Our first trip to Europe
Mar 23rd, 2015, 12:28 PM
#62
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annhig - I think I've been spilt by all the beautiful food we ate in France & Switzerland. I'm finding the Scottish fare a wee bit bland! Going to give Skye another chance tomorrow.
Inverness.
My love affair with Diana Gabaldon's 'Outlander' series and Geoff's desire to spot the Loch Ness monster were the impetus for a day trip north to Inverness.
There are two ways to get to there from Kyle of Lochalsh. We took the low road this morning. It was fine enough when we left the cottage but by the time we got to Loch Ness it was freezing cold and raining so a planned trip to Urquhart Castle was abandoned. Loch Ness is much longer and larger than I had imagined and probably the least attractive of all the magnificent waterways we've seen in the last 3 days. Its deepest point is 230 metres and it holds more water than all the other lochs and rivers in England and Scotland combined. Any romantic notions we had about 'Nessie' were squashed at the Loch Ness Centre. Here we saw all the scientific proof we needed to assure us that there was never anything unusual about the loch except perhaps for the world's gullibility in listening to the rumours. All power though to the early shysters who initiated this myth because the businesses around the loch are still thriving on the hoax to this very day! The Loch Ness Centre wasn't terribly expensive and just as well. I struggled to stay awake through the series of audio visual displays (complete with very unlifelike mannequins dressed in 70s fashion) showing all the ways the monster myth has been disproved. Luckily the extreme cold in display the rooms kept me from nodding off.
In Inverness we stopped briefly for a wander through the Victoria Market (a wee bit different to the one at home!) and a bite to eat. I had a bridie. I'm not at all sure what was in it but it tasted like a pie in a pastie shape. The people in Inverness looked a bit sombre and I wondered why Claire and Frank ( Outlander reference) ever went there in the first place!
Our next stop was the Culloden Battlefields. This attraction did live up to its reputation and was well worth the admission. A series of interactive displays detailed the background of conflict leading up to the battle of Culloden and then a big screen surround sound re enactment allows you to get an idea of how the battle played out. The guides were very helpful and knowledgeable and Taine and Geoff enjoyed playing with the weapons.
After you visit the centre its possible to walk on the actual battlefield. Wearing audio headphones describing the different parts of the moor, you get a real feel for the plight of the Jacobites. It's remarkable to think of all the lives lost in this short battle, many of them buried in mass clan graves on the site.
From Culloden we followed up another Outlander reference, visiting the Clava Cairns, a set of standing stones just outside Inverness. The sense of history in this place is undeniable. I don't know who built the cairns; who, what or how they worshipped but the atmosphere is overwhelmingly spiritual. It's hard to make sense of your place in the universe when you consider that the people who are buried here lived 2000 years BC. The precision of the stone placement ( let alone the technology needed to transport the stones) is bewildering but empowering at the same time. When we looked online tonight we noted that the Clava Cairns barely rate a mention on travel reviews of the area. For me, it was a highlight and should be at the top of everyone's Inverness bucket list.
After a quick trip to Tescos ( I think this is the UK equivalent of Walmart) we took the high road home and it was spectacular! So many incredible colours and images; wild bucks grazing, delicate waterfalls on the side of the road, heather covered moors and wispy smoke tendrils from the stone cottages that dot the landscape. After our visit to Culloden it was great to see this wild part of the Highlands where you can easily imagine the surviving Jacobites fleeing from the Redcoats. It's this part of the country that Bonnie Prince Charlie would have traversed on his escape to Skye. Given the failing light and one lane mountain roads, we probably should have driven his road in the morning but the blind turns and hidden dips in the twilight added a sense of adventure to the day!
Inverness.
My love affair with Diana Gabaldon's 'Outlander' series and Geoff's desire to spot the Loch Ness monster were the impetus for a day trip north to Inverness.
There are two ways to get to there from Kyle of Lochalsh. We took the low road this morning. It was fine enough when we left the cottage but by the time we got to Loch Ness it was freezing cold and raining so a planned trip to Urquhart Castle was abandoned. Loch Ness is much longer and larger than I had imagined and probably the least attractive of all the magnificent waterways we've seen in the last 3 days. Its deepest point is 230 metres and it holds more water than all the other lochs and rivers in England and Scotland combined. Any romantic notions we had about 'Nessie' were squashed at the Loch Ness Centre. Here we saw all the scientific proof we needed to assure us that there was never anything unusual about the loch except perhaps for the world's gullibility in listening to the rumours. All power though to the early shysters who initiated this myth because the businesses around the loch are still thriving on the hoax to this very day! The Loch Ness Centre wasn't terribly expensive and just as well. I struggled to stay awake through the series of audio visual displays (complete with very unlifelike mannequins dressed in 70s fashion) showing all the ways the monster myth has been disproved. Luckily the extreme cold in display the rooms kept me from nodding off.
In Inverness we stopped briefly for a wander through the Victoria Market (a wee bit different to the one at home!) and a bite to eat. I had a bridie. I'm not at all sure what was in it but it tasted like a pie in a pastie shape. The people in Inverness looked a bit sombre and I wondered why Claire and Frank ( Outlander reference) ever went there in the first place!
Our next stop was the Culloden Battlefields. This attraction did live up to its reputation and was well worth the admission. A series of interactive displays detailed the background of conflict leading up to the battle of Culloden and then a big screen surround sound re enactment allows you to get an idea of how the battle played out. The guides were very helpful and knowledgeable and Taine and Geoff enjoyed playing with the weapons.
After you visit the centre its possible to walk on the actual battlefield. Wearing audio headphones describing the different parts of the moor, you get a real feel for the plight of the Jacobites. It's remarkable to think of all the lives lost in this short battle, many of them buried in mass clan graves on the site.
