Day 167 - 9 Dec '23 - Thurnham. It's amazing how well you sleep, on a comfy bed, in a quiet and dark room, with the heaters on low, and gentle rain outside. Bliss!
It was a struggle to get out of bed today, given the aforementioned conditions, but we were off to the Lakes District for some view-seeing.
"Not that we're going to see much today," Dan said, somewhat cynically.
"Yeah, but the weather said the rain was going to stop around midday."
And it did stop, kind of. It became more of a soak-you-in-seconds drizzle. But that didn't really matter, as 90% of all the views were covered by the low cloud.
We drove to Windermere, and then through the narrow roads filled with stone houses and shops (that looked really beautiful). We parked the car for a few minutes by the lake front, and tried to get the kids to imagine how pretty it would be on a clear day! Dan and I contemplated getting out and going for a walk to a viewpoint I'd found online, but decided there wasn't really any point with the cloud obscuring everything.
So, we turned around and drove back to Thurnham, via a supermarket for lunch and dinner supplies. The countryside was nice to drive through (when we could see it), with gentle rolling hills, and stone walls dividing the fields.
There were lots of snow drifts from last week's cold snap, and a fair bit of flooding everywhere, which wouldn't be good for the farmers this early into winter.
After our lunch, we took the kids to the on-site swimming pool. We needn't have bothered - they were in and out the water in less than five minutes. Apparently, the heated pool (lap pool temperature) wasn't warm enough for them to splash around in, despite our recommendations to swim instead of just stay still.
Back at our rooms, we decided to spend the rest of the day curled up on the couch watching Harry Potter 4. Dan did some work on his computer then fell asleep, and I got up and down to the washing machine multiple times.
The machine was a washer/dryer, and while they are excellent space-savers, my experience of them has firmed my opinion of them as being rubbish. The dryer part takes FOR-EH-VER!! I lost count of the number of times I switched a load of clothes over and turned it back on. Put it this way, I started the washing at 3pm, and it took until 11:30pm for most of it to be dry, with the last lot hanging on a clothes horse in front of a radiator.
Day 168 - 10 Dec '23 - Thurnham to Carlisle. I was glad I'd set the alarm this morning. Well, not glad that it went off, but glad I'd set it, because Dan and I were fast asleep and at 8:30am had no apparent desire to wake up naturally. Once again the room was dark and quiet, and it was raining.
But, pack up and move on, we must. Today we were staying in Carlisle, and planned on going to see the castle when we got there.
Carlisle castle was built over 900 years ago, and is the most seiged castle in the country. It was modified over the centuries, and was used by the Border Regiment of the army until 1959.
Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned here for a while, with her retinue of 30-40 servants, and one of the walls had Elizabeth I crest dated 1577!
The main keep wasn't as big as the Tower of London, and the castle grounds themselves were much smaller and more derelict, but interestingly both Alex and Abi preferred this one! Dan thought that was probably because there wasn't anyone else there and they could run around more. I'm inclined to agree with him.
We also went to the on-site military museum, which was quite interesting. There was an army cadet group there at the same time, and we overheard their sergeant telling his troop that he was on one of the photos on the walls!
Seeing the history of the border regiment from the Boer War to today, really drove home that it's just been battle after battle after battle, war after war after war. Not a very peaceable species, humans.
After the castle, we walked into the city centre to have a look around, and spotted a Helter Skelter!
"Can we have a turn?" asked the kids.
"Yes!" I answered, as I've been pointing out every helter skelter I've seen (but which were all out of reach).
"£3 EACH FOR ONE SLIDE??!!" I yelped when I got to the ticket booth.
"Well, you can't back out now," reasoned Dan, "since you said they could go before you saw the price!"
They both enjoyed their slide, even though they got wet bums from the coir doormats you slide down on.
We bought Alex some new socks, then went to a chocolatier and bought some chocolates (made by the husband of the place we were staying, feeling somewhat obliged once the wife told us).
Our accommodation was a two-bedroomed flat near the city centre, and was quite old. The floors were uneven, the doors would swing open, and the kids' beds were the old strung-wire type of base (that hadn't been tightened any time recently). The biggest surprise was the fact we weren't in control of the heating; we had to ask the owner via messages to turn the heater on to boost!
"It's just for one night!"
All in all, though, it was better value than the motel rooms we were staying in throughout the states. A two-bedroomed house with full kitchen and washing machine, instead of a motel room with two double beds - can't complain too much!
Day 169 - 11 Dec '23 - Carlisle to SCOTLAND, BABY! Woo hoo - back to Scotland today! First stop was Portpatrick, where my dad would take my brother and I for a week's caravanning in our summer holidays. Unfortunately, the campground we used to stay at, was now a permanent caravan campground, that was closed over winter, so we were booked to stay in Stranraer instead.
As we crossed over the border, I wound down the windows.
"Breathe in that beautiful Scottish air!"
"It doesn't smell any different."
