Wigtwizzle - Norman Smith's Travel Blog.

Coffee and cake in Greystoke (with a walk thrown in for good measure).

Another blog from my recent holiday with Sal. The forecast wasn't too good so we didn't fancy travelling very far. Greystoke is only a couple of miles down the road and has a lovely looking cafe for the post walk nibbles, so it fit the bill perfectly. There are no public footpaths around the estate but there are permitted footpaths which the owners and the local council have made easy to follow by numbering each noticeable feature. To go with that, there is also an online map with comprehensive detail so it is more or less impossible to get lost.

However not long in to the walk we did go slightly astray for which I blame my guide but we did realise it pretty quickly. The walk itself is about eight miles if you do the full circuit but the drizzle started and was blowing directly in to our faces so we decided to cut it short at the point where we reached open moorland which, if truth be known was only a couple of miles in to the walk.

Just before we did our about turn we passed a woodland full of pheasants (which the estate uses to shoot for so-called pleasure). We startled them and they startled us as well. About fifty of them flew from their cover and amusingly started running up a track to get away from us. It reminded me of a scene from a Benny Hill show, all that was missing was the music! I'm sorry but I just can't understand what pleasure anyone would get out of shooting a live animal just for the fun of it. People who do that really appall me and, as far as I'm concerned, it can't be justified in any way shape or form.

The return walk wasn't too bad as the wind was now behind us and the drizzle finally eased off as we approached the Castle. Its a shame you can't visit the Castle's grounds because, looking on the Internet, there appears to be some nice gardens and lakes surrounding it but it is a private dwelling though. I suppose people are entitled to have their privacy and a least they have allowed and maintained permitted footpaths for the general public to use.

We ended our afternoon with a coffee and a piece of cake each at the C2C Cycle Cafe on the edge of the village.The Cycle Cafe consists of a pretty walled Tea Garden with gazebos, along with a rustic barn for shelter if the weather is inclement. During quiet periods only the barn is open and this is operated purely on a self service basis with drinks and cakes to hand. I suppose they rely on the honesty of their customers for payment and let's face it, you would have to be a pretty mean spirited individual not to pay. It is another cafe which is run by local people and their baking is divine. Sal had a piece of tiffin and I had one of the scrummiest slices of lemon drizzle cakes that I've ever had. The baking is definitely up to what I would call "Women's Institute standard" which, in my book, is bloody good!

This is another walk for us to do on a fine day: a day when we can take our time and do the complete 8 mile circuit.

To end the blog, here is a brief history of the castle -

In 1069, Llyulph de Greystoke, after whom Ullswater is named, was re-granted his lands by the Normans, following their successful conquest. The wooden tower he had built at Greystoke, which was surrounded by a high fence or pale (pele), was replaced with a stone-built tower.

In 1346, King Edward III gave permission for the building to be castellated and the castle proper was created.

Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk and Earl Marshal of England, sent north in the early 1520s to solve the Scottish problem, met and subsequently married Lady Anne Dacre. She had inherited the castle and lands on the death of her husband and her marriage gained for the Howard family a considerable part of what was the county of Cumberland.

The castle became one of the border chain of fortifications which replaced Hadrian’s Wall as a barrier against the Scots.

The castle was held for the King during the civil war and after the war, in 1660, was destroyed by Cromwell as a result. The castle was later rebuilt and enlarged into a modern farm.

In 1868, a maid left a lighted candle in a cupboard full of linen and the consequent fire destroyed large parts of the castle. It was rebuilt by Henry Howard.

The estate was commandeered by the army in 1939 and the land became a tank-drivers’ training ground. The castle itself later became a prisoner of war camp, largely for Poles who had been fighting for the Germans, the prisoners providing labour to run local farms whose men-folk were away fighting.

Post-war, the long process of restoration and modernisation was initiated which has continued ever since. Fourteen generations of the Howard family have lived in the castle thus far.