From Culloden we followed up another Outlander reference, visiting the Clava Cairns, a set of standing stones just outside Inverness. The sense of history in this place is undeniable. I don't know who built the cairns; who, what or how they worshipped but the atmosphere is overwhelmingly spiritual. It's hard to make sense of your place in the universe when you consider that the people who are buried here lived 2000 years BC. The precision of the stone placement ( let alone the technology needed to transport the stones) is bewildering but empowering at the same time. When we looked online tonight we noted that the Clava Cairns barely rate a mention on travel reviews of the area. For me, it was a highlight and should be at the top of everyone's Inverness bucket list.
After a quick trip to Tescos ( I think this is the UK equivalent of Walmart) we took the high road home and it was spectacular! So many incredible colours and images; wild bucks grazing, delicate waterfalls on the side of the road, heather covered moors and wispy smoke tendrils from the stone cottages that dot the landscape. After our visit to Culloden it was great to see this wild part of the Highlands where you can easily imagine the surviving Jacobites fleeing from the Redcoats. It's this part of the country that Bonnie Prince Charlie would have traversed on his escape to Skye. Given the failing light and one lane mountain roads, we probably should have driven his road in the morning but the blind turns and hidden dips in the twilight added a sense of adventure to the day!
Mar 24th, 2015, 02:31 PM
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A glimpse of morning sunshine helped Skye to put on her pretty face for us today and so we were encouraged to travel further than we had on 'everything's closed' Sunday.
Beyond Broadford, Skye is a postcard of rugged mountains, sheer cliffs, sweeping valleys and sea views. There are stone walls and bridges everywhere. All the houses are white washed with grey slate or occasionally, thatched roofs and further down the island you can see the remains of the crofter's cottages that were destroyed by the English hundreds of years ago. Seriously, it is impossible to describe how pretty it is. It's no wonder Bonnie Prince Charlie chose it as his refuge after Culloden.
We drove the length of the island, from Kyleaken to Portree, to Uig and back. It was 240 km all up but these are Highland miles where 1mile = about 20 Australian km, so it took us 4 hrs.
Our first stop was Portree, a bustling little seaport with some fascinating shops and a harbourside full of history. We bought some hand knitted beanies from the local craft market being held in the hall. I loved the sign that said it was open from 9am till 5 or 'thereabouts'.
We were glad of the beanies when we got to the Old Man of Storr. Most people come to this area to go walking. This was not our reason for choosing the area but after seeing all the guide books it seemed important that we do at least one. The walks are graded A+ through to C in terms of difficulty. This one was a B so it seemed reasonable that we could manage it in our runners and street clothes and all the steps in Paris and Switzerland had emboldened me to believe I could manage the 'areas of steep ascent'. We probably should have picked up some clues from the other walkers in the car park who were donning their waterproofs, hiking boots, back packs and nordic walking poles but of course, we are hardy Aussies, not into that sissy stuff!
The first part of the track was manageable enough, albeit a wee bit chilly. My lungs started to seize up at the 4th stile but it wasn't until it started snowing just as we got to the REALLY steep and slippery stone steps that I began to question our wisdom (well, mine anyway. Geoff could scramble up any mountain in his shorts and t shirt!). With great trepidation and visions of lengthy travel insurance claims as a result of my fool hardiness, I soldiered on and felt some satisfaction when we got to the base of the rocky protrusion. It snowed again on the way down as I inched my way along the skinny little path, willing myself not to look down or have a panic attack. I ruined my silver Nikes and my hip flexors are screaming but at least you know you're alive when you go rock climbing in Skye!
It didn't look that far to Uig at the far end of the island so we set off to explore. When you get to the 'back end' of Skye, the road turns into an asphalted goat track. It's hardly wide enough for one car, has no lines and edges that drop off drastically enough to lose a tyre. And while you're watching for oncoming vehicles you also have to be aware of the wandering sheep who have complete freedom to sit in the middle of the road or worse still, roam onto it just as you come around a bend. And then there's the distraction of the magnificent, 360 degree views. Needless to say it took us a long time to get to Uig and we were very hungry from our climbing. We stopped at a cafe called Ella's on the Uig waterfront, another quaint establishment that had racks of second hand clothes for sale and really dreadful 50s music blasting. I tried another Scottish sounding menu item, the crawdie. It was a cheese, pesto and tomato sandwich! Geoff had veggie soup and Taine had chocolate cake. My trained Thermomix eye recognised both their dishes!
From Uig we went to Dunvegan. I had really wanted to see the castle there but guess what? Closed till Easter. From Dunvegan the road returns to a more modern form and it didn't take long to get back to the Skye Bridge and our welcoming little cottage.
Beyond Broadford, Skye is a postcard of rugged mountains, sheer cliffs, sweeping valleys and sea views. There are stone walls and bridges everywhere. All the houses are white washed with grey slate or occasionally, thatched roofs and further down the island you can see the remains of the crofter's cottages that were destroyed by the English hundreds of years ago. Seriously, it is impossible to describe how pretty it is. It's no wonder Bonnie Prince Charlie chose it as his refuge after Culloden.
We drove the length of the island, from Kyleaken to Portree, to Uig and back. It was 240 km all up but these are Highland miles where 1mile = about 20 Australian km, so it took us 4 hrs.
Our first stop was Portree, a bustling little seaport with some fascinating shops and a harbourside full of history. We bought some hand knitted beanies from the local craft market being held in the hall. I loved the sign that said it was open from 9am till 5 or 'thereabouts'.
We were glad of the beanies when we got to the Old Man of Storr. Most people come to this area to go walking. This was not our reason for choosing the area but after seeing all the guide books it seemed important that we do at least one. The walks are graded A+ through to C in terms of difficulty. This one was a B so it seemed reasonable that we could manage it in our runners and street clothes and all the steps in Paris and Switzerland had emboldened me to believe I could manage the 'areas of steep ascent'. We probably should have picked up some clues from the other walkers in the car park who were donning their waterproofs, hiking boots, back packs and nordic walking poles but of course, we are hardy Aussies, not into that sissy stuff!
