Wales and rellies

Lynn and Mel drove us to their caravan in North Wales on Saturday, a few hours after we arrived. They didn’t realize when they left us that we were unsure of the effect of a gas stove on an electric kettle. The good news is the smoke alarm works but the bad news is that they need a new kettle and dishcloth (used to put out the flames). 
Sunday’s walk was over the mountains, passing horses and sheep and then down into Conwy. Not so long as the Devon walks, but equally beautiful views. 

In Conwy we were tourists but not quite prepared for all the pirates.....even in the tea shop. 
And did you know? A tidbit from the little museum. 

And it was in the tourist office we found these cookies. So my challenge is to make cookies in scallop shells. 


Our walk on Monday was equally lovely to the top where there were stone circles. 

We found the pilgrim route and others that share the same path. 

On Tuesday morning, we packed up and walked along the beach to the train station a mile away. The train does not make a regular stop so you have to flag it down. 

We met another 2 of Les’ cousins, one yesterday and one today. His dad was one of 13 children so I’m sure there are many more lunch dates with cousins, in the future. 

Tomorrow we fly home and I’m looking forward to seeing how overrun my garden is. 

Torcross to Salcombe

The day started gloomy and a bit cool. By the time we got to Torcross, by bus, there was blue sky peeking out and it was beginning to warm. We paused to look st a Sherman tank that was sunk during the war. 

We followed the coast path again, enjoying the views and the challenge. 

By the time we got to  the Pigs Ear, at about 10km, I thought I’d had enough of a challenge. Les and Nick enjoyed a beer while I went across the street for the first of two ice cream cones. 

Nick and I pored over the map to try and find an flatter route as my knees and feet were singing. 

It became an interesting exercise in overland orienteering. Through fields of sheep, over stone and wire fences with stinging nettles providing further defence against our progress. We finally reached civilization and had about another 3km to go to get to the wee ferry to take us to Salcombe. Last ferry at 6pm and we were there at 5:45, laughing all the way. 

We thought we might eat in Salcombe but the menues we looked at weren’t all that exciting so we too the ferry back to Kingsbridge, sat at the stern and watched the scenery. 

We tended to Jeff , Nick’s dog, and then set out to a curry restaurant that had been recommended. Delicious food and a great way to celebrate Les’ birthday. 

A day in Plymouth

Our hikes sandwiched a day in Plymouth to have lunch with Les’ cousin, Barry and his wife Helen. 
Barry has been doing some genealogical research and presented Les with 5 pages of family: dates, names etc. I’m thinking we can probably fill in some bits. Like four kids and five grandchildren!

We walked the Plymouth Hoe and the Barbican, admired the stained glass windows at the Minster of St Andrews and then took a ferry to Mountbatten to meet Nick. And here’s what we saw on a wall across from the ferry...
The plaque below notes that this is where, in medieval times, the pilgrims set off by boat for Spain, to either Ferrol or Á Coruña. 

Hikes in and around Kingsbridge, Devon

We have enjoyed a wonderful four full days visiting our friend Nick, in Kingsbridge. Not only has he provided a fabulous B&B but lunches and dinners and well planned hikes along the coast route. 

The first day, he drove the car to his golf club in Thurelston and returned to the village square by bus and then the three of us caught a bus to Salcombe and walked from there to the car. 

The weather for the four days has been great for walking and the scenery was stunning. But, of course, an hour into the walk and I need an ice cream and Nick needs a coffee. This was the last food stop until we got to the car some six hours later. 

Just one fabulous view after another. 

And these were the signs we followed. 

Although 16km is not that far, it’s the uppy downy that you really feel. 

The class system is still alive and well

On my way south from Glasgow, the train stopped in Sheffield with the announcement that everyone had to alight as there had been a person hit by a train at Chesterfield station further down the line. The entire platform was crowded with people who had no idea where to go and train staff who were also in the dark about what to do. I approached a couple I had chatted to on the train and he went off to “information” while she watched the luggage. Within five minutes he returned to announce we were all to go to platform 3A and catch a train going to Darby and then change there. On the way to the platform, I spied a line snaking out of the women’s loo so shouted in that anyone headed further south should get to 3A. Many women shuffled out of the line and headed to the train. It was here that things got interesting. 

