May - June 2002

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Chicago to Edinburgh then Lochgelly, Kingdom of Fife

We were met at Edinburgh Airport by Wullie's sister and brother-in-law. Pleased that we did not have to tackle the local traffic we relaxed and chatted throughout the 45 minute drive to Lochgelly, our home for the next week or two. Margaret & Jim who had kindly offered the two homeless people a roof over our heads for as long as we need one, arrived home from work shortly after our arrival. Our friends Margaret & Dod welcomed us with open arms, and within a few minutes told us that it already felt that we had never been away, or at least not for three years. Was this a sign that they were already tiring of us!. Neighbours popped in to welcome us back, making this is the most people we have spoken to all in one go for a long time. It did not take us long to unpack and make ourselves at home.
Next day we had to pick up the hire car that had been booked for us for a week. During that time we hoped to have purchased a car large enough to tow our caravan which we hope will be suitable (not too small) to use not only to visit friends and relations in England, but also tour around northern England and Scotland during our six month stay.
Three days later we had purchased a 9 year old Audi 80 which had low mileage for its age. Looks good, sounds good, had a tow bar already fitted. Hopefully it will also function well!. Time will tell. We took delivery the following Friday.
That evening Margaret & Jim invited a few local friends around for a chat, drinks and supper. A good night was had by all.
We had arranged for our 18 foot caravan to be thoroughly serviced and cleaned for our home coming. We were pleasantly surprised how well it looked after three years of outside storage (it has been known to rain here occasionally) and were pleased we had decided to keep it. We raided Wullie's sisters attic where we had stored our possessions, for bedding, towels etc. The only way to check if everything worked in the caravan was to take it out for a night and live in it. We chose a small site at Glendevon, only a short distance away, but missed the site entrance and ended up in Crieff, still only a mere 25 winding miles from Dunfermline where our caravan has been stored. The trip went well - all appliances were throughly check and worked. The interior space did not seem too small, but could we survive being cooped up for weeks on end, time will tell. We arrived back in Lochgelly in time for Linda & Margaret to enjoy an evening at the Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline where the Kelty Musical Society were performing Sweet Charity. Enjoyable but not one of our favorite musicals.
Just two weeks after our arrival we decided we were ready to head south for England where we both have quite a few friends and relations to visit. Four to five weeks should be long enough to visit everyone plus take time out to revisit some of our favorite hiking places.

Yorkshire Dales National Park - Muker, Swaledale

The Yorkshire Dales National Park is made up of farms with dry stone walls, small villages with stone built houses, some dating back to the 15/16th century. There are many hiking trails over low (1000 feet) but relatively steep hills covered in grouse moors before dropping into the next dale alongside the river. The rivers are particularly important in the Dales as they provide quick drainage from the hills, and if you have planned properly deliver the weary & thirsty hiker at the door of a white-washed hostelry dispensing unchilled beer (absolutely delicious) and large helpings of appetizing food.
Muker is situated in Upper Swaledale i.e. the narrow end, where the hills start rising on both sides of the road and is one of our favorite places. We used to keep our caravan there for most of the summer during our 'working' days, until we got lucky and took up our present occupation. We would leave work on a Friday afternoon, spend the weekend hiking in the countryside and socialising in the local pub (no music or gaming machines - people still converse), and often not leave until very early Monday (4.30 a.m.) morning and head straight to work after a most enjoyable and relaxing weekend. Swaledale is famous for it's unique breed of sheep (Swaledale), which are very hardy and able to withstand long damp & cold winters on exposed hillsides. Fortunately the Foot & Mouth disease which ravaged Britain did not get into the dale, although it was in the dales on either side, as this would have devastated the heart of the breeding process. Muker has it's own "Silver Band" (sometimes called a Brass Band elsewhere) which although they are not a competitive band are in great demand for functions, fetes and the like all over the local area. Our friend Norman Guy has been one of the mainstays of the band for many years and gives up most of his spring, summer & autumn weekends to band activities, as do many of the members and their families who lend their support. One of our abiding memories is of the Silver Band meandering through the village on Christmas Eve playing Christmas Carols and finally ending up in the Farmers Arms where all the customers joined in.
Our journey south went well until we encountered some congestion on the A-66 which runs East-West and connects the M-6 to the A-1/M-1 and so did not arrive until late Friday afternoon. When we pulled up outside the campsite which is part of a working farm, Annis the farmers wife was working in the garden just as we had left her three years before. We were made very welcome, invited in for a cup of tea and a chat. The family arrived, father - Tom, son - Philip, daughter in law - Louise and baby Ben. Ben is 18 months, looks far older than his age, stands and walks like a farmer and already drives a tractor, albeit a toy one.
Another caravan arrived and as we were causing a small obstruction we terminated our chat and headed for the field where we would set up for the next five days. The weather was not exactly behaving itself and as a result we only managed two good days for walking, with the rest really wet and dreich. On one of the good days we managed a good hike above the dale into Swinnergill, one of Wullie's favorite places in the area. We stopped by one of the many small waterfalls for lunch, then decided to return to Muker via one of the grouse roads across the moors. We made it down to the village just before afternoon closing time (good planning & timing) for a pint and a chat with our friends Chris & Marjorie, owners of the 17th century Farmers Arms.
The remaining three days were spent watching the rain run down the caravan windows, and still we have not felt cramped.