The first part of the track was manageable enough, albeit a wee bit chilly. My lungs started to seize up at the 4th stile but it wasn't until it started snowing just as we got to the REALLY steep and slippery stone steps that I began to question our wisdom (well, mine anyway. Geoff could scramble up any mountain in his shorts and t shirt!). With great trepidation and visions of lengthy travel insurance claims as a result of my fool hardiness, I soldiered on and felt some satisfaction when we got to the base of the rocky protrusion. It snowed again on the way down as I inched my way along the skinny little path, willing myself not to look down or have a panic attack. I ruined my silver Nikes and my hip flexors are screaming but at least you know you're alive when you go rock climbing in Skye!
It didn't look that far to Uig at the far end of the island so we set off to explore. When you get to the 'back end' of Skye, the road turns into an asphalted goat track. It's hardly wide enough for one car, has no lines and edges that drop off drastically enough to lose a tyre. And while you're watching for oncoming vehicles you also have to be aware of the wandering sheep who have complete freedom to sit in the middle of the road or worse still, roam onto it just as you come around a bend. And then there's the distraction of the magnificent, 360 degree views. Needless to say it took us a long time to get to Uig and we were very hungry from our climbing. We stopped at a cafe called Ella's on the Uig waterfront, another quaint establishment that had racks of second hand clothes for sale and really dreadful 50s music blasting. I tried another Scottish sounding menu item, the crawdie. It was a cheese, pesto and tomato sandwich! Geoff had veggie soup and Taine had chocolate cake. My trained Thermomix eye recognised both their dishes!
From Uig we went to Dunvegan. I had really wanted to see the castle there but guess what? Closed till Easter. From Dunvegan the road returns to a more modern form and it didn't take long to get back to the Skye Bridge and our welcoming little cottage.
Mar 25th, 2015, 01:17 AM
#64
Wonderful descriptions (should have gone to Orkney for the food) BTW
" Tescos ( I think this is the UK equivalent of Walmart)" no, in MHO, the sequence in the UK is, in terms of poshness (read price) of supermarkets
Booths
Waitrose
M&S
Tescos
Sainsburys
Morrisons
Asda==== the level of Walmart
Coop
Spar
Farmfoods
Budgens
Lidl
Aldi
" Tescos ( I think this is the UK equivalent of Walmart)" no, in MHO, the sequence in the UK is, in terms of poshness (read price) of supermarkets
Booths
Waitrose
M&S
Tescos
Sainsburys
Morrisons
Asda==== the level of Walmart
Coop
Spar
Farmfoods
Budgens
Lidl
Aldi
Mar 25th, 2015, 01:19 AM
#65
I went to Isreal once and in a national park found routes A,B and C. Thought how hard could B be? Found myself, in trainers climbing a vertical cliff followed by a traverse. Well done for braving the snow. 
Mar 25th, 2015, 01:42 AM
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By gum, those fiendish English, knocking down cottages. It's more likely to have been MacLeod
Of MacLeod
Or rather, his factors on his orders. The odd one might have been Lowland or even English.
Alternatively, the owner of the cottage might have preferred to move to a nice wee bungalow with central heating
Of MacLeod
Or rather, his factors on his orders. The odd one might have been Lowland or even English.
Alternatively, the owner of the cottage might have preferred to move to a nice wee bungalow with central heating
Mar 26th, 2015, 12:33 PM
#67
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Thanks for the supermarket listing bilbo I only compared Tescos with Walmart because it seemed to be a shop with everything in it. I loved Walmart when we were in America. So far we've shopped at Tescos, Spar, M & S and Coop. They all seem expensive to us because our dollar is bloody terrible against the pound. I'm trying hard not to think of the conversion rate so it doesn't spoil our holiday. Spend now, worry later ;-)
Josser- just quoting from my guide book. Pretty sure if I lived way up there I'd be heading south to the sunshine asap but the museums in the Highlands do tell a fairly bitter tale of the 'clearings'.
Heading South
We were a bit sad to leave our little cottage at Balmacara yesterday. It was been nice to have a 'home' base with a washing machine and good wifi and Ardview Cottage was a perfect fit for us.
As on the day we arrived, the sun shine was brilliant, even though the temperature wasn't far above freezing. Knowing the road a bit better meant we could enjoy the scenery more on our way back toward Spean Bridge. It really is spectacular.
The Highlanders are working hard to save the Gaelic language. Every sign is written with both Gaelic and English and we've tried (in vain) to get our tongues around some of the words.
Just before we turned off towards Glasgow, were passing a pub on the side of the road when a couple of deer started to wander across the road in front of us. Thankfully we missed hitting them and then when we got out of the car the 2 were joined by several more who are obviously used to the passing traffic because they were quite eager to see if we had anything to feed them.
Fort William is another 'Outlander' reference point for me so we stopped there for a quick look. The fort is long gone but there are lots of lovely old buildings to look at in the main street. Taine bought himself a tam o' shanter that will provide a colourful addition to the dress up box when we get home and we went for a quick peek in the free entry museum. There were a lot of Bonnie Prince Charlie artefacts and after our visit to Culloden a lot of the Jacobite history made sense to us.
We traveled on down beside the bonny bonny banks of Loch Lomond and when hunger got the better of us we stopped at a little place called Tyndrum where they claimed to have the best fish and chips in the UK. Since we've had none anywhere else I can't substantiate that claim but the haddock was seriously very good and much better than any battered fish I've had in Australia.
