Do you ever get the urge to leave the country? Not like a post-election desire to head someplace for at least four years but just a momentary yen to check out what the neighbors on the other side of the border are up to? Bob and I had a yen to visit Carlisle, England where we had briefly stopped a couple of times but only on train journeys to somewhere else. Carlisle is about an hour drive from Thornhill, so we decided to check it out.
We began at the Information Center in the Town Hall on the main squareCarlisle Coat of Arms — I just like their motto.😀Across the plaza from Town Hall was the lovely Crown & Mitre HotelThe Carlisle CathedralSome of the other buildings on the large cathedral campusThe back of the Tullie House Museum and Art GalleryA very cool subway (pedestrian underpass) leading from the museum to the castleThe cursing stone, also in the subway. It features just over 300 words of a 1,069 word curse from the 16th century against robbers, blackmailers, and highwaymen. The stone has been blamed for bringing bad luck to Carlisle since its installation.Carlisle Castle which sits near the ruins of Hadrian’s Wall.Another decorative subway, this time leading from the town center to Rickerby Park. It was painted with fun facts about Carlisle.Lovely flowers and cool statue on the other side of the subwayCarlisle Coat of Arms — I just like their mottoWalking along the River Eden in Rickerby ParkFootbridge over the River EdenWar memorial in Rickerby ParkGardens in Rickerby ParkOne tower of The Citadel, former defensive entrance into the cityStreet view near rail stationDepiction of Carlisle’s historic quarter in the rail stationDuring our travels between Thornhill and Dumfries, we would pass a sign for the Friars Carse House Hotel. It sounded nice, and it had a good website, so we decided to check it out one night. It was lovely — beautiful hotel and grounds. We got to check it out with a group of motorcyclists who had just ridden in for dinner or a visit or both.
Friars Carse House HotelGrounds of the hotelIt is apparently a popular spot for weddings
We chose a hike out of a local community called Durisdeer for our last proper hike with Bruce. I don’t know that it was one of our favorite hikes, as the ground was fairly boggy and the views were not nearly as impressive as we have seen. In fact, we didn’t even notice the Roman ruins that we were suppose to see on the way out until we were on the way back. Still, it’s hard to complain about being out in nature on a nice day and seeing a new area.
The Durisdeer church where we parked to begin our hikeA memorial near the churchHeading out on the road path before veering off into farmlandHelpful signage along the routeBruce leading the way across a helpfully placed bridgeThe out portion of our out-a day-back hike. This is not the Roman ruins.Scenery walking back into DurisdeerThe cemetery beside the Durisdeer church
Our last journey by car had us headed back to the Solway Coast to visit the Mersehead Nature Reserve. This is a lovely area set aside for the preservation of wildlife with a circular walking trail and is especially favored by birders.
The visitors center at the reserveOne of the huts for watching birds, ducks, etcThe forest portion of the nature trailOne of the lagoons by the bird hutsSignage for the coastal portion of the walkOn the Solway Coast at very low tide, it looked like we could walk out into the water for quite a ways.Dunes along the coastCoastal wind turbinesThe beach looked like there had been a lava flow — thick, black, and spongy. The volunteer in the Visitors Center thought it was something to do with the farmland having extended out that far in the past.Walking back toward the Visitor CenterLooking out the rear window of the Visitor Center
From the Mersehead Nature Reserve, we drove to the town of Dalbeattie. We had driven through it a couple of weeks ago on our way to Rockcliff. Wikipedia says that it is famed for its granite industry which we had confirmed for us by a stone monument that we saw in the local park.
If you believe the sign (we didn’t), this is the Dalbeattie Primary School. it was Saturday when we were there, so we couldn’t confirm.Gazebo in the local parkFootbridge near the park over the Urr WaterThe pond in the park and the surrounding housesOn the way back to Thornhill, we finally stopped at Ellisland Farm to at least view the farm where Robert Burns lived during the final years of his life (though he died in a house in the town of Dumfries).
Peckish Travels 