I mounted the steps with a “is there enough room for two more behind me?”  Everyone squished up up a bit. I looked behind and as well as the two in the car there were at least another 7 still on the platform needing to get on. From my limited (by my short stature) view, I could see that the aisle within the car was empty so raised my voice to ask the persons closest to the door to please press the button and let us through. The response was “but it’s the first class section”. I said, it really didn’t matter and would they please open the door for themselves and the 20 or so others who needed to get on the train. The young chap that I could easily see just stood there like a deer caught in the headlights. Finally, one of the train staff yelled into our door to please move into the aisle of the car. I was stunned that it took an authorized person to enable this young man at the door to push the button. 

The class system is still paralyzingly to some. 

Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Margaret, one of my flat mates from my Glasgow days in the 70’s, was on the platform at Glasgow Queen St to meet us. We found Ken and the car and headed off to the Kelvingrove Museum to see the special exhibit on Mackintosh and his contemporaries. Of course, trying to find a parking space anywhere near, at the same time as a 10km run is on, was a challenge. 

The exhibit was wonderful and it was very interesting to learn about this period of art and design. The artwork by the women in this period is beautiful and often overlooked by the historians. The painting below illustrates the frustration some of these women felt. 

Mackintosh’s designs and furniture are so recognizable, but the beautiful triptychs that are associated with the name, were created by his wife. 

Margaret then took us to see two special paintings. The first one was of family and friends leaving Scotland during the clearances. Very sad. Fortunately, our ancestors left of their own volition from the Glasgow/Stirling area, perhaps because there were no jobs but we don’t know for sure. More research needed!

Lee and I spent the afternoon sitting in the sun at the house, watching our laundry dry. We enjoyed  another lovely dinner and wide ranging conversation before heading to bed for an early start this morning. 

Ken drove Lee to a nearby station at 7am to start her journey to Oxford and drove me to the same station an hour later. It was a great visit but way too short. Hopefully the golf courses in Victoria will tempt them to visit us again. 

So here I sit for the next 9 hours, watching scenery and drinking coffee. 

Edinburgh and Glasgow

We arrived at my cousin’s house in Edinburgh about 11am, to dump our packs and enjoy a cup of tea before heading out. Doug gave us a great laminated map of the city and off we went to the castle. We stopped at market stalls on the way and kept walking through hoards of people, some wearing Rolling Stones t-shirts. Hmm, Saturday, Stones concert that evening at Murray field......no wonder there were crowds. Before entering the castle, we watched a couple of cranes installing the stands for the Tattoo. These stands are installed now, taken down after the Tattoo and then installed again for Hogmanay. What a palaver. Upon entering the huge castle we didn’t notice the crowds as much and we were very fortunate to be at the guided tour spot just as it was starting. The woman was informative and threw in some humour to keep us awake and interested. After the exterior tour we went into a number of the buildings on our own: St Margaret’s Chapel (the oldest building in Edinburgh), the Prisons of War, and The Scottish National War Memorial, where Lee and I poured over the various books containing lists of Scots who had died in battles from WW1 on. Lots of Mitchells, but none that seemed to fit with the birth places we had in hand. And just as we were entering the Memorial building, we saw the changing of the guards. Very cool. 

The cannon openings allowed views of Edinburgh.......

and also an opportunity to lose your grip on a great map. (Good thing I wasn’t holding on to my passport!)

So, in an effort to find a replacement map, we were directed to Rose St. which is a lovely pedestrian only street, filled with interesting architecture and tons of restaurants, including Jamie’s Italian. 

The menu was quite reasonable but our stomachs weren’t ready for food. Next time. 

We headed back to my cousin’s and that evening enjoyed a delicious meal and interesting conversation and were shocked to find it was 11:30 when we got up from the table. 

In and around Stirling

We still had a few “family” places to visit, so on Friday we struck out towards Alloa, stopping at Cambuskenneth, founded by King David in 1140. Unlike cloistered monks, these canons were dedicated to public ministry beyond the abbey walls. The bell tower is the only thing left standing although we could see the outline of the cloisters etc. 