From there we negotiated our way through the late afternoon traffic into Glasgow. There are clearly a couple of local rules we weren't aware of because we nearly got cleaned up a couple of times and the looks from some of our fellow motorists were withering. Thankfully we were on the right side of the city for our Premier Inn ( definitely the UK La Quinta alternative). It's probably not fair to judge a city on a less than 24 hr visit but a couple of things stood out in Glasgow.
1. All the Glasweigans we spoke to (about 5) were very friendly and helpful.
2. Glasgow is filthy. There is rubbish everywhere, on the sides of the roads, in the gutters, hanging from the brambles. It's pretty disgusting and we weren't sorry we couldn't stay longer.
Edinburgh is just a short hop down the highway and we booked another Premier Inn there so we could park the car and walk to Edinburgh Castle. This is the mother (or should that be father?) of all castles! The entrance fee is in proportion to its size but it was definitely worth the visit. It was freezing cold on the battlements but there was still a sizeable crowd. I think it must be madness in the high season. The architecture of the castle is splendid with the walls an extension of the cliff face its built into. From the ramparts you can look out across the city. It's quite beautiful. There's a good few hours of viewing involved in a visit to Edinburgh Castle so it filled in most of the day. Afterwards we walked the 'golden mile' and did a bit of snooping in the souvenir shops but the exchange rate is severely curtailing our souvenir spending. This is probably a good thing. Those magnets always seem such a good idea until you get home and I'm pretty sure tartan isn't a fashion statement in Mortlake!
Tonight we ate at the hotel on their meal deal - twenty pounds for two courses and a drink for dinner + all you can eat for breakfast. This was a good decision. The food was fresh and delicious and an all you can eat breakfast means Taine will survive a few hours in the car tomorrow.
I only compared Tescos with Walmart because it seemed to be a shop with everything in it. I loved Walmart when we were in America. So far we've shopped at Tescos, Spar, M & S and Coop. They all seem expensive to us because our dollar is bloody terrible against the pound. I'm trying hard not to think of the conversion rate so it doesn't spoil our holiday. Spend now, worry later ;-)Josser- just quoting from my guide book. Pretty sure if I lived way up there I'd be heading south to the sunshine asap but the museums in the Highlands do tell a fairly bitter tale of the 'clearings'.
Heading South
We were a bit sad to leave our little cottage at Balmacara yesterday. It was been nice to have a 'home' base with a washing machine and good wifi and Ardview Cottage was a perfect fit for us.
As on the day we arrived, the sun shine was brilliant, even though the temperature wasn't far above freezing. Knowing the road a bit better meant we could enjoy the scenery more on our way back toward Spean Bridge. It really is spectacular.
The Highlanders are working hard to save the Gaelic language. Every sign is written with both Gaelic and English and we've tried (in vain) to get our tongues around some of the words.
Just before we turned off towards Glasgow, were passing a pub on the side of the road when a couple of deer started to wander across the road in front of us. Thankfully we missed hitting them and then when we got out of the car the 2 were joined by several more who are obviously used to the passing traffic because they were quite eager to see if we had anything to feed them.
Fort William is another 'Outlander' reference point for me so we stopped there for a quick look. The fort is long gone but there are lots of lovely old buildings to look at in the main street. Taine bought himself a tam o' shanter that will provide a colourful addition to the dress up box when we get home and we went for a quick peek in the free entry museum. There were a lot of Bonnie Prince Charlie artefacts and after our visit to Culloden a lot of the Jacobite history made sense to us.
We traveled on down beside the bonny bonny banks of Loch Lomond and when hunger got the better of us we stopped at a little place called Tyndrum where they claimed to have the best fish and chips in the UK. Since we've had none anywhere else I can't substantiate that claim but the haddock was seriously very good and much better than any battered fish I've had in Australia.
From there we negotiated our way through the late afternoon traffic into Glasgow. There are clearly a couple of local rules we weren't aware of because we nearly got cleaned up a couple of times and the looks from some of our fellow motorists were withering. Thankfully we were on the right side of the city for our Premier Inn ( definitely the UK La Quinta alternative). It's probably not fair to judge a city on a less than 24 hr visit but a couple of things stood out in Glasgow.
1. All the Glasweigans we spoke to (about 5) were very friendly and helpful.
2. Glasgow is filthy. There is rubbish everywhere, on the sides of the roads, in the gutters, hanging from the brambles. It's pretty disgusting and we weren't sorry we couldn't stay longer.
Edinburgh is just a short hop down the highway and we booked another Premier Inn there so we could park the car and walk to Edinburgh Castle. This is the mother (or should that be father?) of all castles! The entrance fee is in proportion to its size but it was definitely worth the visit. It was freezing cold on the battlements but there was still a sizeable crowd. I think it must be madness in the high season. The architecture of the castle is splendid with the walls an extension of the cliff face its built into. From the ramparts you can look out across the city. It's quite beautiful. There's a good few hours of viewing involved in a visit to Edinburgh Castle so it filled in most of the day. Afterwards we walked the 'golden mile' and did a bit of snooping in the souvenir shops but the exchange rate is severely curtailing our souvenir spending. This is probably a good thing. Those magnets always seem such a good idea until you get home and I'm pretty sure tartan isn't a fashion statement in Mortlake!
Tonight we ate at the hotel on their meal deal - twenty pounds for two courses and a drink for dinner + all you can eat for breakfast. This was a good decision. The food was fresh and delicious and an all you can eat breakfast means Taine will survive a few hours in the car tomorrow.
Mar 27th, 2015, 12:25 AM
#69
Mrs Bilbo did her second degree at Glasgow and I did a secondment there years ago, sad to that the rubbish still hasn't been picked up. Glasgow's motorway also has an entry ramp on the fast lane which you might have met.
PremierTInns are pretty good and the food filling and plentiful, I use them when I can.
