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We are slow with our blogs as per usual.  This one is a farewell to England, as we are now in Ireland and actually close to heading back to the States.  Last Monday, I did a solo trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon, as the bus from Moreton didn’t run frequently enough to allow both of us to be away from Daisy for that amount of time.  Bob was good enough to let me go get my Shakespeare fix, as we continue our accidental, but lovely, writer’s tour of the U.K.

As Stratford is nothing if not touristy and pricey, I chose to do my own walking photo tour of the attractions I was interested in rather than paying to get inside.  (I also took exception to the requirement to pay to enter at least three of the Shakespeare-related homes of their choosing, 2 of which I wasn’t that interested in.). Anyhoo, that being said, I had a lovely tour of a lovely town, on a beautiful day.  I soaked in as much Shakespeare (and the river Avon — though not literally) as I could get on my two feet.

We had quite the dramatic start to our Dublin visit — but more on that later.

We are well into our Cotswolds house sit and are caring for, and being entertained by, the adorable Pug, Daisy.  She loves her walks/runs, her naps on top of, or beside us, and gives us high fives for a treat.  She also has an impressive vocal (gruntal?) repertoire.  We are charmed.

We have been trying to see a bit of the area as well with hikes to nearby communities, a train trip to Oxford, and a bus ride to Chipping Camden.  The countryside is beautiful — rolling hills and valleys, and is currently awash in the beautiful yellow of the mustard plant.  The gardens here are beautiful, as they have been everywhere in the UK.

The first hike we did from our current residence was a country hike through fields and pastures, as well as along country roads, to the community of Lower Lemington and then on to Aston Magna before heading back to Moreton-in-Marsh.  We got to see a bit of the surroundings, visit an old church, annoy some sheep, and get very, very wet.  It was a consistent rain that day and the path was already wet from prior rains, so we were pretty happy to get back to the house.

After a day in, we took a quick, 30 minute train trip to Oxford to check out the university (and be able to say that we have “gone to Oxford”).  We did a tour of the university’s Bodlean Library and caught a free exhibition on how death is portrayed in Shakespeare’s writings at the new Weston library.  As with the Library of Congress in the US, the Bodlean receives a copy of all published materials every year.  The Weston Library building used to house this massive collection, but it has since been moved to a storage facility in Swindon.  The former collections building was gutted to create a functioning library for students and researchers along with a cafe and gift shop.  The Bodlean library is impressive and dates back to the 1600s when Thomas Bodley provided the funding to create the library from what had been built as a theological school for the university and also served as a “court of appeals” to resolve issues between the town and university.

We took a bus ride to the Cotswold community of Chipping Camden to hike up Dover Hill and have our first English tea at a local tea room.  We also had time to peruse the high street area shops before catching the bus back to Moreton-in-Marsh.

We have also hiked to other nearby communities including a lovely walk to Blockely which provided a lovely view walking in as you enter from atop a hill and walk down into the village.  On that day, we returned through Bourton-on-the-Hill before coming back into town where we stumbled upon a craft market underway at the hall in the Town Center.

Today we did a quick hike to Longmouth.  On the way back we saw a duck less duckery and a large oriental style mansion, called Sezincote, that is open to the public on special occasions.

While it is early in the season, this area seems already to be hopping with tourists.

After leaving Windermere and the Lakes District, we hopped on a train to check out Cardiff, Wales before our next house sit in Moreton-in-Marsh, England. We had some quick train changes in a couple of locations, but we lucked out and made all of our connections. In Cardiff, we stayed at a newer hotel close to the station and the Millenium Stadium.

For our first 1/2 day outing, we set out for the visitor info center near Cardiff Bay. Cardiff Bay is a gorgeous area where we saw some lovely buildings — the Millennium Building (in which the visitor centered was housed), The National Assembly Building, Roald Dahl Plass (Roald Dahl was born in Wales and baptized in the Norwegian Church which is now also located along the bay.), the Pierhead Building, a merry-go-round, and lots of retail and restaurants. After picking up area info, we took a 45 minute cruise around the harbor to give an initial overview of the area. We made our way back to the city center and began to see why Wales is known as the city of arcades (covered area between buildings with shops) as we passed at least 4 or 5 of them in our little walkabout.

