Walking the Sands to Piel Island

Armed with my newly purchased Wellington Boots (sweet aren't they) a group of guys that I work with, at BAE, and I walked out to Piel Island from Walney Island across the sands at low tide. It was a very enjoyable time even though it was overcast and rather windy. After our 1 mile walk that took about 40 min at a nice slow pace we explored the island.

The sand walkers

Piel Island is the site of the ruins of a 14th century warehouse building that is know as Piel Castle. This building was built by Furness Abbey as a store house for goods that were shipped in or ready to be shipped out. The church at the time had a very lucrative smuggling business.

Piel Castle

There are few cottages that are privately owned on the island. These cottages were built in 1875 as housing for harbor pilots that helped guide ships into Barrow harbor.

One of the Cottages on Piel

The only other thing that is on the island is The Ship Inn. This is a pub that caters to the visitors of the Island. Historically the person that operates the pub is know as the "King of Piel". Unfortunately the pub was closed due to the interior being refurbished, but we were able to get a hot drink (served by the king) at the concession they have set up outside the pub. They have a makeshift bar set up as well but it is not really the same as an old time pub would have been.

The Ship Inn

Here are the rest of the pictures.

Living La Vida Lester 2.0

Amanda has headed back home after her first visit and I am going to try to keep the lesteruk blog going in her absence. Not a whole lot has happened since she left but I wanted to at least post something to let you all know that I am going to try to keep up with the blogging.

Stay tuned for some picture and a description of my upcoming walk across the sands to Piel Island. This is a small island that is situated at the tip of Furness Peninsula. At low tide the water completely drains from the bay and it is a short 1 hour walk from Walney (an island connected to Barrow by a bridge) to the island. Once out there I will see some ruins and have a pint or 4 at the only pub on the island.

http://www.pielisland.co.uk

So Long, Farewell...

Well, I'm headed home early tomorrow morning. I am sad to leave Ulverston, as I had such a great time, but I am happy to see my handsome man and the fat one.

I'll be back at some point in August, but bug Kevin until then to keep up with the blog.

One is the loneliest number

The first weekend I was here, Kevin and I set out to hike the first of the 214 Wainwright fells, Coniston Old Man. Just hiking one in three weeks would not set me off on the right path to hike all 214, so I convinced Kevin to drive 1 hour to Keswick to hike Skiddaw, which is the 4th highest peak in England. To give you an idea of how flat England is in comparison to the US, Skiddaw is only 3503'. We cheated a bit and parked in a car park that was up a hill a ways. While I would have been just as fine starting from town. Kevin didn't want to add the extra 2 miles round trip just walking through a town.

The hike started out through a sheep pasture, so you have to be careful to dodge piles of sheep crap. Since I fell last hike, I was very cautious about where I put my feet as I would have probably puked if I fell in sheep poop. Less than 100 yards from the car park was a monument commemorating a family of sheep herders that worked the land for hundreds of years. I didn't get a sense of what happened to them, but my guess would be they slipped in sheep poop and fell down the hill.

The hike is not very challanging. It is 3 miles staight up hill with no real flat parts. However, in Victorian times, the women were unable to hike up here due to their ridiculous clothing, so they had a flat gravel road put in and they took pony carts up to the summit. At one part, there is a divergance from the path where you can veer off and bag another Wainwright, the Skiddaw Little Man, and then continue on towards the summit of Skiddaw. While true Wainwright walkers think that this is cheating and you must climb each fell from ground level, I had no such reservations so Kevin and I set off towards Skiddaw Little Man.

We reached a cairn that we thought was the little man with a cairn up in the distance that we thought was Skiddaw. However, once we continued the hike to the second cairn, we realized the first one was just the Lesser Man (not a Wainwright fell) and the one we were currently at was the little man. Further in the distance was Skiddaw. Once we got up to the cairn, we once again realized we weren't there yet. Since the weather gets so terrible at the top of Skiddaw, the cairn we thought was the summit marker was acutally a cairn in a series of cairns that marked the path to the summit in case visibility was bad.

What? There's two more peaks to climb??? Lesser Man Summit

We still aren't there??? Skiddaw Little Man Summit

We did finally reach the true summit. The view of Derwentwater lake and the surrounding fells was beautiful. In addition, clouds were rolling over the top of the peak and right past us, which I was fascinated by.

If you look closely, you will notice that I used my traditional Amanda face for this picture
Derwentwater Lake. One of those peaks to the left behind the lake is Coniston Old Man

clouds rolling through

The way down was much easier as we just took the direct route down. In addition, we actually remembered snacks so I wasn't quite as dead as I was for Coniston Old Man.