"Oh yes it does!"
We carried on to Portpatrick, a tiny wee harbour town on the southwest coast of Scotland. Given that it had been over 30 years since I was last there, I don't think anything had changed.
We had some lunch at a cosy cafe, then walked along the coastline to Dunskey Castle, a 12th century ruin. This was a pathway we would take from our caravan camp into town, to get an icecream and watch the summer activities at the harbour.
The castle was still exactly as it was when my brother Richard and I would explore as kids, going in and out of all the doorways and rooms.
We walked through the campground, which looked nothing like I remembered; it was so much larger, and had become cabins and static caravans, with only a handful of campsites. To be honest, I felt quite sad; I can remember big open fields, and watching the rabbits run around.
We carried on walking down the roads back into town, then drove to Stranraer, where we were staying for the night. The kids and I went to Tesco for our dinner supplies, listening to all the Scottish accents as we wandered the aisles!
We stayed in a caravan camp in a town called Kirkcolm, with loch glimpses. The wind picked up a bit at night, but the heater kept us toasty warm (a heater we were this time in control of!).
Day 170 - 12 Dec '23 - Stranraer to Largs. We'd taken a gamble with last night's accommodation, in that, the reviews were all very positive apart from the bed, which had been complained about but which the owners had said would be replaced. The gamble was if that had happened already or not.
It hadn't.
"Oh my god, we can feel all the springs!"
"It's better when I lie flat," said Dan. "My weight is evenly dispersed."
"I just need to find a space between the springs to put my knees."
"This is horrible."
"If I put my knees here then my entire feet are hanging off the end of the bed, not just my toes, but my entire feet!"
"Well, curl your legs up. Oi! Now my feet are cold! You've pulled the duvet off!"
"But now my ears are covered, so curl your legs up!"
"They just need a mattress topper."
"I saw some blankets in the cupboard there."
"Abi said we should sleep on top of the duvet."
"Well, I guess we could give it a go?"
It turned that the blankets were those small, decorative types, that are smaller than a single bed.
"Ha ha ha ha ha," we laughed, as it clearly wasn't going to work.
"I'm putting mine on the bed and getting back under the duvet," Dan decided.
"Really? You'll get super hot!"
"Yep, feels much nicer."
"Are you sure? It can't be that much softer."
I tried it, and it was a bit less painful, but it was definitely making the bed hot. I abandoned the idea, and resigned myself to having to fit my bits around the spaces between the springs!
What followed was a night of tossing-and-turning for both of us, but it also meant we were awake to hear the 6:15am bin man! Yay!
When we left the campground, we drove slowly along the coast and headed to Ayr, then carried on to Largs. It was raining for most of the day, so none of us were particularly enthused about getting out of the car. Besides, we didn't get too many views due to the low cloud.
After going to the supermarket for our dinner supplies (same thing we do almost every day!), we checked in to our flat for the night, on the main street of Largs and above a chemist.
Hopefully the weather changes tomorrow so we can get out and do something before heading to Glasgow.
Day 171 - 13 Dec '23 - Largs to Glasgow. What a gorgeous day! Blue skies and not a breath of wind. I decided today would be perfect for us to hop on the ferry to the Isle of Cumbrae, and to visit the seaside town of Millport.
The water was like glass - barely a ripple to be seen! I don't know how often it would be like that, but it was remarkable.
The ferry ride was only 10 minutes, and we drove round the coast of the wee island to get to Millport. This is the site of the famous Crocodile Rock, which was painted by a local around 1900. I have postcards of this rock from visiting it as a little girl, so it was pretty awesome to take my own kids there.
It was also rather funny to see Alex slip off the rock into the water... only up to his shins though.
"How on earth did you fall in the water?" I asked.
"I slipped on the rocks near the edge."
"But what were you doing near the edge? There's a huge pathway right to the rock!"
"I wanted to look at it from a different place, and it was slippy."
"Well, that was silly!"
"What should I do?" he asked, somewhat plaintively.
"Go and run your shoes under that tap there," replied Dan. "Make sure you wiggle your toes in your shoes, to slosh the water around."
"Don't forget to rinse your trousers!" I added.
Poor wee man then spent the rest of the day walking around in wet shoes and trackpants. Oh well, his body heat would dry them out. Somewhat.
Alex and I went for a walk along the shop fronts, while Dan and Abigail looked for sea glass amongst the stones and sand. When Alex and I joined them again, they had found quite a lot of white, a number of green, a few brown, and a couple of yellow. Then I found the prized blue piece! Alas, no reds (the creme de la creme of sea glass) to be seen. But I did also find a razor clam shell, with lots of little limpet-like shells on the inside, which Alex was quite excited to see.
We caught the ferry back to the mainland, and after buying some lunch, went to a local playground for the kids to burn off some energy.
It was getting pretty chilly by the time we left at 2:30pm. We were staying with my friend Susan in Newton Mearns, but she wasn't getting home until 6:30pm. So to pass the time, we went to the cinema and watched the new Disney movie, Wish. (Chris Pine does an excellent job of playing the villain).