We began our first full day in Cardiff walking a few blocks to a castle. Cuz it’s Great Britain, and you can stumble over one of these almost everywhere. We didn’t join the bus loads going in, as it was a bit pricey, but we did explore the very large Bute Park that abuts the castle and runs alongside the River Tath for a number of miles. To enter the park, we walked along the wall of animals that surrounds the castle — a series of different animal sculptures that sit atop the stone wall guarding the castle. After walking much of the park and watching the other pedestrians and cyclists using the park as well as the ferry boats cruising the lake, we walked over to Town Hall to see the building and nearby park. We also got to see a couple of newlyweds coming out of the building! We stumbled on a couple of markets in the city center — a lovely Mediterranean one (food only) that was outside and occurs just on Saturday and an indoor market that sells produce, take away food, and home goods that is open everyday. At night, we caught a bit of the Leicester soccer game that was the official end of the season, although they had already won the championship based on points.

Our second (and final) full day in Cardiff was the best-weather day yet. I believe it reached a high of 79 F. We had reserved bikes the prior day and picked those up about 9:30 for a full-day rental. While the bikes were of borderline quality, they managed to get us around. We biked out of the city to see two more castles — Castle Coch (long slog uphill for the photo op) just outside of Cardiff and Caerphilly Castle in the community of Caerphilly which we paid to explore. The best part of our journey was that the out leg was primarily uphill (though it didn’t really feel like it), so the return leg was downhill — almost all the way back to Cardiff! We wanted to continue our adventure, so we followed the bike paths back to Cardiff Bay to further explore the area. Everyone had the same idea, as it was so nice out, so we got lots of people watching in as well. Awesome, awesome day!

The next day we caught a crack of dawn train (5:12am!) to head to Moreton-in-Marsh for our current house sit. We had a lovely transition with our host couple and met their Pug, Daisy, before they headed to London to fly to Japan. More on the house sit and the Cotswolds in the next blog.

Bob and I had lovely weather for our 2.5 days in the Lakes District of England.  The Lake Distract Park is huge, so you can base a trip out of any number of towns.  We stayed at a little B&B (3 rooms) in Windemere in the southern portion of the park.  However, we enjoyed the communities of Ambleside, Waterhead, Bowness and Troutbeck, as well, during our stay.  Windemere is the busier town with a nice quay area for catching a ferry to get onto Lake Windemere.  It also has plenty of retail, dining, and supermarkets and made for a good base for our stay.  The first afternoon of our visit, we climbed up to Orrest Point for a lookout over the town before exploring some of the town’s other walking paths along the lake, near streams, and around town.  We loved the local architecture almost as much as the beautiful scenery.

For our 2 full days in the Lakes District, we walked to Ambleside (about 4.5 miles) and then did hikes from there and/or explored the town.  The first day we did a short hike to a waterfall once we got to Ambleside and then continued onto Wansfell Pike before coming down into the little community of Troutbeck before heading back into Windemere.  Bob had picked up a book with some detailed hikes, and we were surprised to see that it came with translations!  This proved useful as we were told to follow a “beck” but had to look that up to learn that it meant “stream.”

The next day we again walked to Ambleside and did another short hike before going to the Armitt Library and Museum to learn about Beatrix Potter.  What a renaissance woman!  She wrote, she illustrated (not just her books but also plants — specifically fungi), she was an amateur mycologist (fungi studier), and she raised and showed sheep (and did very well!).  She also bought about 8,000 acres of land in the Lakes District to donate to the National Trust to help preserve as park land.

After the museum, we continued to explore some fun Ambleside shops before heading back towards Windemere via Waterhead and a stop for some yummy English ice cream.