The Scots and their history... as my old dad used to say, "very balanced, a chip on each shoulder" (ducks for cover)
PremierTInns are pretty good and the food filling and plentiful, I use them when I can.
The Scots and their history... as my old dad used to say, "very balanced, a chip on each shoulder"
(ducks for cover)
Mar 29th, 2015, 11:35 AM
#70
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Freezing cold in Thirsk, posting outside the info centre - free wifi!
South of Edinburgh in the Scottish Borders country, you could easily be fooled into thinking we were back at home. The rolling hills and farmland are very reminiscent of the drive to from Mortlake to Casterton, even the place names sound familiar; Newtown and Coldstream and signs to Darlington! Through this area they even have cyprus windbreaks tinged with the same rust disease that’s killing ours at home.
We stopped briefly to take an obligatory border crossing photo. There’s no fanfare at the English border, not even a flag. There is one on the Scottish side though so we drove round and went back through again. Now we can say we’ve been to Scotland twice!
We drove off course a bit to look at the remains of Hadrian’s Wall. How amazing to eye ball a structure that was built by the Romans! And then, because we were so close we stopped in Hexham. What a picturesque town this is in England, a far cry from the deserted namesake hamlet of ours. There was a market on so we bought some bread and visited the abbey. Its just beautiful and we could only wonder at what the Duke would have thought about the Australian Hexham if he could see it 200 years down the track.
Beyond Hexham the stone walls give way to hedgerows as you enter Yorkshire and County Durham. With the Yorkshire Dales on one side and the Yorkshire Moors on the other, we arrived in our home for the next 5 nights, Thirsk
Thirsk is a quaint old market town with a big market square in the middle. This is boundaried by lovely old shops but the road that runs through the square is very busy so you have to be careful not to gawp too much at at the olde worlde surroundings in case you get hit by a modern day car!
We’re staying in a mews by the river in Duck Cottage. It’s as cute as pie and so named because of the ducks that frequent the banks of the river behind us. The cottage is only metres from the centre of town so it feels like we’ll have a very authentic ‘village’ experience.
On Saturday morning we walked straight out our mew’s gate onto the footpath and into the market square. We bought some delectable goodies from the bakery (the food has got much tastier since we crossed the border!) and some meat from the butcher, where every cut of meat is labeled with the name of the farm it came from.
You don’t have to drive far in Yorkshire to come across another quaint little village. In the course of a 20 km drive out and about from Thirsk we came across at least a dozen of them. One was Pickhill and the local school were having their fete so we dropped in to have a sticky beak. Its a little two room primary and the principal told us she has 34 kids in her 3-6 class. It’s always good to get some perspective about your own working conditions. We did our collegiate bit to support the school by donating a pound to all the raffles and Geoff and Taine both took a turn at holding one of the giant owls they had on display.
We also dropped in at Masham, another market town. There wasn’t much of a market (in fact it reminded us very much of our own market square stalls) but Taine bought some hematite from the gem shop and the man who was running it was quite knowledgeable about the stones and even had his own olivine bomb.
Thirsk is home to James Herriot, author of the ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ series of stories and subject of the long running TV series of the same name. Geoff and I are both fans of the stories so it was fun to discover that there is a James Herriot World in Thirsk, a cross between a museum and tourist attraction, in the actual house from which James Herriot (really Alf Wight) lived and practised. It’s a real ‘hands on’ attraction with each room lovingly restored to its 1940 -50s style. It was like being transported back into my Nanna’s house. They also have sets from the TV series and a startling array of horrendous looking veterinary surgical implements.
Our UK vodaphone sims don’t work in Thirsk and there is no internet access at the cottage. This is proving a challenge for 3 ‘always on’ travelers. The first night I read an entire book. Last night , much to the amusement of the local church neighbourhood watch, we walked down to the information centre to hook into their wifi to check our emails and plot the next few days on Google Maps.
My family on my dad’s side, the Hinchcliffs, originated from Yorkshire. William Hinchcliff’s death notice states that he was previously of Horsfall House in Holmfirth so we took a drive down the A1 today to check it out. I had done some homework before we left home and printed off the address for Horsfall House. Unfortunately, somewhere in our travels, I managed to lose the folder of ‘interesting things to do’ and of course we have no internet access so disappointingly we couldn’t find the house itself but we did find the town and had a wander around. Holmfirth is built into a hill with some very steep streets , including a ‘top’ and ‘bottom’ main street. Taine thought the sign to the ‘bottom shops’ was hysterical. It rained all morning making the place look a bit dour but most of the architecture looks to date back into at least the 1800s so a lot of it would have been around when William and Elizabeth and their children left for Australia. The sense of walking where they must have once walked was pretty special. We found some standing tombstones near the bridge, 2 of which referred to different Hinchcliffs and the name was quite prevalent, in lots of spelling variations, throughout the town. This in itself was quite exciting for me because Hinchcliffs are now few and far between where I come from.
From the Holme Valley we drove south again to York. We’d been warned about trying to park in York and advised to take the park and drive bus service. Unfortunately we blinked at the turn out for the bus and found ourselves smack in the middle of the castle area. Luckily it was Sunday so parking wasn’t too hard to find and we saved ourselves from having to wait for the bus. York is history overload and I found myself wishing one of our history teacher friends was with us to upskill us while we walked. The best we could do was recite ‘the Grand Old Duke of York and mutter vague mentions about Richard the 111. Hopefully the visit will have piqued Taine’s interest enough for him to research the real history of York for himself. We climbed the steps of Clifford’s Tower and paid the, (as steep as the steps), 22 pound to get in. This gave us a brilliant view over York with its stone enclosing wall and the beautiful Minster. A wander through town unearthed more quaint, fairy tale, cobbled streets, similar to the ones we saw in Switzerland, with higgledy piggeldy roof lines and bowed walls.
