Day 10 Hullerbank Farm

After our lovely breakfast we packed up to wind our way through and out of The Lake District. The roads through this area are quite narrow and at times do not have any shoulder at all AND coaches and lorries whip around like Mini Coopers. Shawn is afraid of heights...so, it was decided that I should drive this section. My dad was the navigator. Shawn, Grandma, and the kids sat in back. And off we went!

At a large car park, we got out and had a grand time frollicking about like mountain goats. The kids and my dad raced up the hill and delighted in making echoes and throwing rocks. There was a well worn path, dotted with all sorts of evidence of wildlife:  tufts of wool on branches and rocks, blobs of poo and pellet shaped poo. 

Running around also gave everyone a chance to burn off some energy. I think I did a good job of driving. I only clipped the over hanging weeds a few times...knowing there was a stone wall underneath the soft greens made me a bit leery too! But I white knuckled it at 10 and 2, tapping my finger tips every so often to regain curculation of blood when my hands started to tingle. 

Ta da!  Summer relishing being able to look down upon all of her royal subjects. 

And then...Nicholas came. 

Even 77 year old Grandpa was like a kid again. 

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Unfortunately a warning light came on in the van and rather than go way off the grid, we chose a more "main" road in case of catastrophe. (In Enlgand there are "A" and "B" roads. "A" is a main road, although it may be barely paved and one lane at times.)

Since I was in charge of the driving and we were getting peckish, I turned off on a one lane drive way/road that lead to a grand old manor house that advertised "Tea".  

This was someone's actual home, somewhat converted into a B&B/Tea Room!  So, we had proper tea over looking the river. 

Loads of posh and slightly over the top decorations. 

Sitting room. 

As I was taking pictures of things a woman with windswept hair and a basket of laundry stopped me and said, "Make sure you get a picture of the staircase and stand here. I call this the symphony of circles."  (My photo was blurry. The one below is not it.)

We went on snooping about. 

And then at the end of our meal had to settle up the bill. The worker needed to go into the owner's office and that was when I realized the windswept wash woman was the owner of the manor house!  She was an American from Boston but had been living here in this house with her husband for 20+ years.  Um...wow!

After getting back on the road, getting lost a half dozen or so times, I asked a youngish boy if he knew where the Hullerbank Farm House was. He looked at me like I had fifteen heads and grunted something to the effect of, "I fink it's down therah."  Thanks. That was of no help. 

On a one lane road, walled in by stone and hedges, to get around an on coming car one of you has to back up to a wide spot to squeeze by. So, when that happened, I motioned to the driver to roll down her window and asked her if she knew where Hullerbank Farm House was. She offered to escort us!!!  We never would have found that spot without her help!  Ah! Home!  MY SSSHHHEEEEPPPP!!!!!

OMG this is so cute!!!

Cobweb

Another cobweb

The kids got settled in their room and luxuriated in having their own telly. My folks and the kids had twin bedded room with ensuite facilities and a basin in the room. Shawn and I had the double bed room with the toilet and tub/shower down the hall. 

The view out of our bedroom window. This is the driveway with the dog's barn and Derrick's "wee cottage" attached. (Derrick is the son of the farm owners, Shelia and Brian.)

The farm house where we were staying was built in 1635. But Shelia said there had been a farm on this spot since 1212. 

Derrick and MY sheep. These sheep were penned up to get a spray on "tan". On Monday they were to go up for sale and needed a little "base".

The "fat" ewe on the far left (if I have this right) is called Fluffy. She was also to be sold because she was "gettin' too fat and soon be on her back".  

This handsome fella is Silas. He's an old guy of about eight. They have two male sheep:  Silas and Fred. 

I think this is Silas on the left and Fred on the right. Silas and I had a love affair. He wouldn't come for my mom or the kids making kissy sounds or the promise of good petting. But Silas liked me brogue. "Come on, Silas!  Come 'ere!"  And presto. One old sheep ready for petting. 

The sheep dog. There's actually two. One named Tom and the other might have been called Jem. They lived in the barn. 

We stayed here for two nights. Every morning I got up early and went for a walk to check on MY sheep. Across the road was another sheep farm. He had white faced sheep and also a few brown and polka dotted ones too. 

So cute with the pink ears. This little one looks exactly like an Easter lamb. 

One of MY sheep. 

This is the "old fat ewe" (I think).

A deer!!!

Wait. Lemme take a selfie. 

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During our day here we went out to explore Hadrian's Wall. Summer and me standing in front of a mural of "our empire".

That tin can on my head was heavy!!!

I much prefer the Conquistador look. 

Our first stop along the route was at a priory. Amazing to see just the bits that remain mixed in with stuff still in use today. 

6'3" just clears the doorway. 

My human flock. 

A door to no where. There's no ceiling and almost no walls. 

Excellent spider web. 

A window above an uncared for tomb.

Here lies James Dacre Esq.