The town of Keswick itself is well known for outdoor gear. If you ever need ANYTHING for camping, hiking, backpacking, climbing, kayaking, etc. you will find it here.

211. 211 fells left. Ahh Ahh Ahh

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A tale of two castles

I have been trying to go to Barnard Castle since I got to England. I was hoping that by visiting Don's ancestral homeland, I would find out that he was in fact the heir to some Barnard family fortune/castle that of course he would share with me since I discovered it. Alas, Barnard castle is now in ruins, awesome ruins, but ruins none the less.

Barnard castle was originally founded under the Normans, but was most prevalent in the 12th century under the rule of Bernard de Bailleu. I was rather disappointed to find out that it was from Bernard that the castle got its name, not from a family of tall sarcastic Barnards. I Edward I gave the castle to the Earl of Warwick in 1300. In the 15th century, the castle became part of the Neville family's holdings. In 1477, the Duke of Gloucester (who would later become Richard III) took possession of the castle in the War of the Roses. The Neville family continued to enlarge and expand the castle over the next two centuries.


























I put Kevin in jail for being handsy. If only I had a dungeon in my house...

However, one of the Nevilles was involved in an uprising against Elizabeth I and the property (along with Raby Castle) was taken away. Raby Castle (located 8 miles away from Barnard Castle) has been the home of Lord Barnard since the 1600's. At last, I had found a way to obtain a fortune (and maybe even a castle ) for me Don. Kevin and I decided to take a drive over there to check it out. Unfortunately, it is closed to visitors on Saturdays, so my quest will have to wait until another time.
Don's summer home?

After we were done at Barnard castle, we decided to visit Auckland Castle and the Deer Shed that they had there. The castle was not that impressive. It currently houses the Bishop of Auckland. What was impressive was the fact that the castle had an ornate stone building built to house deer so that the inhabitants could come and look at them while they ate. The sheer opulence of the nobility constantly amazes me...

Gates of Auckland castle

Deer Shed

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Come on Dover, Move Your Bloomin' Arse

12 th century gate into the city

Originally founded in the 12th century, Cartmel is one of the oldest villages in the Southern Lakes region where Kevin is living. It's characterized by its Priory, narrow streets lined with stone buildings, and the gate into the town, which in its earliest days was the only entrance into the city. Kevin and I decided to take a little trip there this afternoon, as Kevin follows the British schedule involving 1/2 day Fridays.

One of Cartmel's side streets, lined with stone houses. I like the doorways with their climbing flowers the best

The village is just a short drive from Ulverston, but it seems like it is remote. The "main street" consists of three or four pubs, a few shops and some houses. Off the main street are a few residental streets, the Priory and the Racetrack. Once again, the town relates to my favorite King, Henry VIII. At the height of his power, Henry dissolved most of the monastaries and priories in England, taking control of their wealth and assets and leaving the towns that surrounded them with no income or way of supporting themselves. However, the Priory of Cartmel escaped this fate and the town continued to prosper, allowing it to retain the architecture that is present today. The 800 year old Priory is perhaps one of the best preserved Priories in England and was really a treat to see. Don't get me wrong, I love a good pile of rocks that once was some grand building, but it was really rewarding to see the building as it once was. The town was also delightfully quaint. It could serve as a movie set for a middle age period movie. I could almost see Robin Hood hiding out on the outskirts of town, trying to avoid Prince

John, the Sheriff (and Sir Hiss.)

Too late to be known as John the 1st, he's sure to be known as John the Worst!

Cartmel is also home to the Cartmel Village Shop where you can buy some of their famous Sticky Toffee Pudding there. The British have this annoying habit of calling all deserts "pudding" so it makes it hard to figure out what the dessert actually consists of. Sticky toffee pudding is a local specialty that reminds me alot of Bread Pudding. It is a little more rigid in structure, but the consistency and taste are similar. Jaime Oliver has a pretty good recipe that seems pretty straightforward for those of you that like bread pudding type desserts.

Jaime Oliver's Sticky Toffee Pudding

ingredients
225g fresh dates, stoned

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

85g unsalted softened butter

170g caster sugar

2 large free-range eggs

170g self-raising flour

¼ teaspoon ground mixed spice

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons Ovaltine

2 tablespoons natural yoghurtfor the toffee sauce

115g unsalted butter

115g light muscovado sugar

140ml double cream

dessert recipes serves 8
Preheat your oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Put the dates in a bowl with the bicarbonate of soda and cover with 200ml/7fl oz of boiling water. Leave to stand for a couple of minutes to soften, then drain. Whiz the dates in a food processor until you have a purée. Meanwhile, cream your butter and sugar until pale using a wooden spoon, and add the eggs, flour, mixed spice, cinnamon and Ovaltine. Mix together well, then fold in the yoghurt and your puréed dates. Pour into a buttered, ovenproof dish and bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes.While the pudding is cooking, make the toffee sauce by putting the butter, sugar and cream in a pan over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved and the sauce has thickened and darkened in colour. To serve, spoon out the pudding at the table and pour over the toffee sauce.