And then on to Alloa, which as the locals say, “blink and you miss it”, but we were going slow enough on bikes for a ride around the small town. We then road back to Bridge of Allan for a bowl of soup at a most famous fish and chip shop. We couldn’t eat the dinner as the thought of then riding a bike was not pleasant. The soup, however, was terrific. 

And further down the street we saw a knight, made out of LEGO, so for all you kids out there, here’s a challenging one. 

Next stop was the Kirk in Lecropt, where our great great grandparents were married in 1853. We couldn’t get in but I took a couple of shots through a window. Small but lovely. 

We ended our day riding up to the Wallace monument. We’d seen this monument every day from town, from our B&B etc, so we had to go. And yes, we love the ebikes. The monument is taller than the leaning tower of Pisa and the interpretation was excellent. Keeping with the Italian connection we had pizza for dinner. 😉

Perth to Dundee

Once in Perth, we spent at least 30 minutes riding around admiring the beautiful streets, many of the core ones fully pedestrianized. I bought a SIM card for my phone, and Lee sat in the sun on one of the benches with lovely artwork all around. 

As we left Perth on bike route 77 we were so happy we had the ebikes. Steep uphill and then continuing gradual uphill for about 3km. 

These are the signs we’ve been following. 

The beautiful views made the climb worthwhile. 

We can see why the English wanted Scotland. 
We stopped for tea at a little pub by the path and enjoyed our egg butty that was prepared by our B&B hosts. 

On to Dundee on an undulating path which fell to sea level. The approach to Dundee was windy but oh so beautiful, with a very low tide   

The wind was so fierce we decided not to cross the bridge, but instead to call it a day. We stopped in at the café at the Discovery museum and we ordered mango peach sorbet. When asked what we’d like to drink I said “champagne but since we were on bikes we’d stick with water”. And this is what we were served!

A change of plans

During our dinner of jambalaya (Lee) and chicken on a bed of haggis (me) dinner on Wednesday night, we decided NOT to try cycling to Balmaha, crossing Loch Lomond to Luss and then cycling back through Alexandria and Clydebank, etc to Stirling. When discussing this plan with a couple of cyclists, they suggested that was a day and a half by car. 

So, on Thursday, we woke to another grand day and took the train to Perth. 

From there, we cycled to Dundee. 

More later. 

Searching our roots

We landed in Glasgow yesterday at 9:30 am and we were in downtown Stirling by 1. Taking good advise from a lovely woman at the tourist office, we took a bus to our B&B, stowed our packs in the garage and walked into town. Had a latish lunch, and then walked through the various rooms of Sterling castle. Enjoyed the room and were very surprised to see copies of the unicorn tapestry series that we had seen the originals of in New York last year. Cool!!

We kept moving until we finally crashed at 9:30. 

Breakfast this morning was great. Porridge with fruit and then a fried egg sandwich to take on the road. We were greeted warmly at the bike store. We found out later that they are a charity, encouraging folks to be active and walk or cycle......they don’t usually rent bikes, but they liked our story of cycling where our ancestors lived. 

So we left Stirling at 11 and started our adventure. With lots of starts and stops and beautiful trails and views, we finally got to Denny cemetery by 2. And found our great great grandparents......and their view. 

Our egg sandwich was great! Saved the day. 

We headed to the canal to see the Falkirk wheel and managed to see a couple of barges being lifted down. Very impressive. We watched this while eating an ice cream. 

Between the wheel and the kelpies, I managed to fall off my bike but no great injury....just to my dignity. 

Turning north towards Stirling we were peddling as fast as we could to pick up the chargers for our ebikes. Yes folks, we are loving these electric bikes. Much of what we did today was flat but we tried the “assist” for the hills and also to speed up our return. We loved it!

By 5:30, we were in Alloa, and I knew we’d never get to Stirling by 6. I stopped a young man (16?) and asked if he’d call the bike store. The woman suggested we get on the train, the young man gave us directions and we made it with 4 minutes to spare. 

We are now clean and rested and it’s after 8pm and we are thinking of dinner. It’s light here until after 10pm. 

We’re having a great time and will plan tomorrow after some food.