We are currently in the principality of Wales for a few more hours before heading out early tomorrow morning for a train to Moreton-in-Marsh, England for our next house sit.

On Tuesday morning, May 3, we left Our Scottish house sit for a 6-day vacay before starting our next house sit in Moreton-in-Marsh, England. The last couple of days in Thornhill had us touring a lovely estate, a castle and its lovely grounds, attending a music festival and doing our farewell transition with our host couple.

The Dumfries House is a large country estate near Cumnock, Scotland. It was the home of a former Earl of Dumfries who had it built between 1754 and 1759. We had read an article in the paper about the home since arriving in the UK (but prior to our visit), as Prince Charles had led a consortium to purchase the estate and its contents (which includes a number of original Chippendale pieces) as they were at risk of being sold off due to the cost of upkeep. We were formally welcomed into a room of the house to begin the tour with a video greeting by Prince Charles on the historical importance of the estate and the various efforts underway, many supported by his Prince’s Trust, to restore all of the buildings on the estate as well as provide various career training programs for youth, establish a community garden, etc. The home is lovely — especially the Chippendale pieces — however we were unable to take any photos in the house. It is used for special functions and Prince Charles stays on-site on occasion.  In fact, we just missed him as had had been there the day before our arrival for a special presentation.

We also toured Drumlanrig Castle which is just outside of Thornhill. It was open for tours this time! The castle was built between 1679 and 1689 and was the home of the Duke and Duchhess of Buccleuch and Queensberry. The current Duke lives in the area, though not at the castle. Again, we weren’t able to take photos during the tour, but the grounds are amazing. The grounds around the castle are gorgeous, but the estate is so extensive that there is a bike rental facility on site for biking on the grounds as well as in the local area. Bob and I were a bit disappointed with ourselves that we hadn’t found the hiking information on our first visit, as we may have checked out one or two of the trails.

The last weekend in April was a bank holiday weekend, and Thornhill had a music festival from Friday through Sunday. There were a number of acts that played during the afternoon and evening at about 4 venues in town. Bob and I caught a Saturday afternoon performance. By a group called Redfish who played upstairs at one of the local hotels. All of the performances were free.

Our hosts returned from their vacation to Guernsey and Devon late on Monday afternoon. Bruce was very glad to see them! We had a lovely debrief with them on the house, garden, Bruce.  They had been super helpful with instructions, so everything went smoothly during our stay.  They also went above and beyond by providing great advice on travel and things to see, treating us to dinner at the Buccleuch & Queensberry Arms Hotel in town, and driving us the 50 miles to Carlisle, England to catch our train.  They are both lovely, accomplished individuals, and we hope that our paths may cross again.  Bruce will remain a much-loved friend as well.

We are currently in Windermere, in the Lakes District, where we have been for the past 2.5 days. It is gorgeous!!!!  But more on that in a later blog.

We continue to explore the local area even as the weather has decided to return to more winter-like conditions.  Wednesday we had a great, challenging hike near a lovely little village called New Abbey.  It is located, as is Thornhill where we are staying, in the Dumfries and Galloway region of Scotland.  The village is dominated by the ruins of the beautiful Sweetheart Abbey.  An impressive structure, founded in 1273 by Lady Devorgila to commemorate her husband John Balliol.  Their remains are said to be buried in the Abbey, and one of their sons became King John 1 of Scotland.

The village has a lovely square and corn mill and a number of scenic walks.  Bob and I hiked up to the Waterloo Monument which was erected in 1816 to commemorate the British, Belgian, and Prussian soldiers who won the Battle of Waterloo.  Once we reached the monument, we climbed the spiral staircase inside to the top before descending and hiking up to the top of Criffel Hill.  From the top of the Hill, you can see Loch Kindar, the village of New Abbey, much of the local countryside, and a bit of the Solway Coast.  Lots of heather on the way up — and lots of mud due to recent rains — it was a slow slog, but the views were worth it. (On the multi-photo sections below, you can access the captions by clicking on the photo.)