Finally, it was time to head to my friend's house. It was wonderful to see Susan again; it was like no time had passed at all, even though it been about 19 years since I was last here!
Susan had made some delicious burgers for dinner, and once the kids had gone to bed, we stayed up until tomorrow catching up on everything that had happened!
Day 172 - 14 Dec '23 - Glasgow sightseeing. Susan had graciously given up her bed for us to sleep in, which we had been reluctant to take, not only because she was sick with the cold.
After breakfast, we left Susan to sleep (she had taken the day off to try and get better) and headed into Glasgow.
First stop was Buchanan Galleries, a shopping mall in the city centre. Susan had told us it was getting changed into flats, which I was very surprised at. It was fairly busy when we were there, and it had been there for many years.
We then went for a walk up Sauchiehall Street and back, then on down Buchanan Street. We quickly popped in to Princes Square, a beautiful shopping plaza that opened in the 1840s.
We carried on to St Enoch Square, where there were some Christmas fair rides. There was a giant inflatable snow globe you could have your picture taken in; we watched a group of five grown men inside, and waited to see the full effect of snow billowing around them, but it never happened, so we decided the whole thing wasn't as cool as it could have been.
After that we went to Central Station, a grand old railway station that first opened in 1879. It now has 15 upper level tracks and two lower level ones, and as Alex said "looks like a Harry Potter type of station". (He was rather disappointed with King's Cross in London).
We then walked through Merchant City to St George's Square, which is right in front of the city hall. We walked past the statue of Wellington, who always has a road cone on his head, and this time so did his horse!
St George's Square was filled with Christmas markets and attractions, so the view of the city hall and other monuments was slightly obscured, but it still gave us the opportunity to see the stunning architecture.
After that, we drove to the Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery, a beautifully designed building built from red sandstone and opened in 1901.
We spent a pleasant couple of hours looking at the artifacts and exhibits, some of which we had seen in other museums. We also got some enjoyment out of seeing the taxidermied moose and polar bear, having seen them in a more alive state!
We got back to Newton Mearns shortly before Susan arrived, when she surprised us with a gift voucher for a local restaurant, for Dan and I to go out for a date night!
"You two haven't been alone for six months, so go and have fun and I'll look after the kids," she'd said.
She was very naughty doing that, as we'd planned on making her some dinner, and thought it very unfair for her to have to look after our kids when she was unwell.
"You'll need to put on your dress," Susan told me, "as it's smart casual."
"But I can't wear my dress! It's a summer dress for my cousin's wedding in Mallorca! I don't have a winter dress, and I've only got trainers and trail shoes!"
In the end, my black merino was the only thing I had that looked semi-decent enough to wear to a restaurant. I then had two thoughts:
"Hopefully they don't look at my shoes!"
and
"I really need to buy another jumper."
Our dinner was at a steak restaurant, and we had a lovely three-course meal. My piece of rump was aged 30-days, while Dan treated himself to the 50-day aged filet mignon. I have to say, it was very tender.
Unfortunately, Susan had not had much success with the dinner plans for the kids. The Chinese restaurant she was ordering dinner from, didn't have the same takeaway menu that they did online, and then after an hour or so said they couldn't deliver. Then the next place she went to didn't have anyone there to take an order, despite being open. Finally they got Domino's, and had only just finished by the time we got back to the house about 8:30pm.
The three of us again stayed up late, but this time to 11:45pm - not tomorrow!
Day 173 - 15 Dec '23 - Newton Mearns. We all had a later start to the day, with none of us getting up before 9am. After breakfast, we went to a local shopping mall to find me another jumper.
I hate shopping at the best of times, and shopping when I was a couple of kilos heavier than I was six months ago, was slightly demoralising. Chuck in a current fashion style of wide-armed jumpers so that your arm would flap around in the sleeve, and shortened trunks that didn't even come to my waist, and my trip was doomed to failure.
We left the shops to go to my Auntie Sandra's for lunch; a yummy Scotch broth, and square sausage in Scottish rolls. Mmm-mmm!! Alex and Abi were also spoiled with some sweets and spending money, which was a lovely surprise.
At 3pm we all went to visit my Uncle George, who now lives in a care home. It was very special to get to see him again, and we must have made some kind of impact, as he tried to talk to us quite a few times, which Auntie Sandra said was quite uncommon.
We eventually said our goodbyes, and we took the kids to a nearby street that had been decorated with lots of Christmas lights (apart from one house...there's always one, isn't there?!).
It had started raining, so we didn't get out, and just carried on the supermarket for dinner supplies. We made dinner for Susan, and after the kids had gone to bed, sat up and talked again for a while.
It's been great catching up with her and my aunt and uncle, and sightseeing around Glasgow, but we will have to carry on soon. Hopefully the rest of the people I've been in touch with reply soon!
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