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Day 8:
July 9th, 2003
CARLISLE,
England |
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There are TONS o’ PIX on THIS PAGE!
– Even AFTER I stuck EIGHT of them on a separate “BEDROOM PIX” page!
So, it may be a LONG Download! Sorry.
The drive from Perth to Carlisle took a bit longer than the 3 hours it should have,
because of the rain and the loads of construction traffic. I wanted to get a pic of the funny
(to USA-types) “QUES LIKELY” signs (LINES/Waits due to Construction Likely), but I was
following a POLICE VEHICLE most of the way! So, I didn’t dare slow to snap! LOL
I didn’t have any terrific problems getting to Carlisle. Well, OK, ALREADY!!!
ONCE, after getting off the Motorway (Interstate) at a Service Area (Rest Stop Plaza) to
get petrol & “hit the loo” (gas & pee), I ended up going the WRONG WAY (NORTH)!
But, HEY! I got turned back around before TOO long! HAR.
Ah! JUST FOUND IT. Carlisle IS in ENGLAND! JeeZe. Glad to have THAT cleared up!
I had great directions to the B&B. (Yay, MapQuest!)
I’d selected the Croftlands B&B because of its great-sounding description on the Internet:
CROFTLANDS is a large stone built family home situated on the edge of the pretty village of Heads Nook and 4 miles from Carlisle with its cathedral, castle and museum. The beautiful rooms are spacious and well furnished and there is a billiard room with full size table, a large garden with croquet lawn, and stabling and kennels for your horses/dogs. An ideal position for travelers to/from Scotland, close to Roman Wall, Lake District and Solway Coast.
But, I’d COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN that description!
So, imagine my surpriZe when THIS is what I pulled up to:
Yeah. This pic is a morph. But, I couldn’t get the WHOLE PLACE in ONE pic!
Some “family home” – eh?!
The owners, Hugh & Ann Lawson, were there to greet me when I pulled into the
parking area in back. What wonderful people! Very kind and welcoming.
Ann began my tour of the “Guest Wing” by bringing me in the back door (the front door
is straight ahead from the back door), and showing me upstairs to my room.
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I was the ONLY person
staying with them that night,
so Ann gave me
“The Best Room”
right at the top of the stairs.
It was a “suite” (having its
own bathroom), and it was
absolutely stunning!
To see the pix
of my bedroom,
CLICK HERE! |
One of TWO “Sitting Rooms” in the Guest Wing. This one has a telly … the smaller one doesn’t.
When Ann showed me the Guest Wing Dining Room (above) and told me that THIS is
where breakfast would be served, I remembered that I was their ONLY guest that night.
So, I asked, “Do you and Hugh eat breakfast in the dining room?”
“Oh, NO, luv! We eat in the kitchen.”
Well, hell! I didn’t want her to have to dirty this gorgeous dining room just for ME.
And (more importantly), I didn’t want to eat breakfast ALL BY MY LONESOME, LOL!
Thankfully, Ann’s face lit up when I asked, “Would I be imposing if I asked to eat with you?”
YAY! I got to breakfast with them, in their incredibly comfy cozy country kitchen!
Ann & Hugh frequently travel to Equestrian Competitions, so they don’t have
B&B guests that often. (“We just do it for a little extra pocket money.”)
Their “family home” is as GRAND as some of the places I’ve paid to TOUR!
It’s crammed full of gorgeous antiques, but – like Castle Forbes –
it’s just “worn” enough around the edges to be quite homey and comfy.
After stowing some stuff in my room, I took off to find Hadrian’s Wall and
Birdoswald Roman Fort (pix later). But, upon my return, the first place I wanted
to visit at the Croftlands was … oh, surpriZe! … THE STABLES!!!
This structure is the “BARN” and “GARAGE” – Yeah, RIGHT!!!
Just past it, you can see the stables at the LEFT of the pic.
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Clearly, I was in
Horsie-Petting HEAVEN!
And, was only BARELY a BIT bummed
that they weren’t insured to let me RIDE.
Hugh & Ann have a young woman they
call their “surrogate daughter” living with
them. (I forgot to write her name down!)
She’s an “Olympic Class” rider and
earns her room and board by helping
to care for the horses they
own and board for others.
Their stock is “mostly thoroughbred,
but with a bit of Irish Draft tossed in.”
They actually have a SECOND set
of stables at the end of one of the
pastures surrounding the home. |
After petting the horsies, I gathered my Trip Diary and a glass of wine,
then found a place at the edge of the lawn to sit, sip, smoke cigs, and write.
Ann, Surrogate Daughter, and Hugh puttered about in some of their flower beds
for a bit, while their dogs played like MADD PERSONS on the lawn.
I forgot to write down the puppies’ names, too, DAMMIT.
They were both CLEAN (read “not stinky, so quite pettable”) and sweet souls.
They must have
done SOMETHING
naughty, though
… because they
BOTH
ended up
IN JAIL!
Oh, alright.
This is their Kennel.
Even though it’s got a
CEMENT floor
(unlike some very
lucky KATZ’ habitat),
the kennel is clean,
has a brick (!) shelter,
and they seem to
actually LIKE it. |
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Rear view of the Croftlands from my sitting-sipping-smoking-writing spot.
I could stay here AGAIN – in a HEART BEAT!
Next DAY EIGHT Pix Options (in order of trip occurrence):
Hadrian’s Wall Birdoswald Roman Fort
Return to CHAS’ UK Trip Directory Days 6 through 12
Return to CHAS’ UK Trip Directory Days 1 through 5
Return to the Miller Fandamily PIX DIRECTORY
Return to The Miller Fandamily’s HOME PAGE
(the one with other Main-Directory Page Links)
If you have suggestions for The Miller Fandamily Web Site,
OR contributions to the photo gallery!
please Email WebMistress Chas!
c-d-miller@neb.rr.com
That’s: c-d-miller@neb.rr.com –
those are hyphens/dashes (-) between the “c” and “d” and “miller”