Exercising the local racehorses

Greystoke Village Cross

Sal at the Castle Entrance

Main Castle Driveway

Greystoke Castle

Home Farm

Tractor Collection

Castle Pond

Dutch Barn

Disturbing the local game

Home Farm

A wet Home Farm

Straw in barn

Home Farm

Pele Tower, Greystoke Castle

Castle Grounds

Driveway up to the Castle

Beware, Red Sqirrels

Castle and Pele Tower

Old Castle Entrance

Lanercost Priory

Two visits to Lanercost within a week, the first with my sister and the second with Sal. I'm using the photos from my first visit and the narrative from my second!

I love visiting old Churches, especially in the Dales and Cumbria because they are so quiet and peaceful inside and are seeped in history. Lanercost is no exception with it sitting in the tranquil valley of the River Irthing. The Augustinian Priory was founded around 1166 by Robert de Vaux and was built mostly from stone taken from nearby Hadrian's Wall. It was completed in 1220.

The Priory has quite a violent history due to it being located so close to the Scottish border. Edward I stayed here three times (1280, 1300, 1306) when he conducted raids against the Scots and on the last occasion, when he fell ill, he stayed the winter at the abbey. The Scots set fire to the cloister in 1296 and two famous Scots, William Wallace and Robert the Bruce also attacked the priory. Raids continued well into the 14th century when, unfortunately, bills for repairs needed more money than they had available which meant that the land had to be sold to cover the costs.

Lanercost was one of the first priories dissolved by Henry VIII. He gave the buildings and the land to Sir Thomas, Lord Dacre, the illegitimate son of Lord Dacre of Naworth who's castle is nearby. He turned part of the Priory into a country mansion called Dacre Hall, and started residing there in 1559. Unfortunately the priory then fell in to ruin once the male line of the family had all passed away.

The ruins are approached through an archway which was once the gatehouse. Remains of parts of the north and south transepts, choir, sanctuary, cloister, chapter house, and undercroft still survive. The chapels are home to some very striking tombs. These include the imposing tomb of Sir Humphrey Dacre, who died in 1485, and his wife Lady Mabel. Rather more recent is the tomb of Charles Howard, 10th Earl of Carlisle, designed by the architect Robert Lorimer and placed here following the Earl's death in 1912. But without doubt the most poignant memorial is a life size terracotta effigy of Elizabeth Dacre Howard, who died on 17 July 1883 at the age of just four months.

The Priory Church of St Mary Magdalene has an unusual medieval stone carving called the Lanercost Cross with an inscription dating back to 1214. Originally the cross was set just outside the entrance to the church and the stump still remains there but the main shaft is now housed inside the priory.

Our visit there started off with a coffee in the excellent cafe. We had to use lots of will power to resist having either a bacon sandwich or one of the scrummy cakes they sell. It is one of those cafes, or should I say tearooms, which is run by the local community and they inevitably turn out to be the best and friendliest. Justifiably so, it is quite busy as it is a convenient "stop off" for people visiting Hadrian's Wall country.

After our coffee break we took a short stroll around the Priory's graveyard and then walked across to the River Irthing where we were lucky enough to see a heron. We followed the riverbank to the old Lanercost Bridge before returning via the road to the car park. I will have to check my OS maps before our next visit so that we can extend our walk and take in more of the surrounding countryside.

Over the years I have come to love this part of the country because it is so varied. On the one hand you have the peace and tranquillity of the Lanercost and Brampton area which, only a few miles away, is contrasted by the stark wilderness of Hadrian's Wall and the large, open expanse of Northumberland.

The Lakes weather forecast hadn't been very good and it was the height of the holiday season so our escape plan (not that we needed a plan) worked perfectly.

