August 2004
Apart from our long weekend to the Lake District and Glasgow and environs, we made a couple of day-trips to nearby cities, Chester and Liverpool where we spent the day at Speke Hall. Kassie and John also managed to complete the Amazing Maize Maze at nearby Reaseheath College, an annual tradition of theirs.
Lake District and Scotland
Our first trip to the Lake District was met with much awe – the lakes and mountains and quaint little lakeside towns are truly beautiful – but also considerable rain, which is apparently not unusual in Summer. Visitors are advised to go in either Autumn or early Spring. It was raining so heavily at Lake Windermere that we decided to skip a hike and visit the World of Beatrix Potter Attraction instead. Kassie obviously lucked out! We managed visits to castles between rainstorms: Brougham Castle near Penrith and Sizergh Castle on the northern tip of Cumbria near Kendal.
The weather in Scotland was perfect, sunny and warm. We managed two long walks, one after touring the impressive Culzean Castle, which sits perched atop a cliff with stunning views across the sea to the mountains of the Isle of Arran, and another in the midst of our exploration of the late-eighteenth to early-nineteenth century mill factory village, New Lanark, located in a gorge on the banks of the River Clyde.
We had hoped to spend one day touring the Isle of Arran, driving along the 60-mile coast road which runs around the perimeter of the island, stopping to take in castles, glens, lochs and sandy bays, standing stones and cairns, even a whisky distillery. Sadly, we were informed that we not only had to book a ferry crossing in advance but also pay a whopping fee for the crossing (55 pounds for car and passengers). We decided to make a return visit and spend a night or two on the island and thus make the ferry crossing more worthwhile. We advise all visitors to the island to book their crossing well in advance or purchase an Island Hopscotch ticket.