Peak District National Park

The Peak District National Park is located in the heart of England surrounded by industrial cities such as Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Derby & Stoke (famous potteries). Many rural railway lines throughout Britain were closed in the 1960's and were given over to farming and business use, but in the Peak District they were made into paths for use by cyclists, hikers & horse riders. From the hikers point of view these are terrific as they allow the linking up of footpaths which enable circular hikes. The National Park is full of small towns & villages with narrow roads and old stone houses and at weekends too many cars, but we intend to be out on foot at that time. On our journey from Yorkshire we passed through Chesterfield giving us our first view of the famous "Crooked Spire" on the parish church. As we needed to insure our Caravan we joined the Camping & Caravanning Club of Great Britain and so decided to use one of their sites in the National Park where we should be able to hike directly from the site. The site fees were less than 35 pounds for a weeks stay, so we've nearly recovered our membership fee already. Bakewell, the nearest town, is a small market town with very narrow streets in the centre which have been made into a pedestrian area. The town is a very popular tourist venue and as a result abounds with Pubs, Restaurants and Antique shops with Market day on Monday. Since all our Ordnance Survey maps are in storage Wullie had to pay an immediate visit to the National Park office to buy a Map.
Lathkill Dale - A footpath from the caravan site meanders alongside the Bradford river with Ducks & Coots with chicks sailing amongst the weeds. We even spotted a family of Dippers nesting under an old bridge with the parents teaching the young how to "Dip" and feed. The Limestone Way is a long distance path which meanders through the National Park and we followed it to the beginning of Lathkill Dale part of which is a Nature Reserve. The many spring flowers on display included Orchids, Bluebells and Cowslips. This is a very popular hike with many people around most of whom seemed to be of retirement age. Perhaps we retirees are becoming so numerous our spending power will make us a powerful force? Visited the Lathkill Hotel in Over Haddon to sample their real ale, Wullie on a local beer Whim Hartington Bitter and Linda on Wells Bombardier. Once again the clientele were mainly of that retirement age. After our 2 pints of refreshment, needed on a warm sunny day, we continued along the Lathkill river to Alport then followed the Bradford river back to the campsite.
Grafton Dale - This time the footpath out of the campsite led us over the hill to Long Dale eventually leading into Grafton Dale. Grafton Dale had a profusion of beautiful wild flowers and is well worth a visit. A footpath from Grafton Dale leads to Winster (A lovely Peak district village) via Elton. This was a tricky path to follow and we took a few detours around the Derbyshire countryside (and some unfriendly cows) before we recovered the correct path. Due to our meticulous planning the target was the "Bowling Green" in Winster? The Bowling Green is not where they play bowls but is in fact a Pub, but unfortunately it doesn't open during the day in midweek at this time of year only in the evening. This was data that was not available during the planning stage, what can we do? When we passed through Elton (the neighbouring village) it had a pub which was boarded up so no joy there! Answer ask a local if there is another Pub nearby? and there is called the Miners Retreat at the top of a steep hill. After our lunchtime refreshment we returned to the campsite via the Limestone Way.
Olde Gate Inn Brassington - The Real Ale Guide described this Pub as a GEM so it seemed like a nice place to visit on a rain threatening Sunday lunchtime. Drove to Middleton, near Wirksworth, just on the edge of the National Park and walked along part of the High Peak Trail (disused railway) before connecting with a footpath to Brassington. The Olde Gate Inn, circa 1616, oak beams etc. was really quaint and served a huge Roast Beef Lunch for a reasonable sum. Chatted to a lady from Vancouver who was home visiting her mother and brought her out for Sunday Lunch. We talked about some of the many beauties of North America but agreed they have nothing quite like the Olde gate Inn. Once again the Real Ale Guide came up trumps and Linda thoroughly enjoyed 2 pints with her lunch. The return journey via a different footpath and the High Peak Trail was enjoyed at a more leisurely pace as Roast Beef, Yorkshire Pudding, Potatoes & 3 Veg slows everyone down. The High Peak Trail was busy in the afternoon particularly with whole families on bicycles.
Monsal Dale - Whilst visiting a hostelry in Bakewell we read in a local tourist paper of a circular 15 mile walk starting at Monsal Head. 15 miles seemed a bit far but with the help of Wullie's map reading skills & the Real Ale Guide we managed to reduce it to 10 miles and visit a Pub in Taddington village. Drove to Monsal Head and dropped down into Monsal Dale alongside the river Wye with its lovely weir and lots of wildflowers. We climbed over the hill to Taddington, called in to the Queens Arms and Wullie discovered an excellent new beer - Jeffrey Hudson Bitter from Oakham Ales, Peterborough, while Linda stayed with the dependable Black Sheep. After our refreshments we followed a well marked footpath from Taddington to the Monsal Trail, climbing hills dropping down into dales, including High Dale before joining the Monsal trail at Litton Mill. Luckily for us two large bridges on the Monsal trail are damaged and are too expensive to repair & maintain. As a result we were therefore routed through Miller dale and Water-cum-Jolly Dale (now there's a name to conjure with?) before re-joining the old railroad track for the last mile to Monsal Head. Cressbrook Mill in Water-Cum-Jolly Dale has been very attractively refurbished as houses and apartments and it seems a similar project is underway at Litton Mill. The Wildflowers were abundant, colourful and varied including Orchids, Cowslips, yellow & blue Mountain Pansy and Ledwort. The railway viaduct at Monsal Head is very attractive and as we stood and admired the feat of engineering a young man suggested we move on quickly as a film crew on the hillside were nearly ready to film. Just as we decided his manner was rather abrupt he changed his request to "don't hurry, enjoy the view", a much friendlier attitude. The climb from the viaduct up to Monsal Head, although slightly strenuous, is well worthwhile for the delightful view of the surrounding countryside and the roadside Pub with it's Real Ales. We spotted the film crew on the hill above the viaduct and reckon it must be a remake of a Hollywood epic, judging by the number of people in the crew?

