Tuesday, December 23, 2008

England Itinerary, 23 September - 14 October

Staying with Tom and Margaret Mellor at their Bed and Breakfast which is the in the village of Knowle Green in Lanchashire.

As we were driving through Yorkshire we actually met some gypsies living on the side of the road. The parents and the last daughter at home (plus about 20 dogs) live in these two old caravans in very poor conditions.


A rainbow over Loch Lomond, but I didn't get to see the Loch Ness monster!


One of my favorite parts of beautiful England is the Lake District. We stayed with lovely folks in this Cumbria district. Their home looked out on the beautiful fells which change in shade and color continually. We went for a walk around Lake Crummock. Being interested in sheep I was quite taken with the Herdwick sheep who graze on the tufts and braken of the fells. Beatrix Potter, who farmed in this disrict for about 30 years, loved Herdwick sheep. She bred them and won many prizes at national shows. Many of her books were written in this district.

Our trip to England, Holland, Scotland and Wales was gruelling, but wonderful. W loved and staying with the precious families and encouraging them. We had meetings, often twice or more a day, as well as traveling. Most people could not believe we could keep up with our itinerary, but we did and survived! And many were blessed.

We did not have time for sightseeing, although enjoyed the beautiful countryside as we traveled. We arrived to speak at one meeting in Scotland to find out that Castle Campbell, owned originally by Colin Campbell, was only about 10 minutes away! But it was evening and we had to travel back that night to another place ready for the next venue the next morning! We hope that one day we can go back to this spot and visit Castle Campbell. It was also quite near the William Wallace Monument in Stirling (which we didn't have time to stop and visit either!)