Our Long Walk Back...

We stopped by the tourist office to ask about an alternative route back to Tower House. They suggested that we walk along a portion of the Coast-to-Coast Walk, which crosses Northern England from the Irish Sea to the North Sea. After a few wrong turns, we managed to find the mostly unmarked path.

There was a major storm brewing, but we were lucky to be heading away from it at just the right speed to completely avoid it.

It was a long walk back, but David and Jimmy survived despite all the miles they’d run.

Day 3: Walking to Kirkby Stephen...

The next day Jimmy and David set off for a long run, while the rest of us walked to meet them in the nearest town, Kirkby Stephen. While we never were truly lost during our 6-mile walk, we did manage to get off track several times including when we squeezed through this wall into this field.

Jimmy and David beat us into town despite running 15.5 miles. They were happy to see us and to find a pub for a much deserved lunch.

A Cheese Factory and Ruins...

After touring the caves, we had lunch then headed to the village of Dawes to visit Wensleydale Creamery, where the cheese of Wallace & Gromit fame is made. Apparently the creamery was at risk of closure until popularity gained due to mentions in several animated shorts (Wallace & Gromit’s creator had chosen Wensleydale just because he thought the name was funny). Unfortunately, no cheese was actually being made that day, but we visited the museum and the tasting room. One of their specialties is a semi-hard cheese mixed with fruits or spices; our three favorites were the cranberry, pineapple and ginger. 

On the drive back to Tower House, we came across these ruins. The sign said that legend associates the site with the father of King Arthur, Uther Pendragon. It’s believed that this ruined Norman castle was likely built in 1160. It was purchased in 1963 for just £ 525 (less than the agricultural value of the land). 

Cave Formations...

Along the passages, we came across a variety of flowstones (sheetlike deposits of calcite) caused by water flowing down the walls of the caves.

Folklore says you don’t want to be dripped on by the Devil’s Tongue!

Day 2: White Scar Caves...

The next day we drove into the Yorkshire Dales (a national park) to visit White Scar Caves, England’s longest show cave which was discovered in 1923.

The First Waterfall

This was the first cave we’ve visited that the majority of the pathway was built over a river. 

We quickly learned why it was important to wear hard hats! Most of the passages were very tight and we spent a lot of time bent over.

Annoying the Cows?

Jimmy enjoyed trying to talk to the cows. I’m not sure what he said, but they got quite excited and ran towards him.

Even the calves came over to check out the strange looking creatures.

Day 1: Our First Walk...

After settling in a little, it was time to take a walk. The dirt road near the house was muddy, but the walking paths weren’t bad.

A common sight on this vacation – Ashlynn and Andrew walking together and Veronica and David walking together.

The scenery was beautiful. One of the coolest thing about the English countryside is that there are easements across private land, so there was no fear of being shot by an irate farmer for trespassing.

We walked to the Smardale Gill Viaduct, which was built in 1861 over the River Eden. It consists of 14 arches and is 90 feet high and 550 feet long. The railroad used it until 1962 and then it was slated for demolition. Luckily, it was restored instead and is now part of a nature reserve.

Fun in the Yard...

Ashlynn enjoyed throwing a ball around with the boys while Veronica found a quiet spot in the garden to write in her diary.

Sally and John brought along our bocce and juggling balls when they drove from Holland. Jimmy gave juggling lessons to Ashlynn, Andrew and David while Veronica just worked on her skills. We all enjoyed playing extreme bocce, our favorite game from the Chateau.

What a Great House!

We had initially booked a modern house in the Lakes District, but were forced to find a new rental when that house was put up for sale. While we originally hadn’t considered staying in this area between the Lakes District and the Yorkshire Dales, we were intrigued by the photos and were very happy with our decision as we all loved the house. 

A regular sight in the mornings was Ashlynn and Andrew on one couch playing video games while Veronica and David read (except for this morning when they were watching something). There was no WiFi, but we all managed to survive without the Internet. However, there was a big TV and in the evenings we all gathered around to watch the Olympics.

Jimmy really enjoyed learning how to cook on the Aga, which is always hot and keeps the kitchen warm. Here he is making omelettes without even needing a frying pan.

The Tower House...

The next morning, we rented a car and followed John and Sally into the countryside to Newbiggin-on-Lune. Along the way we rode through a huge storm. Check out the two funnel clouds I managed to photograph from the window. Amazingly, this was the only bad weather we encountered all week.

We spent six nights at Tower House, which was built in 1570 and occupied by the same family until 1988. It was originally a fortified farmstead with a high walled courtyard and a round tower, which was rebuilt in the 19th century into the tower above.

We loved the rambling house with lots of charm and space.

We also loved the yard; the patio was perfect for happy hour.

Newcastle upon Tyne...

After the game, we wandered around downtown Newcastle. Some of the buildings were lovely, but other areas were a bit rundown.

This is clearly a big party town. Trying to find a table for eight on a Saturday night wasn’t easy, but we finally found an outdoor cafe we could squeeze into. The scenery going past was quite entertaining as there were many stag and hen (bachelor/bachelorette) parties as well as large groups of both men and women (mostly in mini dresses no matter their age) prowling the streets.

When we walked down to the riverfront, we discovered that there was going to be a fireworks show. First, there was a nearly incomprehensible story told about lighthouses, but eventually the fireworks started culminating in a great waterfall below the Olympic rings from the Tyne Bridge (built in 1928).

The Girls’ First Olympic Event...

The Brazilians in the crowd went crazy! 

We waited a bit for the crowds to die down

The girls suckered us into buying
them shirts to match with the boys

Olympic Football in Newcastle...

After failing to get any tickets together to the Olympics in London, Sally booked us tickets to see a quarter final football game in Newcastle in northern England, which is across the river from where John grew up.

We were excited about seeing our first live football game, which was Brazil against Honduras.

Strangely, we were issued tickets in the same row, but in two different sections. John and Jimmy switched off sitting with the kids. Unlike American football where we pig out on junk food, drink beer and socialize, we actually just watched the game. Brazil won 3 to 2. It seemed like one of the referees had it out for Honduras after making several unfair calls.

Apparently this big screen was installed just in time for the Olympics. We thought it was weird that it never showed any replays. We also thought it was weird that the Olympic symbol for 2012 looked like Bart and Lisa Simpson from the cartoon The Simpsons.

Shrek, The Musical...

We weren’t in agreement with which show to go to when we went to London’s Half Price Ticket Booth, so I took a risk and booked us tickets to see Shrek, The Musical. We were happy to learn that it was produced by Dreamworks, the same company that produced the movie that we loved so much.

The sets and costumes were really great. While we didn’t walk out humming the songs like from other musicals we’ve gone to, we all really enjoyed it.

Olympic Fever in London...

Despite the inability to get tickets for any of the Olympic games in London, we still decided to head there for the day to get a dose of Olympic fever. The girls enjoyed posing around town with the statues of Wenlock, the Olympic mascot.

Unlike when we went to the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, we couldn’t get into the Olympic Park because we didn’t have tickets. Instead, we went to the free event at Hyde Park. Silly us—we thought we could bring a picnic into the park, but no food was allowed so we had to eat our picnic outside of the event grounds and then throw away any leftover food. The highlight was watching a group of sopranos singing rock songs.