Cambridge another 160 miles south east.

This was Linda's choice (also a very handy location to visit Wullie's sister in Luton). Linda, originating from Oxford has always lived with the rivalry between these two great university cities. When we met Wullie supported Cambridge in all the varsity sports, but when we married that was one of the vows that Linda insisted on - he should now cut his losses and support Oxford, after all he had just become a lifelong winner!. As a result he has had to support the losing team on many occasions because of love, but as a Dunfermline Athletic & Portland Trailblazer supporter that is not an strange experience.
Our chosen campsite was very near to a Park & Ride which is a must as you don't want to drive in Cambridge. It being exam time the colleges and ground were closed to the public. The weather was very changeable with regular heavy showers,but we made the most of our day visit. Linda's highlight was Kings College Chapel which was extremely beautiful and historically very interesting. Most of the commissioning for the building of this college was made by the kings of the 15th century, with the last one being Henry VIII when the faith was changed. We had lunch in one of the local hostelries, then made our way along the river Cam before calling into the market place where Wullie purchased some second hand books (may be useful if it rains?).
Luton is less than 50 miles from Cambridge and we planned our arrival in time to take sister Jessie's family out to a place of their choice for lunch. Without any arm twisting they chose a eating house with real ale as there were more people in the company that enjoyed that drink than any other. Forsyth, Wullie's nephew, recently purchased a 1970's three wheel motorbike, and insisted on taking Wullie for a ride. Vehicles of that age are road tax exempt. We all had plenty to talk about while we ate our lunch. The evening was spent at Jessie's with the members of the family who had to work in the afternoon popping in for a chat including the first great grandchild. A good time was had by all.
On the last evening of our stay at Cambridge a Bentley Continental towing a matching 1974 Carlight Continental caravan (the most expensive caravan in the U.K.) arrived. He had purchased the caravan last year from a lady in Leeds, and for the last six months it had been back at the factory being refurbished. Linda was not the only person out taking photo's but I think she was the only one who cornered the owner, shone a bright light in his eyes and grilled him until he confessed all!