We made it as far as the York Minster in the icy wind but the entry fee of 15 pound ($30) per adult was too steep for us, especially since we’ve recently walked through Notre Dame for free.
Time to get home to the warmth of our little cottage and a home cooked Sunday roast.
South of Edinburgh in the Scottish Borders country, you could easily be fooled into thinking we were back at home. The rolling hills and farmland are very reminiscent of the drive to from Mortlake to Casterton, even the place names sound familiar; Newtown and Coldstream and signs to Darlington! Through this area they even have cyprus windbreaks tinged with the same rust disease that’s killing ours at home.
We stopped briefly to take an obligatory border crossing photo. There’s no fanfare at the English border, not even a flag. There is one on the Scottish side though so we drove round and went back through again. Now we can say we’ve been to Scotland twice!
We drove off course a bit to look at the remains of Hadrian’s Wall. How amazing to eye ball a structure that was built by the Romans! And then, because we were so close we stopped in Hexham. What a picturesque town this is in England, a far cry from the deserted namesake hamlet of ours. There was a market on so we bought some bread and visited the abbey. Its just beautiful and we could only wonder at what the Duke would have thought about the Australian Hexham if he could see it 200 years down the track.
Beyond Hexham the stone walls give way to hedgerows as you enter Yorkshire and County Durham. With the Yorkshire Dales on one side and the Yorkshire Moors on the other, we arrived in our home for the next 5 nights, Thirsk
Thirsk is a quaint old market town with a big market square in the middle. This is boundaried by lovely old shops but the road that runs through the square is very busy so you have to be careful not to gawp too much at at the olde worlde surroundings in case you get hit by a modern day car!
We’re staying in a mews by the river in Duck Cottage. It’s as cute as pie and so named because of the ducks that frequent the banks of the river behind us. The cottage is only metres from the centre of town so it feels like we’ll have a very authentic ‘village’ experience.
On Saturday morning we walked straight out our mew’s gate onto the footpath and into the market square. We bought some delectable goodies from the bakery (the food has got much tastier since we crossed the border!) and some meat from the butcher, where every cut of meat is labeled with the name of the farm it came from.
You don’t have to drive far in Yorkshire to come across another quaint little village. In the course of a 20 km drive out and about from Thirsk we came across at least a dozen of them. One was Pickhill and the local school were having their fete so we dropped in to have a sticky beak. Its a little two room primary and the principal told us she has 34 kids in her 3-6 class. It’s always good to get some perspective about your own working conditions. We did our collegiate bit to support the school by donating a pound to all the raffles and Geoff and Taine both took a turn at holding one of the giant owls they had on display.
We also dropped in at Masham, another market town. There wasn’t much of a market (in fact it reminded us very much of our own market square stalls) but Taine bought some hematite from the gem shop and the man who was running it was quite knowledgeable about the stones and even had his own olivine bomb.
Thirsk is home to James Herriot, author of the ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ series of stories and subject of the long running TV series of the same name. Geoff and I are both fans of the stories so it was fun to discover that there is a James Herriot World in Thirsk, a cross between a museum and tourist attraction, in the actual house from which James Herriot (really Alf Wight) lived and practised. It’s a real ‘hands on’ attraction with each room lovingly restored to its 1940 -50s style. It was like being transported back into my Nanna’s house. They also have sets from the TV series and a startling array of horrendous looking veterinary surgical implements.
Our UK vodaphone sims don’t work in Thirsk and there is no internet access at the cottage. This is proving a challenge for 3 ‘always on’ travelers. The first night I read an entire book. Last night , much to the amusement of the local church neighbourhood watch, we walked down to the information centre to hook into their wifi to check our emails and plot the next few days on Google Maps.
My family on my dad’s side, the Hinchcliffs, originated from Yorkshire. William Hinchcliff’s death notice states that he was previously of Horsfall House in Holmfirth so we took a drive down the A1 today to check it out. I had done some homework before we left home and printed off the address for Horsfall House. Unfortunately, somewhere in our travels, I managed to lose the folder of ‘interesting things to do’ and of course we have no internet access so disappointingly we couldn’t find the house itself but we did find the town and had a wander around. Holmfirth is built into a hill with some very steep streets , including a ‘top’ and ‘bottom’ main street. Taine thought the sign to the ‘bottom shops’ was hysterical. It rained all morning making the place look a bit dour but most of the architecture looks to date back into at least the 1800s so a lot of it would have been around when William and Elizabeth and their children left for Australia. The sense of walking where they must have once walked was pretty special. We found some standing tombstones near the bridge, 2 of which referred to different Hinchcliffs and the name was quite prevalent, in lots of spelling variations, throughout the town. This in itself was quite exciting for me because Hinchcliffs are now few and far between where I come from.
From the Holme Valley we drove south again to York. We’d been warned about trying to park in York and advised to take the park and drive bus service. Unfortunately we blinked at the turn out for the bus and found ourselves smack in the middle of the castle area. Luckily it was Sunday so parking wasn’t too hard to find and we saved ourselves from having to wait for the bus. York is history overload and I found myself wishing one of our history teacher friends was with us to upskill us while we walked. The best we could do was recite ‘the Grand Old Duke of York and mutter vague mentions about Richard the 111. Hopefully the visit will have piqued Taine’s interest enough for him to research the real history of York for himself. We climbed the steps of Clifford’s Tower and paid the, (as steep as the steps), 22 pound to get in. This gave us a brilliant view over York with its stone enclosing wall and the beautiful Minster. A wander through town unearthed more quaint, fairy tale, cobbled streets, similar to the ones we saw in Switzerland, with higgledy piggeldy roof lines and bowed walls.
We made it as far as the York Minster in the icy wind but the entry fee of 15 pound ($30) per adult was too steep for us, especially since we’ve recently walked through Notre Dame for free.
