Monday August 10th – We left Madeley about 9:15am expecting quite a long drive down to Taunton, in Somerset. The motorway was pretty clear all the way down with few delays for construction (unusual here during the summer) and we arrived in excellent time. Our room at the Holiday Inn was ready so we had a relaxing afternoon of reading and snoozing before meeting my friend Judy Summerhayes.

Judy and I have been pen friends since we were 12. We were introduced by my Aunt Ruby (Grandpa Harris’ sister) when she visited Toronto in 1960. She knew of a girl in her church in New Barnet who wanted to write to someone in Canada and since we were about the same age, I was nominated. We corresponded regularly as teenagers and then sporadically since, although always at Christmas. My mom and I attended Judy’s wedding in the early 1970s, George and I visited again in 1979 on our way home from Africa, and we visited in 1997 when we were here with our kids. I think I also visited when I brought my parents and grandparents in the late 1960s but that’s ancient history which neither of us are sure about.

Judy has two grown children and five grandchildren. We were delighted to meet Lance, her significant other, last evening for the first time. We went to a little pub, close to where her folks used to live in Trull, and enjoyed an evening of great conversation and reminiscing. Would you believe Judy still remembers the full address of our house on Albright! We were so busy talking that neither of us thought to take any pictures… that will have to wait until they join us in Canada one day!

Sunday August 9th – Our time in the Lake District having come to an end, we moved on Saturday morning to visit with our friends Steve and Hillary Hurd in Madeley – a small town just south of Manchester. Steve and Hillary taught at the Aga Khan School in Kampala, Uganda with George in the 1970s and have maintained an interest in the country ever since. Hillary is an Entomologist with a particular interest in mosquitoes and malaria. A professor at Keele University, she has worked on many projects that have taken her back to Uganda from time to time. Steve is an economist and university lecturer (teaching teachers). Together with others they support three schools in Uganda, through a charity called the Uganda Humanist Schools Trust. Steve travels to Uganda once or twice a year with other volunteers who support the schools.

Trentham Gardens

We arrived early afternoon and enjoyed a cuppa in the garden before heading out to the Trentham Estate, another property that is being renovated for use as a “destination” spot. The 725 acre site is divided into sections and includes extensive gardens (formal, Italian, woodland), a lake, a monkey forest, shopping areas and lots of experiential/discovery opportunities for the kids. One that intrigued me was a barefoot trail that included surfaces of every kind, including one where you walked knee deep in mud. The kids seemed to love it! On Saturday evenings they provide live concerts and people bring their blankets, tables and chairs, picnics (and rain gear!) to enjoy a variety of shows throughout the year. Tonight’s show was Motown but was sold out. There is also a lovely shopping area full of small craft/clothing stores and cafes. Jenn and I enjoyed a browse while the others patiently waited for us.

Boat cruise

One of fifteen ferries for the children to find

We returned home and everyone enjoyed a brief rest before heading out to the Hand and Trumpet Pub for dinner.

Sunday morning was departure day for Jenn so we were up early to take her to the Manchester airport. When we got back, Steve and Hillary took us on a walking tour of town to see the seniors’ residence and Town Council Hall from which their University of the Third Age (U3A) operates. This is quite an interesting concept which provides opportunities for retirees and semi-retirees to share in interest groups of all types. There are evidently a number of these groups across the UK with the purpose being not for qualification, but just for the sheer joy of discovery. There are some twenty or thirty topics being presented in the Madeley group. Check out their website:Madeleyu3a.

The Bells and the Hurds

Chinese garden

After lunch and a short rest, we headed off to Biddulph Grange Garden, yet another National Trust property. The property includes an amazing Victorian garden which is divided into geographical areas with plants collected from around the world – Italy, Egypt, China, etc. There was also a large dahlia garden which I enjoyed since it’s my new favourite plant. Dinner was at the local Indian food restaurant where we ate ten years ago when we visited last.

We were all so tired when we returned home, it didn’t take long to decide to turn in early. Tomorrow includes more travel…likely the longest drive of our vacation.

Friday August 8th – The Lake District is the home of Beatrix Potter, and there are a number of sites around the area including her childhood home and a discovery centre to visit. Jenn and I decided to pop into town this morning to visit the discovery centre. It’s a child’s paradise with interactive games and 3-D displays of the animals and characters from all her books. It was fun to reminisce about the stories and which were our favourites. Afterwards we stopped at an outdoor store and Jenn bought a purple raincoat – her souvenir from the UK!

