William Wordsworth was born in Cockermouth not far from where we slept last night. This morning we visit his house which came recommended by Tom, our landlord in Kinsale in Ireland.This is a pretty town with brightly painted houses and interesting pubs. We had dinner in the Trout Hotel last night. Sharon had trout. She ordered parsnip crisps which came late and the waiter said to her with a twinkle, “You can slap me for them being late!” When he came back a little later he asked how the parsnip crisps were and we said they were great and quite “moreish”, So he came back with another bowl and said it was for being late with the first!!
It rains in England
After a few sunny days in Scotland we crossed the border to rain. Now why does that not surprise me. Taking a back road we followed Hadrian’s Wall for some time then pulled in to a National Trust site at Housestead to visit the Roman Fort perched on top it. Only the foundations of the fort were left but many of the farmers stone walls nearby were curiously shaped as if masons had spent some time on them. We drove through some lovely country over hills to Cockermouth in Cumbria, stopping on the way at the Castlerigg Stone Circles erected on a hill surrounded by mountains on all sides. Those neolithic people sure knew a little about the importance of location to perform their ancient fertility rites.
Dumfries
After a hectic few days we stayed for a couple in Dumfries in southern Scotland in a very comfortable B & B. She even did the washing for us!. The sun shone and we took an enjoyable drive along the coast to Kirkcudbright. Robbie Burns lived and died here in Dumfries and we read some of his poems to each other over breakfast. Sharon couldn’t understand my Scottish accent. I guess love songs, poetry and cereal don’t make a good mix.