Standlake, near Oxford.

We had unsuccessfully tried to get into caravan sites nearer to Oxford as this is the area most of the people we intend to visit live, but we had not realised that the normal holiday weekend that falls at the end of May had been changed to the first weekend in June, to take in the Queen's Golden Jubilee. After three phone calls to various sites we managed to get the last available site at Standlake, adjacent to a lake, a popular area for watersport. Not the ideal location for us but beggars can not be choosers.
Our first trip was to Chippenham where we visited Linda's cousin Sylvia and Goddaughter Caroline. We spent a few pleasant hours catching up with events of the past few years. The next port of call was Portsmouth where we spent the night with 88 year old Betty who used to live with Linda's mother. On the way back to Standlake, Wullie suggested we call into the Red Lion at Oakhanger to see how much it had changed. He had used it as his local while serving at RAF Oakhanger over 30 years ago when they served beautiful crispy, Cheese & Pickle or Ham & Mustard, rolls. The Pub hadn't changed all that much but they had extended the bar into the side room where the young handsome RAF engineers played darts. They now have a much more extensive food menu and the owners have changed (Was Wullie surprised?). We ordered our lunch and ate it at a table close to the dart board. Wullie pointed out to Linda the hole he had made in the area surrounding the board the ONE time he missed?
The Cotswolds - We took a tour through some of the quaint Cotswolds villages, Little Cotswolds - (photo), Stow on the Wold, Bourton on the Water and Great Tew (Linda's favorite) before arriving at friends who live in a beautiful Cotswolds house in Tadmarton near Banbury. The evening was spent in the Stags Head, Swalcliffe where we had a great meal in good company.
Blenheim Palace - We had visited the ground of the palace many times but never the palace itself. We terminated a trip into Oxford due the the rain in the morning but the sun decided to come out in the afternoon, so Linda made the most of it by visiting the palace for a guided tour. The palace was built for John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, in recognition of his great victory over the French at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. A great exhibition of manuscripts, paintings, sculptures, fine furniture, books and many wonderful tapestries that depict the wars between the French and British are on view to the public. This palace is one of the largest private houses in the country and was also the home of the late Sir Winston Churchill.
Oxford - Linda went on a solo trip to Oxford while Wullie watched some of the early action in the World Cup.
Putting the memory into action she planned a route that took her through picturesque villages before arriving in south Oxford where she lived for many a year (and had local knowledge of free parking). The plan was to walk through the local park, which would bring back many happy memories of my youth, before arriving in the city centre where I planned on visiting a few colleges and the historic covered market. Plans are to be broken - I met up with neighbours I had not met for years and once the reminiscing was over I did not have enough time to visit all the places on my list.
Christchurch is one of the colleges I always planned on visiting but never did. As I was born in Oxford I was advised that I did not need to pay the entrance fee, so I enjoyed learning about the history, wondering through the chapel, library and grounds. The halls were not open to the public because of students exams.
Historic covered market - has and always will be one of my favorite places - I don't think I have ever visited Oxford and not paid this place a visit. Unique with it's fresh meat, fish and produce stalls, small individual shops, and a great atmosphere. Christmas is especially good when fresh chicken, geese, turkeys, ducks, pigs and even beef are hanging up ready for purchase.
The final and most important reason for visiting Oxford today was to spend a few hours with Rose my 'old' school pal - our time together was spent reminiscing about past times and wondering where all the years had gone when we were both young and carefree. Happy memories!

