Today's outing proved a bit more challenging due to the fact that we missed our bus connection because of a late bus leaving Durham, and had to wait for the next bus in a town that was, well, not the least bit interesting. So we walked up and down, ate our sandwiches, looked at our watches, and just tried to enjoy the fact that we were sitting at a bus stop in a random village in northeast England, in the rain. (We did have rain jackets and umbrellas so no worries there. We've learned to be prepared for rain at all times.)
Then, the bus that came through and picked us up took a rather roundabout "scenic" route to our destination... but again, the bright side here is that we got to see some more of the English countryside for nothing extra!
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| the Bowes Museum |
Turns out if we'd gotten to the museum when we'd originally planned that we'd probably have had too much time. So it all worked out.
The museum was interesting, mainly for its fabulous building and over-the-top collections of paintings, porcelain, furnishings, and household decorations. A lot to look at so at some point one does start to kinda "glaze over".
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| I don't remember what was so funny but I like this photo |
Also in the town is Barnard Castle (ruins) which we visited in the light rain, after a short walk down the High St. and a stop in Costa Coffee.
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| girls are peering through the opening to the river below |
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| today was Caroline's 14th birthday |
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| inside one of the castle towers |
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| view of the river Tees |
Fortunately the bus ride back to Durham was efficient and uneventful.