Located just behind the Cartmel Village Shop is the Cartmel Race Track. When I first saw this mentioned in a tourism book for the lakes region, I thought it was a car race track. However, once I got a look at it, I realized it was a Steeplechase track. Steeplechase is a horse race that combines traditional Derby type racing with obstacles such as hurdles. This was probably my greatest discovery thus far. In my mind, I envision myself sitting in the grand stands with a fabulous dress and an even better hat cheering in my best Eliza Doolittle voice. Not only that, but its such a traditional British thing to do. Kevin will tell you that I almost cried when I realized that I had missed the last races as they happened a mere three days before I arrived. However, I may be here for the race the last weekend in August. I'm very excited as I'm sure it will be a site to see (even if the spectacle is my outfit). Stay Tuned...

Come on Dover! Move yer Bloomin Arse!

Why does it always rain on me?

Street in Lancaster. For some reason, I kept expecting Dick Van Dyke to pop out of the chimney and start singing "Chim Chiminey, Chim Chiminey, Chim Chim Cheroo"

I set out this morning, somewhat worse for the wear having drank too much cider last night, with the intentions of taking the 9:42 train to Lancaster. However, due to the fuzzy feeling in my head, I somehow missed a turn and wound up God knows where in Ulverston. I frantically searched for a street I recognized as I now only had 10 minutes to make my train and I had no idea how far away I was. When I finally found the train station, I was sweaty, out of breath and had exactly 1 minute to buy tickets and get to the other platform. I managed this feat by yelling at the ticket machine, shouting "Come on, Come ON! Bloody Hell, hurry up" which apparently worked since I made it exactly 5 seconds before the train pulled up.

Minor setback aside, I arrived in Lancaster and decided to do a little shopping and grab some lunch before I checked out Lancaster Castle. I found a bookstore, stocking up on some books to read next time I come to visit Kevin (just in case I can't get to the bookstore right away), and then wandered down one of the side streets, following the scent of coffee. I wound up finding a coffee roaster/tea importer in buisness since 1837 where I bought some delicious smelling tea for my mom. I was also pleased to see that they import loose leaf Rooibos Tea from South Africa. Good to know since, like the Peri Peri sauce, I have been hording my South African stash for fear of using it all up and having none left.

I then managed to find a record store that had the Daniel Merriweather Cailin and I have been coveting but unable to get in the US. I am listening to it right now and it is just as good as I expected. Think Male Amy Winehouse (without the crazy behavior and beehive) 60's sound meets the old school sounds of Michael Buble meets the new bluesy sounds of James Morrison. I think I'm in love. Why do the Brits get all the good music first? I've posted the video for his UK hit Red below in the hopes of getting him a few more US fans.

For the fashion concious, Lancaster has a ton of shops that are in the mid-price range (not as expensive as Edinburgh, but not as cheap as you can find in the US). As a whole, I find British fashion very strange (lots of leggings and strange layers). However, most of the shops had a great selection of retro inspired dresses, which suits me just fine. I picked up another dress to add to my collection.

Shopping done, I was prepared to head up to Lancaster Castle when the skies opened up and rain came pouring down. Since I had no umbrella, I decided to duck into the closest shop, which turned out to be McDonalds. Figuring it was fate, I decided to grab some lunch and wait out the storm. After the rain had passed, I set out towards the castle, first stopping at the Judges House, built as the residence for the court judge in the 1700's when the first courtroom was set up in the castle.

Right up the hill from the Judge's lodgings was the quaint little Priory Church of Saint Mary.

As I finished walking around the priory, I saw a sign with an arrow stating "Roman Bath House". Since I can never turn down an old pile of rocks, I decided to visit. This is when I discovered that Converse are not proper walking shoes in the rain. I slipped and slid all down the hill, nearly tumbling into the bath house. It was kind of a let down after the expensive ruins that Kevin and I visited on our quest for Hadrian's Wall, but still interesting to see.