Who died July the 16th 1716

In the 30th year of his age

Being the last mail heir

Of the Dacre

Of Land Cost

At first when I read this I felt so sad. This is or was an area called Lanercost. This untended tomb exposed to the elements and quite shabby....in the ruined church...and HE is the end of the line...no heir. =(  I read the stone several times. I stood there almost exactly 198 years to the day!!!  And I spied a typo. Oh my!  Now I'm even more sad. This poor fellow has to be in the ruins of his family's once great estate, no one tends to his grave, there are no walls, no ceiling and to top all that off...rest for eternity under the wrong spelling of the word male. Oh dear. I was truly truly sad for so many reasons. 

Shawn and Nicholas in the dungeon. 

And then on to Hadrian's Wall!

We were all amazed by the fact that Hadrian's Wall now functions as an everyday fence to keep flocks penned in. And people just walk through the field. 

The tiny pink dot on the wall is Summer. 

Grandpa at 78. He was so excited that you could still walk on the wall!  We all walked around a lot and I know that made him happy to see us doing something that he remembered so fondly from 1981 when he was 45. (Now I'm 44.)

This lovely cow needed a visit. She was so kind and let me scratch her head and rub her neck. I wanted to just sit down with her. 

But wait...lemme take a selfie. 

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Our last morning at the farm and I looked after my flock. 

Yep. All fine here. 

Looks good. 

Ok. 

But wait. Do sheep sleep on their backs?  This poor thing was having a dream/nightmare and kicking her legs a bit. Hum. Interesting. 

When I returned to the farm and spoke with the owners, I asked if sheep sleep on their backs. It turns out they do not!!!  That poor ewe was stuck!  Brian phoned the man who owned those sheep to tell him that one needed to be righted. He and Shelia went on to explain that a sheep will die in a few hours from falling over. (Which explained why they needed to sell the "fat ewe" from their farm.)

Yeah me!  I saved the life of a sheep!

Day 7: Bath

Across the street from our hotel was a fine hat shop!  As a daft American, I thought we might be able buy a fitted ball cap type hat. Nooo. This was a fine proper hat shop. Like the kind the royal family wore to Will and Kate's wedding. The store had a customer who was actually buying a hat and I felt like we were in the way. This wasn't a tourist shop!

Consider yourself one of us. Consider yourself one of the family. It's clear we're going to get along. 

Rusty Griswold?

After our hat shopping was over, we found a Big Bus tour to give us an overview of the city. We learned a lot and marveled at the driver's ability to navigate that giant coach around the super narrow streets. 

Catherdral from the tour bus. 

Then we were off to do the Roman Baths!!  I remember this so vividly from when I was a kid. I remember the color of the water, the creepiness of it all, the underground systems, the fact that 2,000 years of just dust and dirt had piled up to change the original street level to now being one floor below ground. 

We got audio tour Walkman type things and strolled around, trying to keep somewhat together with the family. Iistened to every option:   The regular English guide, a book author/researcher, the kid version, and additional tapes that were suggested. So, that meant about an hour was sucked up and we had only been a dozen or so stations along. 

Period women chatting by the edge. (Corny but so cool to feel like I was catching a glimpse into the past via time machine.)

Once we finished the inside tours, we made our way to the edges of the baths. 

So cute...they're talking and being civilized. 

I love catching shots of Summer when she doesn't know it. 

And then it was time for some recreations. CB (stands for Country Bunny, my favorite stuffed animal) and she went with me everywhere!  I was (and still am) a huge stuffed animal fan. 

It took about twenty attempts but I finally got Nicholas in the right position. (TMI: Nicholas is a huge believer in the Veleteen Rabbit and loves my precious CB. In fact, I had to explain to Nicholas that CB had been to England before and could stay back.)

Left to right: my grandma, my sister, my mom, and me in the front. 

Now, my mom in the grandma, Summer is the older sister, and Nicholas is the younger kid in the front and I'm the mom. =)

After we had had our fill, we looked for some lunch and settled on the Pasty Presto. I think this is a chain restaurant, but the food was good and the view was great!

Our lunch view:

After lunch, we went into the Abbey. Shawn even talked to the priest...about historical stuff. 

This guy played Metallica!  

Then, Nicholas and I went on a walk to see the weir and beyond. 

We came across a maze that was so cool and almost unknown (except to the locals).

Whenever Nicholas took a turn, I took the opposite. Needless to say, Nicholas thought out every turn and made it to the center while I was still roaming about. 

This mosaic is the face of the Gorgon from the Roman Baths. How cool!!!

A little cricket match. 

And then there were swans!  Nicholas had a lovely stick that he was using as a baseball bat that he was using to whack pebbles into the river. The swans were quite interested in sampling his stick. 

Each year I find a photo subject to focus on and this year I think it's spider webs. 

After our fun on the river, we walked under a bridge that lead to a bunch of restaurants built into the catacombs. Way cool!!!  But not gonna happen with kids and grandparents!  

But then...

Boy Scouts!!!

What a great day and an excellent tour of Bath!  Just as amazing as I had remembered...and even more!