Time to get home to the warmth of our little cottage and a home cooked Sunday roast.
Mar 31st, 2015, 04:21 PM
#71
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Still following along with interest.
If you are still in York try the York Castle Museum. It is quite fascinating with a real Victorian street too.
The York Minster is marvelous. It is different from Notre Dame and well worth a look inside if you can. Also city guides offer tours of York which explain the history rather well.
If you are still in York try the York Castle Museum. It is quite fascinating with a real Victorian street too.
The York Minster is marvelous. It is different from Notre Dame and well worth a look inside if you can. Also city guides offer tours of York which explain the history rather well.
Apr 1st, 2015, 08:58 AM
#74
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Ah well, nevermind. The view from the tower helped orient us and there was a really long queue at the cathedral. We only had a couple of hours in York but it was a nice 'taster'.
We're heading for London now. We have 5 and a half days. Suggestions greatly appreciated.
Yorkshire part 2.
Just as in Scotland, Yorkshire is for walking. There are more brochures in the Info Centre about walks than you can possibly imagine. After our climb in Skye I was a little bit reticent to set off on anything too demanding but the walks from the National Park headquarters looked tame enough and we were keen to see the famed ‘white horse’ of Sutton Bank. The scariest part of this trip was the journey up to the park. The road signs warn of a 25% gradient and that’s certainly what it felt like.
The walk itself was easy enough, (if you didn’t look down the embankment beside the path), but it was bloody cold. The Yorkshire wind is biting. It makes your eyes water and your nose run and it burns your lungs if you try to take in too much at once. I was wearing 5 layers of clothing so by the time we’d covered the 2 miles to the horse I was starting to steam up but my extremities were still freezing. The horse itself was a bit disappointing from the top so we turned around and walked back. A cup of tea and some slice refueled me enough to take another short walk to a spot deemed ‘ the best view in England’. I’m not sure about that. It looked a bit like the view from Mount Shadwell on a clear day, albeit with a few pretty villages included.
From Sutton Bank we ventured a little further to Helmsley, another picturesque Yorkshire village. There were lots of shops selling nothing in particular but we enjoyed looking at the architecture.
On the way home we viewed the white horse from the bottom of the valley, a much more satisfying view.
The next day we followed the same path via Sutton Bank (so I got to go up the scary slope again), through dozens of little villages called, amongst other things, Suttonunderwhitestonecliff, Hutton-le-Hole, Kirbymoorside, Brompton by Sawden, Ugglebarnby and Mole-beneath-the-horsesbackside (yes I made the last on up) to Whitby on the West coast. The wind was blowing a gale again and it was pretty hairy up on top of the moors. This area is very reminiscent of the Desert Road in NZ, desolate and brown but spectacularly beautiful in its own way.
The town of Whitby is absolutely gorgeous. The beach is accessed via many, many steps from the cliff top above and is bordered by some pretty beach boxes that no doubt are very busy in the Summer. There were just a few hardy souls and their dogs today and the sea was wild and treacherous looking. Geoff and Taine played what might be the easiest and most boring mini golf course I’ve ever seen at the top of the steps but the man running it was lovely so I didn’t mind forking out the money so I could listen to his accent.
We stopped to have a look at Captain Cook’s statue but it started to hail so we high tailed it down into the town. The streets of Whitby are clearly ancient, just wide enough to fit one car if you suck your breath in while you drive through and they lead down to a busy harbor port, where the water is as calm as it is crazy on the other side. We watched a lot of families crabbing from the dock and it wasn’t hard to imagine Captain Cook setting sail from here as he went off to claim Australia for the Commonwealth.
Lunch was at Alexander’s fish shop and this was my third (and best yet) experience of British fish and chips. This time I went for cod and it was excellent. There was a sign on the counter apologizing for using beef fat to cook the chips but I couldn’t have been more grateful for the cholesterol laden, hand cut, just like my mum used to make, delicacy. As an added bonus the meal came with a pot of tea (3 cups worth) and bread and butter. We also added some mushy peas because it seemed the thing to do. They were, um, mushy.
Another beautiful view of Whitby can be had from the car park by the abbey. We didn’t go in (we’ve expended our budget for ruined buildings) but we parked and got blown about from the opposite direction for awhile.
Scarborough is just a few miles down the road and going there gave us another chance to annoy Taine with our singing, ‘Are you going to Scarborough Fair?’ There was no sign at all of parsley, sage, rosemary or thyme but there were a remarkable number of penny arcades. We spent half an hour and 5 pounds worth of two penny pieces trying to win a plastic rubric cube in a slot machine. It’s not possible to explain the fun had in this exercise so I won’t try.
By then the afternoon was nearly over so we hightailed it back to Thirsk so Geoff could go for a run before dark while Taine and I fed the ducks by the stream behind our cottage.
We splurged and went to one of the local pubs, The Three Tums for dinner. We may not have won the rubrics cube in Scarborough but it was Steak Night at the Tums so we dined like kings for 22 pound, including a pint of lager each.
We're heading for London now. We have 5 and a half days. Suggestions greatly appreciated.
Yorkshire part 2.
Just as in Scotland, Yorkshire is for walking. There are more brochures in the Info Centre about walks than you can possibly imagine. After our climb in Skye I was a little bit reticent to set off on anything too demanding but the walks from the National Park headquarters looked tame enough and we were keen to see the famed ‘white horse’ of Sutton Bank. The scariest part of this trip was the journey up to the park. The road signs warn of a 25% gradient and that’s certainly what it felt like.