After lunch, we headed off to Kendal Golf Club where we had booked a round of golf. The weather cooperated and the views were stunning. You’re not allowed to drive your power carts on the fairway so there was a fair bit of walking and lots of hills to climb. Jenn played a good game (we played best ball) and we shot 95 on a difficult course – one where we often had to ask “Where’s the next flag?” We had no one in front or behind us, which helped us not to feel too stressed. There was a nice dining room at the club and we decided to stay and have the steak dinner for £10 – seemed like a real steal.

Sizergh Castle – notice the stairs

Sizergh Castle – Rockery Garden

Sizergh Castle – the Stumpery

Thursday August 6th – We awoke to yet another rainy day but decided it didn’t really matter that much since we had planned mostly indoor activities for the day. We left in the morning to try again at Sizergh Castle. We were very glad that we made the time and effort to do this tour since it turned out to be an absolutely fantastic time.

Sizergh Castle is now a stately home surrounded by fields owned and operated by the National Trust, but still lived in by the Strickland family who have owned the land (through marriage) since 1170 or thereabouts. Catherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII and a relative of the Strickland family, was thought to have lived here for a time after her first husband died. The main tower was built in the 1300s and various sections have been added over time. The guided tour was informative and there was lots of information about the Strickland family down through the centuries as well as highlights of some of the priceless art treasures on display. Jennifer was intrigued to find out that one of the Strickland men was assigned to Australia and thus there was a lot of memorabilia from Australia.

There are a number of unique features in the house including a room that is owned by the Victoria and Albert museum in London, and is on permanent long-term loan to the castle. The story goes that the V&A museum was building a display of special features from various manor houses at the museum and purchased rooms/furniture from various places and then transported and rebuilt them within the museum. At the turn of the last century there was a push to return the property to their rightful place and so in 1999, the wood paneling from the inlaid room and furnishings were dismantled, transported back to Sizergh and reconstructed within the castle. Since the V&A still owns the display it is just considered to be “on permanent loan” to the castle. Outside the stairway is interesting – they narrow as they rise to make the staircase appear longer than it is. If you want to see the inlaid room, click here Inlaid Room at Sizergh Castle.

We lucked out in that there was also a garden tour shortly after the house tour so we spent 40 minutes with a garden volunteer exploring the beautiful gardens which surround the house. Fortunately, the rain had stopped and the sun came out just in time. Of course there is the obligatory pond, a feature in almost all country gardens here in the UK, but this garden includes an award-winning rock garden – the largest limestone rock garden belonging to the National Trust. It was stunning and with the help of our guide, we came to understand how the rock garden changes through the seasons because of the trees chosen as a backdrop. Part of the National Collection of Hardy Ferns is housed/planted in the rock garden. They also had an extensive kitchen garden and orchard, the produce from which is sold at a small barn on the property. They are also developing a stumpery in the gardens – old tree stumps are turned upside down and ferns, lichen, and other creeping plants are encouraged to grow in the stumps. It’s quite attractive and evidently Prince Charles is a great proponent of stumperys.

We stayed so long that we decided to have lunch at the Sizergh cafe and then head off to Glenridding where we had been invited for dinner. Sun certainly makes a difference and the Cambria Mountains. The vistas were spectacular as we drove north through the pass, along very narrow roads and past fields of sheep. Arriving early, we decided to continue on to Penrith for a little walk and an afternoon pick-me-up. We stopped in a little cafe where I had the best cup of coffee since leaving Toronto!

George and Nancy with Anthea Kaan

We arrived back in Glenridding where we met our hostess, Anthea Kaan, sitting on a stone wall by the highway at the end of her road. We parked the car at the local garage and just walked up the windy road to her house. Anthea is the wife of the late Fred Kaan, a well-known and prolific British hymnwriter. We were introduced to her by our friend Gillian Warson who had the privilege of researching and writing his biography a few years before he was diagnosed with alzheimers. What a delightful visit! The view in the background of the picture is the view from her front room – spectacular, especially as the sun sets and the shadows move across the hills. A retired GP, Anthea is interesting and inquisitive which made for a great evening of conversation. We had intended to leave by 8:30pm to get back while it was still daylight…but didn’t leave until after ten, arriving back in Windermere, in the dark, shortly before 11pm.

We all fell into bed and slept soundly having had a great day in the country and a stimulating visit with a wonderful lady.