Finally, it was time for the castle. As I am sure I have mentioned before, I LOVE castles. This castle was originally built in the 12th century on top of what used to be a Roman fort (which is pretty common in England). It was successively added to over the centuries. During the Witch Fever period of the 1600's, the tower housed all the local women accused of witchcraft while they awaited trial. In the 18th century, a courtroom was built and since that point, the castle has been used as a court. Today, it now houses two court rooms and a prison. Unfortunately, both courts were in session today, so I couldn't tour the castle. I was a bit bummed until the skies once again opened up on me. Figuring it was a sign, I ran to the train station (cursing my Converse the whole time) and managed to catch a train a few minutes later home. Hopefully I can get back on a day that Lancaster isn't overrun with criminals and tour the castle. I am still having a hard time figuring out what people would be charged with around here. In Ulverston, they had a "crime spree" back when we first visited on our househunting trip where several sheep were stolen.

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Tsunami!

Today I got up late (for me) and went for a run down along the canal walk. The lack of cars makes it a great location for running. What does NOT is the stench of manure that has been in the air in Ulverston for the past few days. At one point, I had to stop breathing out my nose, thus giving myself cramps in my side because the smell was so bad. Unlike my Dad, I do NOT enjoy the smell of cow poop so this was a major drawback to my run. After I got back and showered, it was almost 10, so I decided to visit somewhere close today, choosing the seaside town of Arnside.

Arnside is located 1 stop away from Grange-Over-Sands on the train. As I gazed out the window, I noticed dots of white across the marshes. The Bloody Sheep were out in full force! Of course they couldn't have been out when I went to Grange-Over-Sands the previous week. Bollocks to them.

While Arnside is picturesque, there isn't a whole lot to do (other than get hit on by 50 year old Pub Owners/Roofers). There is long stretch of rocky beach that leads to Silverdale (the next town over) that I decided to walk along. There, I ran into two women with two Giant Schnauzers. Missing Roo and Jackson, I decided to befriend them, (remembering to ask to stroke the dogs instead of pet them). These dogs were adorable and reminded me so much of Jackson and Roo. The female was fatter (like Roo) and was harassing the male who just wanted attention from people. The only difference between these dogs and my miniature version was that they were not wusses like my dogs. They LOVED the water and were rolling and romping in it, something you would never catch the Handsome Man doing and would only catch Roo doing if food was involved.

After I left the Schnauzers, I continued along the beach, intending to walk to the next town. All of a sudden, this siren started dramatically blaring. In my travels through various towns along Morcombe Bay, I had heard that the tide could be dangerous. From the decibal level of the siren, and the fact that people started clearing the beach, I expected a tidal wave rivaling a tsunami to come rolling under the bridge. I headed back towards Arnside via the road, all the while expecting a huge wave to come rolling in. I watched for a bit, disappointed that nothing happened. Since my stomach was beginning to tell me that it needed fuel, I decided to grab lunch in this little bakery located in town ( a delicious Avocado and Baked Brie sandwich on fresh baked Wheat bread with a pot of tee). When I exited 30 minutes later, the tide was only half in. Talk about a let down! I really have no idea why the people of Arnside made such a huge deal about the tide coming in.

After wandering through the 3 shops in town, I arrived at the train station, only to have missed the train by 10 minutes, so I went down to the other pub in town (not the one where the old owner tried to pick me up) and had two pints of Hard Cider (YUM!) before taking the train back to Ulverston, only to be taunted by the bloody sheep once again on my way through Grange-Over-Sands.

I love Scotch, scotchy scotch scotch

Actually, I do NOT love Scotch, but Kevin does. I do however love castles and architecture, so Edinburgh made a great weekend getaway for Kevin and I this weekend.

Edinburgh (-pronounced Edinborough. Why they didn't just spell it that way is beyond me.) is a city in Scotland dominated by its architecture, the huge castle on the hill, and Scotch. Arriving into the city, you are immediatly impressed as you look at the huge buildings heading up the hill towards high street with their ornate features and imposing size. The only disappointing thing was the majority of the people you walked by were tourists, speaking French, American English, Italian, Spanish, etc. Since I love the Scottish accent, this was rather disappointing. Also, tourists are notoriously obnoxious and rude with their "the world revolves around me" attitude, and Kevin and I both had to restrain eachother from yelling at most of these people.