The walk itself was easy enough, (if you didn’t look down the embankment beside the path), but it was bloody cold. The Yorkshire wind is biting. It makes your eyes water and your nose run and it burns your lungs if you try to take in too much at once. I was wearing 5 layers of clothing so by the time we’d covered the 2 miles to the horse I was starting to steam up but my extremities were still freezing. The horse itself was a bit disappointing from the top so we turned around and walked back. A cup of tea and some slice refueled me enough to take another short walk to a spot deemed ‘ the best view in England’. I’m not sure about that. It looked a bit like the view from Mount Shadwell on a clear day, albeit with a few pretty villages included.
From Sutton Bank we ventured a little further to Helmsley, another picturesque Yorkshire village. There were lots of shops selling nothing in particular but we enjoyed looking at the architecture.
On the way home we viewed the white horse from the bottom of the valley, a much more satisfying view.
The next day we followed the same path via Sutton Bank (so I got to go up the scary slope again), through dozens of little villages called, amongst other things, Suttonunderwhitestonecliff, Hutton-le-Hole, Kirbymoorside, Brompton by Sawden, Ugglebarnby and Mole-beneath-the-horsesbackside (yes I made the last on up) to Whitby on the West coast. The wind was blowing a gale again and it was pretty hairy up on top of the moors. This area is very reminiscent of the Desert Road in NZ, desolate and brown but spectacularly beautiful in its own way.
The town of Whitby is absolutely gorgeous. The beach is accessed via many, many steps from the cliff top above and is bordered by some pretty beach boxes that no doubt are very busy in the Summer. There were just a few hardy souls and their dogs today and the sea was wild and treacherous looking. Geoff and Taine played what might be the easiest and most boring mini golf course I’ve ever seen at the top of the steps but the man running it was lovely so I didn’t mind forking out the money so I could listen to his accent.
We stopped to have a look at Captain Cook’s statue but it started to hail so we high tailed it down into the town. The streets of Whitby are clearly ancient, just wide enough to fit one car if you suck your breath in while you drive through and they lead down to a busy harbor port, where the water is as calm as it is crazy on the other side. We watched a lot of families crabbing from the dock and it wasn’t hard to imagine Captain Cook setting sail from here as he went off to claim Australia for the Commonwealth.
Lunch was at Alexander’s fish shop and this was my third (and best yet) experience of British fish and chips. This time I went for cod and it was excellent. There was a sign on the counter apologizing for using beef fat to cook the chips but I couldn’t have been more grateful for the cholesterol laden, hand cut, just like my mum used to make, delicacy. As an added bonus the meal came with a pot of tea (3 cups worth) and bread and butter. We also added some mushy peas because it seemed the thing to do. They were, um, mushy.
Another beautiful view of Whitby can be had from the car park by the abbey. We didn’t go in (we’ve expended our budget for ruined buildings) but we parked and got blown about from the opposite direction for awhile.
Scarborough is just a few miles down the road and going there gave us another chance to annoy Taine with our singing, ‘Are you going to Scarborough Fair?’ There was no sign at all of parsley, sage, rosemary or thyme but there were a remarkable number of penny arcades. We spent half an hour and 5 pounds worth of two penny pieces trying to win a plastic rubric cube in a slot machine. It’s not possible to explain the fun had in this exercise so I won’t try.
By then the afternoon was nearly over so we hightailed it back to Thirsk so Geoff could go for a run before dark while Taine and I fed the ducks by the stream behind our cottage.
We splurged and went to one of the local pubs, The Three Tums for dinner. We may not have won the rubrics cube in Scarborough but it was Steak Night at the Tums so we dined like kings for 22 pound, including a pint of lager each.
Apr 1st, 2015, 10:56 AM
#75
Holmfirth - tha' don't knor wha' tha's missed, lass. [apologies, all yorkshire people here, I couldn't resist]. 'ast that' no 'eard o' Nora Batty?
http://www.summerwine-holmfirth.co.uk
So glad that the food's got better south of the border. but don't tell Barbara.
http://www.summerwine-holmfirth.co.uk
So glad that the food's got better south of the border. but don't tell Barbara.
Apr 1st, 2015, 12:22 PM
#76
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Ha ha, I can't tell you how much we've enjoyed trying to decipher that accent! Sometimes I've just nodded my head and smiled and hoped that was an appropriate response because I have no idea what's been said!
Apr 1st, 2015, 01:32 PM
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Thanks so much for taking the time to post all this. I've enjoyed the photos so much, too. I'm in awe of your composure in the face of what I would call disaster -- losing that camera on the first day!! I may have turned around and flown home ... I do love my snaps.
My family spent 5 months in Europe last spring and summer -- two parents and an 11-year-old boy -- and your adventures are bringing back some fond memories.
May the good times continue to roll....
My family spent 5 months in Europe last spring and summer -- two parents and an 11-year-old boy -- and your adventures are bringing back some fond memories.
May the good times continue to roll....
Apr 1st, 2015, 04:58 PM
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Ann, The Last of the Summer Wine is one of my husband's favorite programs.
Kwaussie, I adore London. Some of my favorite sites are Westminster Abbey, the British Library, the V&A, and just walking around the Abbey-Houses of Parliament-St. Margaret's-Big Ben-Westminster Bridge-Thames area. The parks are lovely, too, and we love going to the theater.
Kwaussie, I adore London. Some of my favorite sites are Westminster Abbey, the British Library, the V&A, and just walking around the Abbey-Houses of Parliament-St. Margaret's-Big Ben-Westminster Bridge-Thames area. The parks are lovely, too, and we love going to the theater.
Apr 2nd, 2015, 05:48 AM
#80
Ann, The Last of the Summer Wine is one of my husband's favorite programs.>>
we used to watch it but after about 20 years, it got a bit "samey".
but I can see its attractions, and you can always switch on the subtitles, which of course Kwaussie couldn't do IRL.
we used to watch it but after about 20 years, it got a bit "samey".
but I can see its attractions, and you can always switch on the subtitles, which of course Kwaussie couldn't do IRL.
