Day 52 (May 24): Durham and Beamish Museum, Pt. 2

Afternoon out to Beamish Open Air Museum today -- Chris rode with Grandad in his rental car (eek!) to help him get used to it, and the girls and I rode the Park & Ride to the bus station and took the bus from there.  This was our second visit to the Museum.

under the arbor at the Georgian house

It was another gorgeous day and we enjoyed our afternoon wander through the Georgian house, the Town, the Home Farm, and the Pit Village school and houses.

at the Georgian farm

front of the Home Farm

the Pit Village

the Coal Mine

early 20th century Town

Riding the bus back to town was fairly simple.  Dinner, a bit of TV (American Idol), and bed.

Day 51 (May 23): Durham

This morning the girls (plural, yay!) and I met Grandad outside the Cathedral in the late morning and together we four took a walking tour of Durham.   We are on Day 2 of Weather Perfection here in Durham City.!  (Today was even a bit too warm, and I even sweated!)

Indoor Market...  from indoors

love this place...  what Walmart should be 

 

requisite stop for a photo...  the sky was much bluer than this photo looks

After lunch back at the flat, Grandad and Erin joined Chris for an official Cathedral tour and Castle tour while I did some errands (finally bought a watch!) and Caroline and I stayed home and took care of business, rested, etc.

This evening included finalizing some travel plans (Scotland again!) as well as dinner, a walk, etc.

Day 50 (May 22): Durham

First thing this morning was to welcome the (almost weekly) Sainsbury's grocery delivery.

seriously could get used to this

The high point of the day was to come, however:  Grandad and Erin arriving this afternoon, coming up on the train from London -- directly after landing in Heathrow on the plane from North Carolina.  A long trip for them!  We're so happy to have them join us!

A bit of folderol ensued regarding Grandad's place of abode while in Durham but after a bit we got him "sorted" and he's checked in at a seemingly perfect inn about 20 minutes walk away over on the other side of town.

the folderol included some walking along the River in a different part of town

Adventures will continue on the morrow!

Day 49: Durham

At-home today, preparing for Erin and Grandad to arrive tomorrow afternoon sometime.  Laundry, online grocery shopping, blog updating, chores, email, etc.   Took a nice long walk this evening across town.

view of the Cathedral from the other side of town

Day 48 (May 20): Durham & Bishop Auckland

Today was sunny and we enjoyed our walk to church.   The walk back to the flat took us through the center of town as we needed to make two quick stops.

River Wear looking north from the Old Elvet Bridge

River Wear looking south from Old Elvet

on the Old Elvet Bridge, looking up into town

After lunch and a rest I took a long walk in a direction I hadn't gone before.  And then, still itchy and wanting to enjoy the good weather, I decided to take a bus to Bishop Auckland, a town about 12 miles away through the countryside, in order to see Auckland Castle, home to Durham's Prince Bishops from the 12th century until just a few years ago.  (I felt very brave doing this all by myself.   Chris was enjoying a long Sunday afternoon nap and Caroline didn't feel like going anywhere.)

12th century part of the building, originally a banqueting hall, now a chapel

nice view from inside the castle

inside the chapel (largest private one in Europe)

I had a very nice tour guide all to myself who took me all through the building and told me lots of interesting stuff.  There are also lovely grounds that used to be the Bishops' "deer park".  Basically the estate was the Prince-Bishops' weekend home and I guess the town that is there now grew up around it.

Home, dinner, some reading, some dumb TV.  A good day all-around.

Day 47: Durham

Another in-between day.

made myself a "full English" this morning

Well, except for I left out the black pudding and the sausage, and I didn't have a tomato, so actually this is not very authentic, sorry.  Whenever I have this breakfast, I am not hungry until mid-afternoon.  Yum, and quite filling.

I made a trip into town to the beauty salon this morning -- sorely in need of a haircut.

Chris is home this afternoon, after several days in London and Oxford.  I am checking Zachary's flight every now and then, right now he is somewhere over eastern Canada, I think.  Erin is back in Hillsborough and tomorrow Sam (corgi dog) and Maybelle (fat kitten) will come home from Grandad's.

from my favorite hill on my evening walk

public footpaths are awesome

this is the Durham School (or part of it) near our flat

picturesque road on my walk

flowering bushes and trees are starting to flower

We'll have another quiet two days and then Erin and Grandad will arrive!  Can't wait to see them.