Lake Windermere looking north

Wednesday August 5th – It would appear that the Lake District just doesn’t like the Bells. Last time we were here in 1997 it was cold, windy and rainy. This time we have only seen short glimpses of the sun, but at least it isn’t cold and is generally not windy. On Monday we had a restful morning after the busy weekend of wedding and two trips back and forth to Harrogate. We ate lunch in – typical English lunch of sausage rolls, cheese, crackers and fruit – and then did a driving tour around the Lake.

Holiday house anyone?

We first headed south to Lakeland where we caught the ferry to Bowness and return. It took about 40 minutes each way. The sun decided to shine on us for the return trip. The scenery is quite spectacular (lots of green hills and big sky) and the houses/estates along the waterfront provide room for imagination to run wild as to who might own ‘that one’! Some are just pretty English cottages while others are very large estates either privately owned or now operated as a hotel.

Wray Castle

Peter Rabbit’s garden

Yesterday we packed a picnic lunch and headed off to Wray Castle. Built in 1840 as a retirement home for the Dawsons, a Liverpool surgeon and his wealthy heiress wife, it is quite a spectacular building. Part of the National Trust since 1929, it was rented out to the Navy as a signal training centre until 1998. A proposal to develop it as a hotel fell through in the crash of 2011 and a group of locals suggested it be made into a family-friendly tourist attraction. There is some connection with Beatrix Potter and so part of the castle rooms have been converted to include an interactive Peter Rabbit activity centre. Kids can dress up in period costume, plant Peter Rabbit’s garden, watch videos of Peter Rabbit cartoons, etc. In other rooms they’ve installed a pool table, a ping pong table, castle building blocks, pretend stones to build castle walls, and other fun activities. There are graffiti walls in a number of rooms asking for feedback. Outside there is a picnic area with badminton and croquet. It was quite a fun day even though we were too big to participate in many of the activities.

From there we headed off to Sizergh Castle but arrived too late to tour the house. Unfortunately, the times listed in the brochure are incorrect (have been for 2 or 3 years!) so we decided rather than pay to just walk around the garden we’d come back another day. We felt a bit sorry for the lady at the ticket booth since I’m sure we were not the first to point out this discrepancy!

Since it was almost 5pm we decided to just return to Windermere and walk to the local Italian restaurant for dinner. Pizzas were good and salmon fettuccine was also delicious. The evening’s entertainment was watching two shows – one a reality show called Love Your Garden  and the other a BBC documentary about finding the Erebus – the lost ship from the Franklin Expedition – in the Canadian north. It was fun to see CBC personalities speaking on a BBC documentary.

Today (Wednesday) was to be cloudy with sunny periods throughout the day and rain in the morning. They were correct! Our travels today were to Keswick and Cockermouth. It was raining as we passed through Keswick so we decided to carry on and maybe stop on the way back through. A little further on we saw a sign for an ‘Osprey viewing area’. We headed off the highway in search of the osprey. Sure we were lost a number of times, we just kept going and eventually found it. The rain had stopped by this time and the osprey viewing required a hike up a very steep hill, so George and Jenn set off on a hike while I toured the garden at Mirewood across the road. We met up an hour later and enjoyed a picnic lunch followed by warm bumbleberry pie and custard. Love these serendipitous moments!

Wordsworth’s childhood home

Walled garden that was mentioned in some of his poems

On we went to Cockermouth to check out William Wordsworth’s childhood home. (Pictures later – internet is causing problems) Much of the home has been restored to the appropriate 1770 period and the audio guide was very informative telling not only about the house itself, but also the family that lived there. Pity, but common in those times, that both parents were dead by the time Wordsworth was 13 and he and his four siblings were separated and sent off to various relatives. It was while touring the walled garden that Jenn and I commented that it was too hot to be wearing our jackets. The sun had come out and it was a lovely summer day all of a sudden.

We headed back to Keswick and wouldn’t you know…it started raining again. It just isn’t going to happen on this trip but there’s always next time!

We’ve passed Pedro’s, a mexican restaurant, a number of times in the past few days and thought we’d stop there for supper, but the wait was over an hour. The alternate plan was to return home and go to The Little Chippy across the road – fish and chips it was. Our entertainment tonight was watching a BBC documentary on how the national postal service is forcing the closure of small town post offices and moving them into larger businesses (such as convenience stores) since they are no longer able to subsidize them. Funny tv here!

