Our last morning in the quiet little village of Hawkshead. It really did feel as if we had the whole village to ourselves…until 10:00. I heard voices out in the little alley (which is named Wordsworth Street, used to be called Leather, Rag, and Putty, Street) and opened the door to find a large group of Japanese taking pictures of the front of the B&B! They filed past my door waving and saying hello. I think they thought I was Ann Tyson. Apparently they like Wordsworth too.
After breakfast we packed up and headed toward the coastal town of Ravenglass. The Romans had a large fort here and some say this is where Hadrian’s wall began. Joyce (Sat Nav) turned us off of the numbered route onto something she called “road.” For miles we drove through the most desolate, treeless landscape we have ever seen. And it was a cattle grid. It was just our car, a single lane road and thousands of sheep. It was incredible. As we topped the summit of one mountain the Irish Sea became visible, along with a view of the Isle of Man in the distance. We wound our way down the mountain, past Muncaster Castle, and arrived in Raenglass. We parked and walked on a foot path to the ruins of a Roman Bath house about ½ mile from town in the woods. It is one of the best preserved Roman buildings in England.
We had purchased another lunch at the Co-operative Grocery and found a bench along the shore. Yesterday’s lunch had a view of the mountains and today’s had a view of the sea. I’m pretty sure we were the only American tourists in the town.
As we have had our fill of mountains, we decided to forgo the direct route to Carlisle and chose instead a route along the coast of the Solway Firth. Across the water we had our first glimpse of Scotland as we headed north through industrial towns and quiet fishing villages. Our next few days will be spent visiting our friends in Carlisle. We arrived several hours before they were returning home from a trip to Norway. So we picked up a key from their friend and headed to ASDA, the British equivalent of WalMart, only way cooler. The cashier asked us where we were from and if living in the US is like what is shown on The Kardashians. Yes! Exactly!
We arrived at our friends’ house, started some much needed laundry, and cooked our dinner. Wild mushroom pizza, salad, mixed berry cider and Worcestershire flavored crisps (chips). A couple hours later our friends arrived home and we were treated to a Gangnam Style dance and song performance by their 6 and 4 year-old sons! What a show! Put the “moms” back into “Two Moms and a Car” for a few minutes before they went off to bed.
Now a couple days to relax before we resume filming in Scotland. It will be so nice to spend time with good friends and to have no agenda, no sites to tour; to be able to sleep in a little and enjoy some home-cooked meals. To just do everyday life with Leah and Kristian and their boys!
Enjoying the journey with good friends,
Heather and Courtney