Day 46: Durham

Put Zachary on the train this afternoon, he is back to London tonight and then on the plane back to North Carolina, tomorrow.

we had a really nice visit but I know he's eager to go home

Erin is home from college today and will have a few days to recover before getting on a plane on Monday, arriving here Tuesday afternoon.

walking back from the train station

we have to go up this hilled street

Day 45: Durham

Today is Zachary's last full day in Durham.  After lunch we walked to the Cathedral to look around a bit more.

Zachary and Caroline impersonating Harry and Hermione

you can't take photos inside so this is the best I can offer you

Later in the evening we walked into town for dinner at a pub.

this photo didn't really work

that's better

On our walk back we had to negotiate our way through a cycle race that was happening in town today.

ready, set, go!

The day ended with watching American Idol and a long chat. 

Day 44 (May 16): Durham

Sunny day this morning.  I had to walk into town for a few groceries (and to bring Chris a lunch -- he is off to London and Oxford for a few days of meetings/talks) and couldn't resist a few photos.

our building -- it's looking downright Spring-y around here

wonder how many photos I'll end up with from this spot?

end of the Cathedral with view of Dun Cow Lane (where Chris has his office)

Cathedral with blue skies

We managed a visit this afternoon to Durham Castle.  Students give tours through the public parts of the castle.  To date about 80 students live in the Castle itself (apparently their rooms were given an expensive overhaul just last year) and other students in University College live in other parts of the Castle & Cathedral complex.

oldest parts of the castle are 600-1000 years old

Day 43 (May 15): Back to Durham

Our first venture into Scotland comes to an end today with an early morning train back to Durham.

[I must say I do enjoy travel by train.  It's not particularly stressful, once you figure out the system and understand that you need to hang on to your ticket.  It's not tiring, and there's usually something interesting to look at out the window, or if not you can read your book or use your laptop or have a tea or coffee and munch on digestive biscuits.  It's especially nice when travelling with others to have seats together at a table.]

see that little building the middle of the photo?

Rest of the day involved unpacking, starting laundry, catching up on email, etc.

Day 42 (May 14): Train to Mallaig

Woke up to much better weather today, which was greatly appreciated!

Today's activity involved another train ride -- this time it's "The Jacobite" steam train from Fort William to Mallaig, a small port town on the far western coast of Scotland.

crossing over the Glenfinnan aqueduct on the train

another lovely train ride with beautiful scenery

the North Atlantic

there were lots of fishing boats in Mallaig

Back to Fort William for the evening.  I took a nice long walk around town before bed.

the town isn't much to look at but it is set in a nice spot

Day 41 (May 13): Fort William

Weather today in the northern Highlands was stormy -- yup, not just a bit of rain, but a LOT of rain and a LOT of wind plus cold temps.  Stay-inside day.  We braved the storm to walk to church in the morning, and then spent the rest of the day in our lodge room, resting, reading, playing cards, watching Scottish TV.  Fortunately there is a Tesco Metro and a Morrison's in town and our lodge has a small kitchen and dining room for guests so we didn't have to eat all our meals in a restaurant while we were in Fort William.

Our plans for today had included a gondola ride partway up Ben Nevis but due to the weather that will have to wait for another time.

Day 40 (May 12): Edinburgh... and to Fort William

Woke up to beautiful weather on Saturday.  I went out and took a few photos.

Edinburgh homes near the Castle

view of the New Town from the top of the Royal Mile

looking down the Royal Mile in the early morning

Since the weather was cooperating, after breakfast we decided to hike up Arthur's Seat that morning.

very fun walk and amazing views of the city and surrounds

Then we got on a city bus to the Ocean Terminal where HMY Britannia is docked and took a tour.

really worth the steep entrance fee

Our day was not yet over...  back to the station for our evening train which would take us from Edinburgh to Glasgow and then across the southern Highlands to Fort William.

a lot of amazing scenery on this train ride

And finally, bed.

Day 39 (May 11): Durham to Edinburgh

Fairly early departure on the train to Edinburgh, arrival mid-morning.  Weather somewhat rainy but not too dismal.  Checked in to our hotel and left our luggage, headed straight to the Castle.

Robert Bruce and William Wallace are in the alcoves

After the Castle we walked down the Royal Mile, stopping to visit St. Giles Cathedral. 

back of St. Giles Cathedral and statue of Adam Smith

Rest in our hotel room and dinner and then another short walk down the rest of the Royal Mile to the bottom of the hill where Holyrood Palace and the new Scottish Parliament building is.

very interesting building/complex

words from I Cor 13 carved into stone on the ground inside the Parliament building

We had fun watching American Idol on the TV in our hotel room -- since we don't usually have TV and don't usually watch American Idol.

the sky outside our hotel room that night gave me hope about the next day's weather