Road Trip Part 1: The Lake District is a WOW

Kim and Gin on the trail

Dearest Readers,

This month I will try to take you along on our 31-day road trip to northern England and Scotland. We largely have our dogs to thank for this plan. After our Finland and Rome vacations last fall and winter, one of our dog-sitters decided she didn't like Chihuahuas, and the other took a different job. It seems we are stuck with these dogs and can't leave them behind.

But, Scotland is a dog-friendly country, and the pups are welcome on ferries, trails, lodgings, and in many pubs. We love the beautiful scenery, the friendliness of the Scots, and their excellent cooking! So we made a plan to indulge our love of "the highlands and islands" by driving with dogs. They have become well-seasoned travelers by now!

But before we crossed over the border, we made a stop in England's Lake District. Nestled in the mountains, we were blessed with three days of beautiful weather, which I'm told is unusual and that clouds and rain are the norm. But WOW, the scenic beauty was beyond what I imagined! The poet William Wordsworth lived in the Lake District (Grasmere) and it is easy to see how he got his inspiration. His 1804 poem "Daffodils" beginning "I wandered lonely as a cloud" is his famous ode to the area.

Town of Keswick from above

view from hill-walking

a walk around Loughrigg Tarn

ancient stone circle, Keswick

As Robin explained, the Lake District is really more about the hills and mountains, although the lakes are all the more pretty for their rarity in England. I loved their names: Grasmere, Windermere, Buttermere, Derwentwater, as a few examples. I look forward to a longer visit in the future.

From Keswick we are currently making our way north towards Scotland's most northerly and remote island chain, Shetland. We've stopped over for a couple of nights in Stirling, which has a few interesting attractions of its own. One is a cool engineering marvel, a kind of ferris wheel for canal boats trying to travel between a higher-up canal and a lower one, without a cumbersome series of locks. It's called the Falkirk Wheel and was nicely set up for visitors. Another draw in Stirling is the "Kelpies," two very large horse sculptures built in 2013. I felt especially sympathetic for the poor horses brutally wounded and killed in the medieval battles we've been learning about. We visited the Battle of Bannockburn site (from a 1314 battle in which Scotland successfully defended its independence from England). The visitor center was great with its multimedia history lesson, but oh the carnage!

On Wednesday at 6:30 PM we will board a ferry in Aberdeen, and travel overnight, arriving in Lerwick, Shetland at 7:30 AM Thursday. We have a dog-friendly sleeping cabin and are hoping for calm seas.

I have to confess, we got hooked on the TV detective series "Shetland" a few years ago and were impressed by the amazing scenery in the show. We had to include a visit to the island, remote as it is, in our plans. If you're not yet a fan of the show I highly recommend it! I will try to post some representative photos when we get there.

Until then, I'm wishing you calm seas and clear weather as well.

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