So, we packed our umbrellas, raincoats and sweaters, all ready for the British summer.
Our traditional airport fare
I remember summers growing up in England; I'm pretty sure I wore t-shirts, shorts, and took long bike rides along the cow parsley. We ate "picnics" on hay bales, went shrimping in the beck, made rafts, and rode bareback on ponies up the potato fields. So, I know England has beautiful summers. That is, when there is a summer. Sometimes, England skips summer and this had apparently happened the last two years, so we weren't expecting much.
Amazingly, we had a full four weeks of gorgeous weather; blue skies, hot sun, and plenty of outside time. However, no AC and no ceiling fans makes it hard to sleep in buildings that have superb insulation meant to keep in the heat. Maybe I have just got used to being able to regulate room temperature. I've become wimpy.
As soon as we arrived, my mum put me to work, collecting a tea set from Pat at the caravan park to be delivered to the new kitchen in the village hall, delivering some chocolates to Yvonne in the village because she had won them at last week's raffle, and dropping off a wagon magazine to the neighbor that had been accidentally delivered to the wrong address. Mary also needed to feed the chickens.
Mary is old enough to appreciate the differences between US and UK culture and language.
Her first observation is that British bacon is better.
Her first observation is that British bacon is better.
Andrew decided to join us for 10 days; his first visit to Cumbria! He enjoyed his visit, although I'm sure he had a hard time understanding everything that was said. I flick my Cumbrian switch when I go home, but Andrew doesn't have such a switch so I did some translating.
Aye = yes
Ah-reet? = How are you?
Fettle = One's state of being (E.g. "Bad fettle" = somewhat ill)
yonder = over there
Ahm gan yam = I'm going home
To name a few.
Once Andrew had caught up on some sleep, we headed to Talking Tarn. I spent time here on school trips orienteering, windsurfing, camping, canoeing, and doing "team building" activities where you make your classmates fall into the water on purpose.
It's a child's instinct to feed any and all small animals.
There is an old legend that at the bottom of the tarn lies a sunken town. Something about greedy residents, an angel disguised as a beggar and a nasty spell. There are many legends and ghost stories in this part of the world, which makes camping all the more fun.
The first night, we ate fried haggis and steak and ale pies at The Pheasant, our local pub.
I was reminded that drinks come in 6oz servings and you will pay for a refill.
The next day, we decided to take a hike up to Cardunneth Pike on Cumrew fell.
The Armstrong Cairn
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The fern was dense and Jess got a good workout. She's getting old but she's still tough as old boots!
There are many false peaks on the way up.
Good examples of "yonder"
We took a straight shot at the peak and then traversed down towards the village of Castle Carrock. There, we stopped and ate lunch at The Duke. I spent some time at The Duke in my former years. We would hang out on the stairs, play pool, and perform cartwheels on the green. Jenny would drive her dad's tractor to the pub because you only had to be 16 for a tractor license. Now, The Duke has been renovated, it's fancier and there are no stairs to accommodate cheap students.
Later that day, we headed to Great Corby, the village where I went to school.
Great Corby School
Mary checks out my old playground (only when I attended we didn't have play equipment, we did handstands, played football, made caterpillar houses in the tree roots, swung on tree branches, and pretended we were running a chocolate factory by scraping the sandstone walls for cocoa powder).
The Chocolate Factory. Significantly eroded.
Great Corby School is small. There were only 3 classes when I attended. My step grandmother was the dinner lady and made the best lasagna. The break lady (recess monitor) was a small lady with a tight perm in her grey hair. After lunch, she would take us down into the moss to feed the dragon with a big bowl of leftovers. Back then, there was no fenced path, just a big creepy wood. We would leave the dragon his dinner and make a quick exit. I have no idea if she went back later to retrieve the food, but I do know she was a great mentor for the imagination. Apparently, she died of natural causes a few years later under the hairdryer in a salon.
Some alumni graffiti
Some other changes I noticed at Great Corby School:
A thriving horticultural program.