Pond along pedestrian path

Waterloo Monument

Meeting a friendly local on the way up Criffel

View of the Loch and Bay

Reaching the summit

Coming back down

Yesterday, we toured the Robert Burns Center in Dumfries.  It provides a great overview of the life of the poet with a focus on the last years of his life which were lived in Dumfries and where some of his best work was written.  Along with being an awesome poet and song writer, he was quite the philanderer and had a very forgiving wife!  The home of J M Barrie, of Peter Pan fame, is currently being restored in Dumfries and is to open in 2018.

We have also stopped at 2 local farm stores which sell lovely home-grown meats and local cheeses as well as other specialty groceries and gifts.

The last few days have seen unseasonably low temps as well as snow and sleet.  This continues to be the craziest weather we’ve experienced with what often feels like 3, if not 4 seasons, coming on the same day.

And from Thornhill-

Snow on the hills outside Thornhill

Local garden

Tulips – the happiest flower!

We are settled into our Scotland house sit after a great transition with our host couple. We are now enjoying their lovely home in the beautiful Scottish countryside and caring for the very lovable border terrier, Bruce, as well as keeping the bird feeders, etc. filled in the garden. We are treated daily to a lovely array of birds and have even glimpsed a red squirrel or two. At night we put out food for a hedge hog! It’s awesome.

Bruce is a good walker, so we have had him out for walks both within Thornhill as well as up around the lochs closer to Locherbie. We have visited the memorial there to the victims of the plane crash and have walked the Robert Burns trail around Dumfries, the closest town to Thornhill and where Robert Burns lived for the last years of his life. Yesterday, we did a 90 minute hike to the Drumlanrig castle with quite the scramble thru the brambles at the end (truly –I pulled thorns out of my hair when we got back!) due to a bridge being out across the creek. Once we got to the castle, however, we learned (not being smart enough to check these things ahead of time) that the castle would only be open to the public during the upcoming weekend. So, we scrambled and then hiked our way back — but not before snapping a couple of photos of the gorgeous place.

On Tuesday of this week, we traveled by train for an hour out of Edinburgh to Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city (600,000) and the third largest city in the UK. We had a bit of a time finding the I-site to determine how to schedule our day, as the city maps have an old location. Luckily, Bob had taken a photo of a gps map which had the correct location, so we weren’t wandering aimlessly for too long.

We decided that doing some of the walking tour to view works by the Scottish architect, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, might be a good way to get a good overview of much of the central district. Mackintosh lived from 1868 to 1928 and was the best known representative of Art Nouveau in the UK. He was born in Glasgow and met his wife, Margaret MacDonald also an artist, at the University of Glasgow School of Art. The did a lot of collaborative projects.

We started our walking tour at the Hunterian Museum on the University of Glasgow campus. This is housed in the Glasgow home of the Mackintoshes that he redesigned to better align with his artistic vision. We actually took a tour of the rooms that have his architecture, furniture and design features some of which also include Margaret’s painting or metal etchings. Very cool and reminded us a bit of some of the Frank Lloyd Wright properties that we have toured. Also, along the route we were able to see the Willow Tea Room for which he designed the interior and furnishings, and the Lighthouse which was a building in which he use to work but which has been converted into a Centre for Architecture and Design. The Lighthouse had information on the history of the building, Mackintoshes work in Glasgow, other art exhibits, and a research area. However, one of the features that we really enjoyed was the rooftop terrace that provided lovely views of Glasgow. The biggest disappointment, however, was not being able to see the University of Glasgow’s School of Art library which is considered his masterpiece but which burned in 2014 and is now closed for renovation.

On our walkabout, we also stopped at the Riverside Museum, a part of the Glasgow Museum of transport. It is housed in a stunning building designed by the Iraqi-born UK architect Zaha Hadid, who sadly just passed away a few weeks ago. The museum opened in 2011. It covers all types of transportation from bikes to trams to motorcycles and cars, as well as boats. The sailing ship Glenlee is docked behind the museum and open for touring as well.

