HATS OFF TO..

Linda, for putting up with me dragging her up & down spiral staircases, mountains, mines & quarries. Saw Royal Welch Fusiliers with their brown flashes, & Black Watch with their feathers, both unique I think. Scotland weather was dreadful, don't go to Wales, get speeding tickets there you know. So tour of Britain done, where next? A Dutch guy I met in the pub suggested take ferry to Hook of Holland drive down the coast of Holland, Belgium & France, take in the sights & ferry back Dieppe to Newhaven. What do you think?

LINCOLN

The further south we go the better the weather. Climbed the steep, steep hill up to the castle. It's so steep, it's called the steep. Saw Magna Carta which has some interesting stories around it. It all got started when K John lost the barons their land in France, but insisted on taxing them on it! So they got together & thrashed it out. The Archbishop took it away & put it on paper for the king to seal. It was written in a shorthand ancient Latin, which he couldn't read. So he took it to someone to read it to him & discovered he had been stitched up. War broke out & the barons bought in the French to put the French King's son on the throne. It didn't resolve itself until K John died(murdered) & his 9 year son Henry took over. Went to Brown's Pie shop which was smashing, if heavy duty.

197, 198,,,

199 steps up to the Abbey at the top. Whitby is a nice town of cobbled streets, tourist shops, jet & expensive car parks. Never saw Dracula. The YHA garden at the top was very nice. Good journey down to Lincoln, although satnav lady took us down some interesting roads. Had to go through spittal in street.

BEAMISH...

is a living museum with bits set in 1820's, 1900's, 1940's & 1870's. We travelled on trains, trams, charabancs & busses. We went down coal mines & saw the steam engine mine winding gear running.  Steam rollers, horse drawn carriages & farm animals. The staff were great, we really enjoyed chatting to them. Weather good at last, but windy.

SCOTLAND

What have we learned about Scotland....well the people are great...the food was good, we had some real nice meals...if you can't see Ben Nevis, it's raining..if it's not raining, it will be soon. You don't need sun dials, nor solar panels, nor binoculars.... there are no such things as red squirrells. Cragside was fantastic, could spend more time there.

CRAGSIDE

Left Scotland, at last the prospect of warmth & dryness. Left Perth in the rain and visited Cragside on the way down to Beamish. Weather much better, first time warm for a week. Cragside is William Armstrong's home. WA started from nothing to found a business based on hydraulics in cranes, then weapons and warships. He joined with Whitworth, who standardised engineering threads and measurement to form one of Britain's most successful businesses. His home is amazing - built 1870's it has central heating, hot cold running water, hydro-electric lighting, hydraulic lift, Turkish bath, sauna, electric spit roasts. The gardens are magnificent, there is a 6 mile scenic drive through lakes, moorland & forests. Simply stunning. The Prince of Wales visited & WA built a wonderful room with the most magnificent marble inglenook fireplace, & 2 ensuite bedrooms for them to use, incredible. 

PERTH

Took it easy - just wandered around town from our hotel. NO castle climbing today was Lin's dictat. So off to Black Watch museum, which turned out to be a castle...duh. We had a lovely guide who was an artifacts expert in the museum. The tour was great, great insight into the contents of the museum. Next was a visit to the art gallary, a small recreation of the Pantheon in Rome. Then a stroll around the parks along the Tay, nice!