(love the basket of gardening gloves in the window)
Lots of outdoor activities, literacy and imagination stations
A shed for pretend play with kitchen and dress up
Enhanced health and safety
The beck is now completely fenced in (no more shrimping), the trees are fenced off (no more swinging on branches and falling into nettles), and the woods are gated (no more general mischief).
We walked around Great Corby for a while, then stopped at the Corby Bridge for a drink.
Before we headed to the lake district, we spent the weekend in Millom, visiting the fam.
The first afternoon, we took a stroll down to Haverigg, a small seaside town, and ate lunch at Ski Side. Andrew drooled a little over the water sports. We reminisced over the time Linda ran away and left Carly in the pushchair, defenseless over a hoard of attacking geese. I shared the story about the time dad and Linda left me defenseless against a violent Shetland pony during a holiday to Scotland. Neither of us has since sought therapy so I guess we're okay!
All kids love sand dunes!
My little sister and my big brother (with my little brother and rest of the family somewhere off in the distance)
It's tempting to walk out and meet the sea, but (I know from experience) the tide comes in very quickly on the west coast and you can be easily stranded.
The sea wall, an impressive feat of engineering.
My super cute nieces Josie and Happy Hattie.
Brie, the pup
That night, we had a feast of really yummy food and I was reintroduced to mackerel pate. I don't know why the British have a reputation for dull food. I think it comes from poor quality restaurant foods in big cities where the tourists dine. That evening, we took a walk to The Comodore with my dad. It was chilly so we wore jackets; my dad wore a t-shirt. My dad's tough.
Eddie, the neighbor, was away so she very graciously welcomed us to stay in her house. It was pretty neat to stay in the house I had played in when I was younger and see photographs of Becky, my old playmate, with her family. Mary enjoyed watering Eddie's flowers.
The next morning, we took a walk to the beach while Mary went fishing with my dad.
When I was young, Haverigg had an outdoor swimming pool which has since been filled in and replaced with a kids playground. Haverigg also has a prison and, as a kid, it was very exciting to drive around the barbed wire fence and imagine all the dangerous criminals inside. The prisoners probably aren't all that dangerous at all, but when you're a kid, all criminals are heinous murderers.
Cricket!
My brother Joe is a bit of a cricketing star. My older brother Mike is a fishing star.
One would assume I also have a talent. It must be a hidden talent; something I haven't tried yet. Like hand gliding, or cake decorating.
We bid farewell to the family, and headed to Ambleside with my dad leading the way. He knew a shorter route through some back roads.
The trip to Ambleside was uneventful, other than wrecking a tire on my mother's pride and joy - her red convertible Peugeot 308. The roads in these parts are narrow and windy, and sometimes there might be a rock on the road that you don't see until it's too late. Hopefully, your passenger will "have time" to warn you of it.
Luckily, the tire was the only damage, although it did cast some doubt on whether my mother would ever invite me to drive her car again (she has since added me to her insurance policy - did she forget?!)
It only took my dad and Andrew a few minutes to change out the tire and we were off again.
Ambleside is a pretty town in the heart of the Lake District with easy access to most major areas.
I miss living where I can just ramble around the town.
I was able to make a last minute reservation at the White Lion Hotel which is basically a few bed a breakfast type rooms over the pub. We were on the third floor so didn't hear anything from downstairs and they had an amazing full English breakfast with all the trimmings.
Our first full day, we walked around Ambleside, hung out at the park, ate ice-cream and took a hike on a trail leading to beautiful views over Lake Windermere.
That night, we ate at the hotel and took a walk around town some more.
Bangers and mash!
The next day was busy. We visited Windermere and Bowness, took lake cruise and walked the side of Lake Windermere, visited the Maize Farm, and took a Tree Top Trek at Brockhole.
We also visited Kendal, a town famous for its mint cake; a high energy snack food for hikers. While there, we ate in a little cafe and I had kippers!
There are around 94 lakes and tarns in the Lake District. We spent most of our time around Lake Windermere and decided we need to come back.
We found several wish trees on this trip.
The Maize Farm was a little disappointing as the outdoor maze wasn't ready. It was still a fun place for Mary and they had good tea.