Dacre Hall

Leaded Window

Priory Ruins

The Undercroft

Pear tree

The Chapel and Alter

Effigy of Elizabeth Dacre Howard

Priory Wall

The Alter

Pear Tree and Ruins

Dacre Hall

The Costa del Whitehaven

Interesting facts about Whitehaven -

George Washington’s Granny is buried in Whitehaven.
During the American War of Independence, Whitehaven was briefly invaded by American forces. Father of the US Navy John Paul Jones, raided the town in April 1778 . He took the fort, spiked its guns, burned a few coal ships, and made off in his vessel Ranger with three prisoners.
Jonathon Swift Author of Gulliver's Travels who later became Dean of St. Patrick's, Dublin was kidnapped by his nurse as an infant and brought to Whitehaven for 3 years and taught to read.
William Wordsworth's uncle Richard lived in Whitehaven and was keeper of Customs for the district and his son was rector at Moresby.
Bounty “mutineer’’ Peter Heywood, who was granted a Royal pardon and escaped the hangman’s rope, once lived in Whitehaven. Peter joined the Bounty which was bound for the South Sea Islands to make scientific observations. Captain Bligh was a strict disciplinarian and as a result there was much discontent among the crew. On arrival at the Friendly Islands this culminated in open mutiny headed by Fletcher Christian, the Master’s Mate.
Whitehaven folk are known as Jam Eaters, supposedly because they can’t afford meat in their sandwiches. This goes back to the mining days of the 18th century.
In the 17th and 18th centuries Whitehaven was involved in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, and the role of British trade in shipping millions of Africans into slavery in the Americas. It grew rich from trade that depended upon slavery: tobacco from Virginia and, most famously, rum and sugar from slave plantations in the Caribbean.

And that's about it...good or bad, that is what Whitehaven is famous for!

Personally I right like the place. The shopping area is pretty run down but the harbour and marina (which have had a lot of money thrown at them over the years) are always busy and a pleasure to walk round. The marina is still being developed, both as a leisure and as a residential area.

Me and Sal paid a quick visit there the other week with our cameras and spent a very enjoyable couple of hours shopping, drinking coffee and taking photographs. The sun was shining which is always a bonus and our drive back to the caravan conveniently went past the Pheasant Inn at Bassenthwaite, which was a double bonus!

Local youth project in Whitehaven

Back to back

Catagorical!

Whitehaven marina

Harbour entrance

Whitehaven Lighthouse

Harbour entrance

Lighthouse and Sal

Whitehaven old harbour

Harbour wall

Cockleshell Beach and The Solway Riviera

I fell in love with Kippford (also known as The Solway Riviera) years ago, mainly due to its cockle shell beaches and rock pools and I think Sal was the same. She came with me for the first time last year and she couldn't wait to return this year. It also has the feel of a place yet to be discovered by the masses so when planning our summer mini-break, it was the first place on our "to go to" list.

I think she also fell in love with the tiny village of New Abbey, home to the romantically named Sweetheart Abbey which is just a few miles out of Dumfries. The abbey, located on the banks of the River Pow, was founded by Dervorguilla of Galloway, daughter of Alan, Lord of Galloway, in memory of her husband, Baron John De Vaux. After his death, she kept his embalmed heart, contained in a casket of ivory and silver, with her for the rest of her life, and it was buried alongside her when she died. In line with this devotion to her late husband, she named the abbey Dulce Cor (Latin for Sweet Heart).

I can't really remember exactly how I discovered Kippford but I think it was because someone recommended going to Sandyhills Bay which is just down the coast and then it all sprung from that. I think I took in Southerness, Rockcliffe, Kippford as well as Sandyhills that day and have been coming back once a year ever since.

What a great day we had; the weather was lovely albeit very hot and the tide was out just far enough for us to get some really nice photos. Walking, chatting and taking photos...what's not to like eh? The only thing that Kippford lacks is a good coffee shop but that wasn't much of an imposition because it allowed us both to have a delicious locally made ice cream instead! Anyway we had taken our coffee break earlier in the day at the delightful cafe overlooking Sweetheart Abbey.

It's always nice to discover and fall in love with places but even nicer when people very close to you do exactly the same thing. See you next year Kippford.