We popped into the Glasgow city chambers to look at the architecture in there as well as learn a bit more about the city. The current Glasgow City Council structure only came into existence in 1996 following an Act of Parliament which reorganized the local government structure in Scotland for the third time this century. The motto for the city is “Let Glasgow flourish.” It’s name is derived from Saint Mungo, who lived in the early 6th century AD, who named the area Glasgui which translates as “dear green space.”

Finally, we ended the day with some lovely Spanish tapas at Barcas in the very cool looking Princes Square shopping center.

We are just completing our Edinburgh interlude and heading now to our house sit in Thornhill, Scotland. Today, April 21, is the real birthday of Queen Elizabeth, although most of the official observances will be held in May and June. She is the first monarch to reach the age of 90.

Edinburgh is an amazing city. We fell in love with it straight away, as every corner we turned seemed to elicit another “wow” comment from us. It is a lovely mixture of old and new with a museum or tour to meet anyone’s area of interest. In fact, the city itself has been designated a World Heritage Site.

Some of the highlights of our week here include

• Climbing Arthur’s Seat, the highest point of the volcanic-formed hills in Holyrood Park for a lovely, 360 degree view of the area;

• Climbing up Calton Hill (and passing the monument to Robert Burns) to summit the 143 steps of the Nelson Monument for another great view of the city;

• Spending at least 3 hours touring the Edinburgh Castle where we could take in great views of the New and Old Town, watch the runners in the Great Edinburgh 10 mile run, sample some whisky, and learn about the history of Edinburgh and the castle;

• Walking to the Leith Market (open on Saturday) near the edge of the Firth of Forth (body of water that connects with the North Sea) to peruse the vendors and purchase a Scottish Egg to split;

•  Walking to the Stockbridge Market (open on Sunday) to peruse the vendors;
•  Walking to (via a pedestrian/bike path) and through, the beautiful Royal Botanical Gardens;

• Exploring some of the highlights of the Writers’ Walking Tour around town;

• Enjoying a real Scottish Whisky experience with a 2.5 hour transport, tour, and tastings at the Glenkinchie Distillery outside of Edinburgh;

• Exploring Glasgow with a day trip out of Edinburgh (more on that in a separate post).

Incredibly, it is time again to move on. I really, really cannot believe how fast the time goes! We leave today (4/15 — how are taxes coming?) for Scotland. We will spend a few days in Edinburgh — with a couple of day trips to other towns before our next house sit in the small town of Thornhill.

In the last week, we have walked (12 miles one day!), run (Beth survived the Manchester Marathon), bussed, and trammed our way around the greater Manchester area. Much of our time was spent exploring the Trafford area where the marathon began and ended. This is a lovely area with a large outlet mall (under a gym and residential building, a theatre, an Imperial War Museum, and, most importantly, the stadium for the Manchester United football team and the Old Trafford cricket grounds.  The Imperial War Museum (free) is a comprehensive look at the UK’s involvement in various wars.  We perused the WWII section but also did a 20 minute tour on spies (lots of women) in WWI and WWII and watched a film that spoke to the transitions that countries go through after wars.

See highlights from the Trafford area —

The other fun thing that we did recently in Manchester was to go the Bury Market.  This is a huge market in the community of Bury that has anything you could possibly want in terms of goods (any item that you would shop for at Target you can get here), food (fresh meat, fish, produce, as well as ready-made food to sit and eat) and services (on-site clothing alterations, funeral planning and headstones  — maybe because it’s the Bury market?).

Finally, we have to give a shout-out to our Manchester host.  She initially wanted us to come to care for her home and pet while she was away on holiday.  Sadly, after plans were set, her pet died unexpectedly.  She was so lovely to allow us to come anyway and was a lovely host during our hand-off time by showing us around, taking us to dinner, and just making us feel at home.  We have made a great new friend and hope that our paths cross again.