Andrew, the thrill-seeker
Tractor ride
The Tree Top Trek at Brockhole was fun!! Mary was a daredevil and was the bravest of us three. She took the first course with ease and didn't even flinch when we moved on to the more difficult trek. She is, however, too scared to ride a bicycle.
One great thing about a summer UK trip is the long evenings. On this day, we spent the evening at Castlerigg Stone Circle (about 3000 years old). I remember going to Long Meg stone circle with friends for summer solstice. There's something magical about spending the night at a stone circle with folk playing guitars and singing songs. If I remember correctly, my friend accidentally crashed her yellow beetle at a stone circle. It was probably just a scrape, but at the time it was very dramatic.
There must be thousands of miles of stone walls in this area alone. Roofs are tiled with real slate. Things are more permanent here than in Texas.
Pretty sure I can do this.
While in the area, we took a stroll around Keswick and ate more ice-cream. Although the ice-cream is delicious, England needs an Orange Leaf, or Yoghurt Your Way. A buffet style ice-creamery where you serve your own soft-serve and toppings, then pay by weight. Maybe that requires a more established summer season.
Pretty waterfalls here and there
Our last day, my dad and Linda took Mary for the day while Andrew and I did some more serious hiking. Mary had fun riding ponies, fishing from a boat and playing golf and we hiked up Skiddaw.
The hike was quite tough and took us a little under four hours. It's a pretty steep incline up much of the way with little relief. The views were amazing on the way up, but just before we reached the peak, a cloud meandered over it so that we didn't get the panoramic view we were hoping for. It was still well worth the effort. I didn't bring my hiking boots, only sneakers, so my feet hurt quite a bit on the way down.
Just before the final ascent, there is a perfect lake spot for a break.
Talus, hard on the sneakers
We decided to rent this cottage next time.
Afterwards, we stopped off at the nearest pub for a beer and some munchies.
I also changed out of my dry sweat and we headed back to Ambleside to meet my dad et al. We drove through gorgeous countryside to Pooley Bridge and my dad treated us to a delicious dinner in the Queens Head, a really nice pub with a big welcoming fireplace and really good homemade food.
The next day was Andrew's last in England, so we hung out in and around Carlisle. First, we visited my brother, Mike, at work.
Actually, first, Andrew and Mary fed the chickens,
Then, we went to visit my brother. My brother is working with a team designing new technology/hardware for the drilling industry. He showed us his experiment in the attic and he talked a lot about magnetic fields and other technical concepts. While he and his workmates talked with Andrew, and my mom and Mary became bored, I checked out his office and pretended to understand the diagrams on the walls.
We took some time to roam around Carlisle and stopped for tea and scones in John Watts & Sons, an old coffee shop (Est. 1865).
I would pay a lot of money for good clotted cream in HEB
I like Carlisle. I like leaving my car behind and walking the streets, stopping for a cuppa, seeing the familiar faces of the newspaper man and the buskers outside Binns, meeting up with people at the clock or at the Kings Head, walking around the market, seeing the Christmas lights and late night shopping on Thursdays. It's a beautiful city.
We strolled through the cathedral grounds and Mary completed the kid activity packet in the cathedral. Once upon a time, you could just walk into the almost empty cathedral. These days, you are greeted at the door by a "guide", given information and an activity pack, and directed around the donations box. It's become quite a formal affair. I once had a friend who worked in the cathedral and gave me a free parking pass, which was very convenient for working in TopShop. He was a man of the cloth and lived in a cute little cottage with a floor to ceiling chime in the spiral staircase.
I met some of the most interesting people growing up in Carlisle.
We decided to keep walking on to the castle.
None of that instant rubbish
The licking stone in one of the dungeons. Without food or water, prisoners would lick this stone to keep hydrated and stay alive.
On the way back into town, we passed by my old dance studio. I remember decorating the float and posing as an Indian for the parade one year. Now it's all closed up. I think it was "Wendy's Dance".
West Walls
The Twisted Wheel is still going strong!