North Wales

Our Welsh curling friends live very near to the beautiful Roman City of Chester, a place we always advise visitors to Britain to include in their itinerary. Kay & John invited us to stay at their house and as always made us very welcome. Weather permitting they had also planned a couple of short hikes around the Welsh country side, something new for us.
Foelfenlli Hills - We drove a short distance from their home to a large trailhead where numerous paths lead to some beautiful scenic hikes. We climbed into the Foelfenlli hills with good views over the Clywd hills and dropped down to the Drewed Inn, LLanferred where we had some sandwiches for lunch before completing the round trip back to the car. The Drewed Inn is one of the few outlets for Burtonwood Bitter, a brew worth trying if you haven't already.
Carrog to Llangollen - We drove to the Grouse Inn at Carogg where we had a pint before taking a short stroll to Carrogg station for the arrival of the steam train. Once photo's were taken and the train had departed we returned to the car and took a single track road towards Llangollen parking the car near to the canal. We walked along the canal towpath to Llangollen, sharing the towpath with the horses pulling canal barges, a terrific sight. We had a pint in the Old Cornmill which is attractively situated on the banks of the River Dee opposite historic Llangollen railway station. John & Wullie walked back to get the car while Kay and Linda wandered around the shops in this very popular tourist town. Although the weather was not great the rain did stay at bay on both days until our hikes were complete. On our last evening we walked in the rain to Kay & John's local hostelry for a very good evening meal. We had a wonderful three days with two lovely people and even managed some World Cup & Jubilee celebration viewing on the TV.

Lake District National Park

It was our intention to stay at a Camping & Caravan Club site just outside Kendal, wrongly supposing we would not need a reservation as the Queens Jubilee weekend was well and truly over - wrong again! The weather this far north had been so wet over the past week that a lot of the sites were waterlogged, making it unwise to park a caravan of our weight on the very boggy grass. We were advised that the club had taken over a caravan park further into the National Park, with hard standings, and they had a few vacancies so we booked in for four nights.
This is another area better visited when the sun is shinning. The scenery is exceptional - lakes, mountains, narrow winding roads. We saw the sun once during our four day stay, and that was when England were playing in the world cup, so we saw it from inside the caravan.
Rydal To Grassmere - The weather forecast for Saturday was quite favorable for the morning - not sunny but dry, so we planned a slightly strenuous hike from Rydal over to Grassmere which we had completed a few years ago. On the previous occasion we were armed with an Ordnance Survey Map, but this time we were relying on Wullie's memory. The steep ascent seemed to go on longer than expected and we started to wonder if we were on the right path. We were walking along the tops of mountains which would have been nice but the cloud was so thick we could not see anything. Luckily when we stopped to put on our rainwear 2 hikers who were heading for Fairfield (a 3500 ft. mountain) appeared from an adjacent path which originated in Grasmere. The downward trail was quite steep and rough and not easily picked out due to thick cloud & heavy rain - not good hiking. Although we carried a packed lunch we decided on a hot lunch (a huge Yorkshire Pudding filled with meat & gravy!) in one of the many the local hostelries before returning by bus to Rydal and our car. Had the weather been at all reasonable this would have been a very enjoyable walk.

Apart from the abysmal weather we have enjoyed our four and a half week trip, meeting up with friends and relations. However with only about 5 days of complete sunshine it is little wonder we enjoy the North American climate so much.

Lochgelly, Kingdom Of Fife

We have returned to base to catch up with what has happened over the past few weeks and to see if Margaret senior is well enough to travel for a midweek holiday break. Margaret is not any better and perhaps slightly worse. In fact 4 days after our return they have taken her into hospital, so no holiday away for any of us. Spent most of our time watching the World Cup, visiting hospital, visiting friends (Archie & Alice Bogie), relations (Clarible & Dan and niece Lynn). The weather is still abysmal but we took a drive out towards Glendevon on one miserable Sunday and by the time we arrived the sun was shining so we stopped at the Tormaukin Hotel for a light refreshment from the Harviestoun Brewery in Dollar. Our big excitement was a trip to Costco (American membership store) at Penicuik with Margaret & Jim. Margaret was in her glory and we will have to visit again as she wants to join and make a regular contribution to the American economy. On another unpromising day we drove out to Callander and took lunch at the Lade Inn (on the Aberfoyle road junction) but it has changed hands since we left home and is not as good as it once was. Linda & Margaret attended a show produced by the Dundee Musical Societies, where they gave renditions of favourite songs from Musicals. They returned, enthralled & entertained by their evening out.

July/August: Northumberland, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Scotland

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