Saturday August 1st – When we woke up on Saturday it was a lovely sunny day, slightly breezy, but warmer than we’ve experienced so far. Jenn Robbins posted on her facebook “a lovely day for a wedding” and it certainly looked that way. We had quite a bit of time before we had to get ready so decided to walk through town, do a bit of shopping, and have a bite of lunch before returning to the hotel. As we sat down for lunch it started raining and didn’t let up until just as the ceremony finished. It then continued with a slight drizzle of and on until later in the evening.

Waiting for the bride to arrive

Weddings are done differently in England but this one was a nice mix of tradition, English customs and Canadian customs. The groom and his father were there to greet us when we walked into the church. Hats and fascinators are definitely normal wedding attire here and there were some beauties! Jenn’s sister, Laura, was the Matron of Honour and James’ brother-in-law was the best man. The flower girl, three-year-old niece of the groom, was absolutely darling as she ‘threw’ the rose petals in the aisle.

Jenn and James

It was an Anglican service and Jenn chose three of the four hymns sung at Will and Kate’s wedding. Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer and Loves Divine all Loves Excelling were fine, but Jerusalem seemed a bit strange to me. Singing wasn’t great but we figured the bride’s side, with many young people, weren’t really church people. We noticed that the attendants don’t have much to do at an English ceremony as they both sat in a front pew until it was time for the ring ceremony. Jenn was quite excited that, since there is no confetti rules at home, she got to have confetti here. Fortunately, it had stopped raining and we were able to oblige!

Look it’s a maple leaf

The reception was also a nice mix of cultures and traditions.  There were canapes and Pims in the downstairs hall while pictures were taken upstairs and then we all moved upstairs to the dining room. The bride’s mother having removed her hat at this point, allowed all the other ladies to remove theirs. The main course was served British-style (meat & potatoes plated and veggies shared from a cast iron pan). The hotel surprised Jenn by putting a stenciled maple leaf on the creme brûlée – nice touch.

After the speeches, George and I left to travel to Windermere. The trip was uneventful and we arrived about 11pm. Fortunately, I travel with a flashlight because we had to extract our key from a lock-box on a very dark street. We were happy though to have a ‘drive-in’ parking spot rather than struggle with parallel parking that late at night.

Windermere Cottage is very old, having been built in 1847, but was completely modernized in 2012. It’s in the upper section of Windermere, away from the busyness of the lake and all the tourists. I think we will enjoy our week here.

Saturday August 1st – It’s been a few quiet days of reading, walking and singing. During the days I mostly stayed close to home walking out for lunch and enjoying the quietness of the B&B to read and catch up on some sleep. On Thursday I walked over to the Botanical Gardens and enjoyed strolling through the flower beds. There’s a whole host of new (to me) plants that I’d like to try in our garden. Lunch at their cafe was a nice experience…especially since it was my favourite English lunch – often called Ploughman’s Lunch it was called the Gardener’s Lunch at the Botanical Gardens.

Pretty in Purple

Tree that grew around a wall

Unique Orchid

Pink Orchid

Selwyn College Chapel

The Hymn Festival on Wednesday night was at a United Reformed (Presbyterian) church in downtown Cambridge. The Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland was in charge of the evening and our friend Gillian Warson was the song leader. We’ll be seeing her later when we go to Bicester. On Thursday night we went to the lovely Selwyn College Chapel to hear an organ recital by a young 20 year-old. He has evidently won a number of international competitions and is considered to be a phenom. Our favourites were a piece by a Norwegian composer that had some very interesting vibrato work in it and an arrangement on the tune Hyfrydol.

Friday was get-away day so I walked into town in the morning to pick up some lunch fixings and then picked George up after the morning session. It was quite a long trip north to Harrogate. Google suggests about three hours but it was closer to five. Traffic on the A1 was quite slow in many spots but there weren’t any accidents. It seems that volume just creates bottlenecks in some places. We arrived just after 5pm and met Jenn in the lobby. She was happy to have company for dinner and the rest of the evening. We went to Betty’s Tea Room and Cafe just across from the Yorkshire Hotel, where we are staying. We celebrated with Brown Bread Ice Cream Sundae! Soooo good!!

We’re looking forward to a walk through town this morning and then the wedding this afternoon. Harrogate is quite a small town and the church is just steps away from our hotel. Fortunately it looks like a lovely sunny warm day – for a change!