all it has to offer.  These last few days, as the clock wound down to our departure, I found myself daydreaming about the trip, and all the things I am anticipating.

Such as the chicken.  No, not chicken you eat, but the hen that is cared for by my father-in-law.  I probably won't be up early enough to release her from the hen house, but I like to pair up with Dad to check for eggs and tuck her away safely for the night.

Re-uniting with family and friends is always a highlight of our visits.  I am blessed with terrific in-laws, and I am looking forward to spending time with them, whether it's looking after the hen, watching soap operas (East Enders and Coronation Street) with my mother-in-law, or experiencing a new pub for a bar meal.  In recent years, my in-laws have become quite adept at carving pumpkins, which is catching on in the UK.  Since we can't be home for the Halloween costume contest in Whitefish, at least we can get in some pumpkin action.

My husband's one and only cousin began singing publicly as part of a duo about four years ago, and recently she made the transition to a solo act.  I know it is easy to be biased when it is family, but let me tell you, this woman can sing, and plays guitar and piano to boot.  We are delighted that she will have a gig during our visit - my dancing shoes are packed and ready to light up the dance floor.

The first time I lived in the UK, I worked with a woman who has become a life-long friend, even though we might only see each other once a year.  It has become our tradition to savor afternoon tea while catching up on 12 months' worth of news.  Our last "outing" was in July 2018, and she put on quite a spread at her house, which we enjoyed in the summer sunshine of her back garden.  We haven't firmed up arrangements for this trip, but I am already salivating for the finger sandwiches and pastries that I know will be part of our get-together.

After a couple days getting acclimated to our new time zone, we'll jet over to Hamburg to visit one of our former au pairs.  We hope to participate in Oktoberfest, complete with dirndl dress and lederhosen, but in any event we'll be content to tour this magnificent city in the capable hands of our au-pair-who-became-a-medical-doctor.

This week, I mentioned my daydreaming to a friend in Whitefish, and she quipped, "Surely you're not looking forward to England's cuisine."  Truth be told, foodstuffs were top of mind.  A full English breakfast.  Toasted tea cakes.  Pie, peas and chips (meat pie, mushy peas and French fries).  Bourbon biscuits (cookies).  Sunday dinner (usually roast beef, roasted potatoes, parsnips, carrots, peas, Yorkshire puddings - popovers, gravy).  Fish and chips, at the seaside.  A cheese board for dessert, preferably with Tawny Port.

With all those calories on offer, I am committed to my running regime, and also thankful that walking the public footpaths will be high on our agenda, regardless of the weather. There may be sheep, and there will certainly be a pub somewhere along the way.  Possibly a random castle, and assuredly an ancient churchyard.

And if I am REALLY blessed, a hedgehog!

Note: given our travel on Sunday into Monday, I may be delayed in commenting, but I will be on line.  I also plan to post Mosaic Monday per the normal schedule.  Hope you join us!

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.
Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.
The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Monday (U.S. Mountain time).
Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog.
Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back.
As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by.
Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully.
Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

The Final Chapter - Showing off a 'small island' - Part 11

I am misty-eyed at the moment.  It's those darn posts of mine that I just re-read.  It seemed like a good idea.  After all, I am about to wrap up the epic saga of the UK tour we enjoyed giving to my sister and her husband during the summer of 2017.  Surely, a look in the rearview mirror would get me in the right frame of mind for this final chapter?  What it got me was deep into the Kleenex box.  

Derwent Water viewed from Cat Bells trail

My adoration for northeast England is acute, and spending an hour gazing at sublime photos and reviewing narrative was a tad emotional.

Newlands Valley from Cat Bells

What did I see?  Countryside patched with ancient drystone walls.  Ruined abbeys slumbering peacefully in lush valleys.  Rivers and waterfalls that pursue their courses as they have through the millennia.  The glory of formal gardens, that existed only in the imagination of the designer hundreds of years of ago.  Historic churches, silent witnesses to the faithful housed in their floors and cemeteries.  Pubs that could tell many a tale.

And I realized that capturing the beauty of my adopted country has given me great joy, a joy I will grieve now that I write the final chapter of the travelogue.  (see previous posts about this trip to the UK - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10) .

Sheep under a massive oak tree

But I will postpone my moisture for a minute or two, so I can share our last adventure from that trip - a hike to Cat Bells Summit.








Any walker/hiker needs fuel for the journey, and it is wise to start the day with a full English at the bed and breakfast.

A traditional Full English breakfast includes back bacon, fried, poached or 

scrambled eggs, fried or grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms, fried bread or 

toast with butter, sausages, baked beans and black pudding.  (I did
without the black pudding!)

Fortified, our good fortune continued when we located a parking spot right at the trailhead, which is most unusual, given the popularity of this walk.

The "steep" bit

Renowned Lake District writer and walker Alfred Wainwright acknowledges the reputation of Cat Bells among fellwalkers of all abilities:  "It is one of the great favorites, a family fell where grandmothers and infants can climb the heights together, a place beloved.  Its popularity is well-deserved, its shapely topknot attracts the eye, offering a steep but obviously simple scramble."

Yes, we saw a mole along the way ...

High Seat as seen from Cat Bells

Newlands Valley from Cat Bells

I must say that I was very proud of my sister and brother in law when they conquered this fell.  Their fitness level had improved dramatically in the time leading up to their visit, owing to frequent walks around their neighborhood.  Cat Bells 'topped off' the UK hikes we completed during their stay.

Panorama shot from Cat Bells

Cat Bells Summit

And in more way than one - when we returned to our car, we discovered a special gift - a ticket!  Turns out that parking spot was actually on a double-yellow line.  Oops!

Linking to:

All Seasons

Mosaic Monday

Nature Notes

Our World Tuesday

Sharon's Photo Souvenirs
Skywatch Friday
Wednesday Around the World