Royal Mile (aka High Street)

Edinburgh Castle

Saturday was dominated by two things - Castles and Scotch. We got up early and headed up the hill to Edinburgh Castle to beat the tourist rush. It was a good thing too, because the place was already crowded at 9:30, which is when it opened. One thing you don't get a sense of when you look at the Castle from outside is just how huge it is. Kevin and I had planned on touring the castle and still having most of the day for other things, but it took us about 4 hours to see the whole thing. The original castle was built in the 12th century, but over the years has evolved to the structure we see today. Every generation has added (or in some cases subtracted) to the structure. We went on a tour that highlighted the features of the castle when we first got there (highly recommended) and the tour guide explained that only one building was original to the castle, a chapel dedicated to Queen (later Saint) Margaret by her son King David I. The greatest damage to the castle was done during the War for Independance. King Edward I of England invaded Scotland and took control of the castle in 1296. In 1314, the famous Robert the Bruce recaptured the castle and managed to hold it for twenty years, until it was retaken in 1334 and held by the English for another 7 years until the Scots once again took control of their castle. Apparently, the Scottish were better at making Whiskey than they were at defending castles, so in 1341 they decided to destroy the whole thing so that they didn't have to worry about defending it against the English anymore. The only thing they left was the chapel.

The famous cannon Mons Meg arrived in 1457. One of the oldes cannons still in existence it could fire the cannon ball 2 miles!James IV built the great hall in the early 1500's. Most of the hall was later redone as it fell into disrepair, but the ceiling remains. The ceiling was made by shipmakers in the traditional hull building fashion and contains no nails only joists. In fact, it looks like the inside of the hull of a ship - Really impressive!

Mons Meg

<center> Doesn't it look like a ship's hull?

Mary, Queen of Scots. Not my favorite Queen since her son took out the Tudor family

Most of the buildings present today were built in the 16th and 17th centuries to accomodate the large number of soldiers that were stationed there. One building, built in 1516, is of special historical significance as Mary, Queen of Scots, stayed there to give birth while avoiding capture by Elizabeth I of England (daughter of my favorite monarch Henry VIII and his beheaded Queen Anne Boleyn). There, James VI of Scotland was born, who later became James I of England after he killed the woman responsible for his mother's death, Elizabeth I, only to find out that he was now on the throne as King of England as Elizabeth never married and had no heirs. So ended the Reign of the Tudors in England. Also housed in the building today are the Crown Jewels of Scotland.

The next stop of our tour of Edinburg was the Whiskey museum. It started out as a cheesy barrel ride that taught the viewer about how Scotch Whiskey was made, but then led into a room where the tour guide told us about the different regions of Scotland that produce Whiskey and how to tell each region apart. They had us smell jars that represented the different regions of Scotland and pick which one we like the best. They then let us taste a typical Scotch from that region and taught us how to taste whiskey. Since it was similar to tasting wine, I enjoyed that part of it. I have now learned, however that I will never be a Scotch drinker as one sip was enough for me. The best part of the tour was the Whiskey collection, (the world's largest)donated by Claive Vidiz. Kevin and I managed to find a bottle of Pinch for John Felty, and of course Kevin had to be a ham and get his picture taken. Interestingly enough, the tour guide told us that one of the bottles of Pinch, an ornate bottle with silver foil on the outside costing 300,000 pounds, was the collector's favorite. Because Kevin and I got the "Gold" experience, we each got to try 4 more Whiskeys, which Kevin enjoyed and I really did not.

It wouldn't be a picture without Kevin's cheesy smile Sunday, we headed down to Holyrood Palace - the official residence of the Queen in Scotland. I am amazed at the opulence of the palace, since it is only used for a few months total a year, but that's the British Monarchy for you. Outside the palace was the remains of the Holyrood Abbey, and in the distance was Arthur's Seat. Kevin and I decided to climb to the top of the hill and see the view. Once again, we were not properly prepared as we had no water and Kevin was wearing Pumas. (When will we learn). However, the climb didn't take that long and was not that hard.

Holyrood Abbey

I like to think that the person buried here was a pirate.
View of the Castle from Arthur's Seat

The remainder of our afternoon was spend wandering around New Town. This portion of the city was built in the 18th century. Since a city planner designed it, it is drastically different from the narrow closes and winding streets of Old Town. Its now home to an impressive array of designer labels that I admired from the windows but could not afford.

Classic New Town Buildings

Tired and wanting to get home, we arrived at the train station, only to find our train had been inexplicably canceled. The station manager told us to get on a Virgin train that was supposed to be arriving any minute (after being delayed an hour). Once we were on and all settled, Virgin decided to announce that our tickets (and anyone else from our train) were NOT valid and made us all get off, causing Kevin to accidentally leave our new Jeremy Clarkson book on the train (boo) and his head to almost explode. They made us wait for the NEXT Virgin train, even thoug that one was empty (something about it having to leave later than our canceled train was supposed to). This train was also late so instead of arriving home at 8:30, we arrived home at 9:50. NEVER travel by train on Sunday!

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