Jock's Mystery Tour

Today the sun came out and Jock took us around the Solway coast in the counties of Dumfries and Galloway.We went west through Dalbeattie with its grey granite houses ( red sandstone to the east of the River Nith). We had lunch in Kirkcudbright on the River Dee. It was an artisan town with quaint pastel-colored terraced houses. In the late 1800s the Glasgow Boys , such as James Paterson, Samuel Peploe and the Faed family were famous post- Impressionist artists in Kirkcudbright. We continued to Gatehouse of Fleet , visited Cally Palace hotel with its little red squirrels and back to Dumfries via Castle Douglas.Again lovely autumn colours and nice to see some sun.

Dumfries, Scotland

Here I am in Bonnie Scotland with Annie and Jock Simpson and I am learning lowland Scots eg: footerin = fidgeting, a besom= a broom or a girl who mistreats your son ie a bad wee besom, glaikit= silly or stupid, crabbit= grumpy, I am scunnered= I am fed up ! This morning we visited Robbie Burns pub, The Globe Inn and the house where he died and his mausoleum at St Michaels Kirk. We also drove out to the picturesque New Abbey with its 1000 year old Sweetheart Abbey built by Lady Devorgilla. We drove through Shambellie Woods(see photo). Annie was head teacher here for 9 years.Later we went to the coast at Solway Firth where we visited Caerlaverock Castle which is a medieval castle with only three sides, a moat and a trebuchet or catapult.

North Yorkshire again

More tiki-touring today in sunshine and intermittent showers through very pretty rolling dales with little stone villages and stone walls. Our first stop was at the Jervaulx Abbey ruins. This abbey was built in the 12th century by Cistercian monks and was abandoned with the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry 8th. In Leyburn we walked up The Shawl, so named because Mary Queen of Scots apparently dropped her shawl here when trying to escape from Bolton Castle, a medieval castle where she was imprisoned for 6 months. Had lunch in Askrigg and went on to Hawes, a gorgeous little stone village. To Scotland tomorrow to spend a few days with Jock and Annie Simpson.

North Yorkshire & the Lake District

We have come up to North Yorkshire today( October 14th).On the way we visited Hardwick Hall, another National Trust property. It was built by Bess of Hardwick in 1590. She married 4 times and was a lady- in-waiting to Elizabeth 1st. With her 4th husband, the Earl of Shrewsbury, she looked after Mary Queen of Scots in exile for 15 years before she was executed. The Hall was full of exquisite tapestries and beautiful 16th century furniture.
We are staying in a cute little cottage in a little village called Patrick Brompton on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. It is a karst or limestone landscape and each valley or 'dale' has its own distinct character, with heather moorlands, stone-built villages, stone bridges and drystone walls.The countryside is very pretty.
Today(15th Oct) we have driven through Cumbria to the Lake District. We left in rain but the weather fined up as we headed west. The weather is distinctly autumnal, grey skies with frequent showers and a watery sun when it comes out. We had lunch in Keswick on Lake Derwent with lovely old stone buildings with slate roofs and cobbled streets. We then drove to Grasmere, which was Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter country, then to Ambleside and Lake Windermere. The autumn colours were absolutely stunning and there were lots of long-tailed sheep with black faces. Look at the sheep on the roof!!

Richmond: Yorkshire

This afternoon we drove over to Richmond, an old walled Roman town built in the 12th century. It had imposing castle ruins dating back to 1071, a cobbled market place and lovely old sandstone buildings. The Grey Friars of the 12th century were important here for their spring water and we saw part of their friary remains. We walked around the castle walls and also went into the town museum, which had a section dedicated to James Herriot, who came from Thirsk nearby.The Swale River, reputedly the fastest flowing river in England flows through Richmond. Again the autumn colours were lovely.