Keswick, United Kingdom

I had haggis again for breakfast and Vern who had eggs benedict stole half of it. Really can’t understand all the hoo ha about it being so gross, it’s a fine seasoned sausage in our esteem. We had a lengthy chat wit our hosts, Tony and Dawn-Anne first with another couple and then just us. They are great fun and nice, hoping to retire but the GFC dropped house prices Edinburgh dramatically so they need to stay working longer before retiring somewhere warmer. He is from Portugal originally and Dawn a local. We did the NZ sell of which they sounded interested :-).

I am not sorry to say goodbye to Edinburgh, whilst it’s old town is like a snapshot stepping back to medieval time, for me it didn’t complete the vibe like other places in Europe for example Bruges. It’s not that I didn’t like it, it just didn’t grab me like it has a great appeal for others that I have heard from. Vern didn’t mind it and was glad to have seen it. It is very commercial and touristy in the old town to the point it exists for that, rather than living in its history. There are quite a few odd bodds around and our hosts did elude to people being somewhat unpredictable and aggressive in the city. I felt that vibe, and my shove experience set the tone for it perhaps (on the first morning on the way to town we dropped some laundry to be done, and hopped on the bus again to go to the town centre. Whilst waiting at the second stop, for the right bus a very ferrel female gave me quite a shove out the way to get onto a bus. I was not in her way, she just wanted to shove. It was a little upsetting experience as it came out of nowhere and was pretty rough. I was looking a bit bewildered after it and said to Vern – what was that about? He couldn’t fathom and then a nice man around our age who was also waiting came up to me and said, “it wasn’t you – it was her”. That was really kind and nice. Vern thinks she was a bit drunk or loco or both. Incidentally we have seen quiet a few drunks of the streets hear – all ages and particularly the mature – and as early as 9am)

There are some very nice areas and homes, especially of the victorian style, with pretty little front entrance/gardens. There are a lot of immigrants of all types, Indian, Italian, and everything in between – perhaps thats why it doesn’t feel as Scottish charming as the countryside? My summary of Scotland, I would love to come back and do the countryside and islands at more leisure as it is truly beautiful and has a real charm. Plus with more time I may just see some real sun and not just the occasional peek?

Our exit from the city went smoothly and we enjoyed the last bits of rural Scotland before stopping at the town of Jedburgh. It has a nice ruined Abbey, and a house where Mary Queen of Scots hid for a while. It also has a very good butcher who makes lip smacking pies. We were wandering around for a coffee house and light lunch when we saw this old fashioned butcher advertising winner of pie competition in 2009, we went in a bought one for £1 and quickly decided on sharing it that one was not enough. I went back in and asked for a second one as my husband wouldn’t share the first. He was very sympathetic to me. Seriously I could have eaten two whole ones myself. They were very meaty – minced meat and nicely seasoned in a thin ‘water’ pastry like a english pork pie. Just perfect NOM NOM.

We found another nice cafe with home baking and a barista and got coffee and fruit and seed topped flapjacks. They had a tiny butterscotch layer sticking on the seeds etc and it was very nice to nibble on with the cuppa.

About 1/2 an hour out of Jedburgh you climb up some hills and cross the border into England. There are great views and a big stone – as you can see from the selfies. About another 35 minutes travel we came to our first destination of ‘Once Brewed’ which has a TI (tourist information) and is a good close point for hopping off and going for a walk along Hadrian’s wall.

Hadrian’s wall runs from coast to coast stretching 73 miles across the narrowest stretch of Northern England. It was built and defended by approximately 20,000 troupes in A.D. 122, during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. The wall was around 15-20 feet tall and 3 ft wide with a ditch on either side. The purpose for the wall is debated, but popular thought is that is was to keep the tribes from the north out. It was more than a wall but a military complex which included forts, ditches, settlements, and roads. Every mile a castle guarded a gate and two turrets stood between each castle.

Its free to walk anywhere but you have to pay a parking fee to park your car to the National Trust of £4 to help general upkeep. There was a good 10 minute walk up a side road before you eased your way through a ‘sheep gate’ onto the paddock to climb either left or right up to the wall. We met two young huffing slightly out of breath cuddly ladies who on chatting recommended a side route up the hill which was markedly easier than the one before us which we were about to take. We were unaware the gentler sheep track existed until pointed out. We were very grateful for the tip and made it comfortably to the top of the ridge a further 10 minutes later. Once at the top we did not have time to complete a mini hike either way (5kms) so just looped around and down the steep goat track feeling sorry for those struggling up the steep route. Vern did his usual “would you mind taking picture of us” of which the loaded up is the result.

We enjoyed this little stretch and fresh air and marvelled at the amount of work to create this wall, and the even neatness of the stones. The scenery you see is typical of what we have seen today – lots of rolling hills and you think there is nothing for miles, but you will come around a corner and see that there is a little town in a small valley in front of you. You don’t see the valleys or town in the great expanse – its bizarre.

We arrived in Keswick at around 6:30pm with the sun breaking through shining on a very pretty good sized bustling town. On researching this as a base I chose it due to its location to a stone circle, and recommended by Rick Steves as a quiet place to explore the Northern Lakes district, verses the south. It is nestled against and in between the slopes of a wooded hill and the shores of lake Derwentwater. He did not mention how charming it is with tidy streets lined with carefully maintained Victorian 2-3 storey homes, spilling over with flowers and an abundance of trees and birdsong.

We quickly checked in and walked the short 10 minute walk to the town centre in search of our evening meal. Our hostess said most places were good and we would probably be lucky to get a place as town was very busy at the moment – Saturday night, a festival and summer. We chose an old 1800’s restored pub called ‘The George’ as it advertised their famous ‘cow pie’ and I saw a slice at a customers table through the window. OMG I think it is called cow pie, as it has the whole jolly cow in the pie its so big. We tried to get a table but they were booked for the next 2hrs, but the waiter said if we could find a spot in pub part, we could pay at the bar, or we could book for tomorrow. It was pretty full, so we booked a table for tomorrow and went to leave and Vern spotted a freshly vacated table which he nabbed smartly. I ordered cider and meals – the 1/2 serve cow pie and lamb shoulder cooked in ale with mash and veggie – total £31 and we waited with mouths watering at the smells.

The atmosphere in these pubs is awesome – so civilised and warm and cosy. Families, dogs, you name it are all there for a relaxed nice time. Very different from ‘pubs’ at home. This one has white walls and dark beams and rich old timber furnishings. Our meals arrived and without too much going on about food, they were delicious and we could not finish them all despite the best efforts. The pie had about 750grams of beef in it and it was meant to be the small serve. It had a suet crust and was just perfect big chunks of beef that would have fed 3 adults nicely. My lamb shoulder cooked in ale was melt in the mouth tender and the gravy made from scratch with pan juices rosemary and a hint of mint. Creamy mash and a good serve of veggies made for an excellent pub meal worthy of a restaurant of good standing. Very good tap cider too!

After dinner we waddled down through town with the sun still strong, through very nice public garden to the lake edge. You walk through a paddock with sheep happily grazing and geese and ducks honking. Birds and animals are quite used to people here and pet dogs on leads rarely show any aggression to man, bird or beast. On the way through the gardens there was a little red breasted robin absolutely singing his heart out, but he was a little out of my wide angle camera lens reach so I didnt get a picture. They are pretty wee birds and his song was lovely too.

The walk back to our ‘home’ was a pleasant 15 minutes through this pretty town of old, but very well cared for homes. Our B&B is not flash, but clean and cosy and even has a bath which is so nice to unravel and relax in after a days adventures.