Terrafirma Travels

 Blankets of rain Wave after incessant wave Fells gone and valley too Sheep heard not seen Complaining.   The Lakes, typical For September yet not every day The winding lanes, little veins Still suffer insufficiency Choking   Quiet swimming hole Swamped by water surging Flies desperate for winter shelter Farmer on quad Herding   All observed with Warm Rayburn at my side Absorbing book in hand Fleece and fluffy slippers Smiling And then we drove into Ambleside to see Daniel Craig's final outing in No Time To Die on its first day of release. In the small screen at Zefferelli's, with some empty seats surprisingly. Perhaps they drowned on the way there. The Zeff's meal that followed was fine, but the all-vegetarian menu has become a bit pasta & pizza focused.

 26th to 29th September Sunday we went on a modest walk to Tilberthwaite and back, with some rain along the way. At night we finished the fizz that had been a celebration of our wedding anniversary. Monday we set off early for Tarn Hows, despite the rain. We had a mission, to say a prayer for Lesley's uncle Hugh and scatter his ashes in the lake, without being observed by NT staff. We also screwed a third plaque into the back of Our Bench at the lake, to join the ones which remember Lesley's mum Deirdre and sister Mary. Then we drove to Coniston for some retail therapy at the Vintage shop - green clip earrings and a silk hankie - and an early lunch at the fantastic Green Housekeeper cafe, where soup & bread is a meal. Thus fortified we had a walk along the lake side towrads but not as far as Tolver. Tuesday dawned and resolutely remained wet and windy. Lesley's birthday (pic) was spent unapologetically inside, reading, opening presents (which involved more reading) and ...

In such a long catch-up we'll have to resist the temptation of mellifluous descriptions and stick to the facts, for future ref and posterity. This is 2021. Fri 17th Sep: did a Lateral Flow test then drove to Audrey in Market Bosworth. She was brave as ever but health worse, missing Tony. Terrible traffic all the way up M5 and round M42 - 4 hour journey took 7 hours. Andrew was there when we arrived - good to see him. Take-away chinese for which David & Sue joined us. Stayed at Millers in Sibson which was great. Lovely room, £68 inc full breakfast. Sat 18th: drove to Kirkcaldy via A1 all the way. No traffic problems, just remember there's nowhere to pee btw Berwick and Edinburgh - the stop at Berwick is right off the last roundabout before heading for the border. Bought huge 9 and 5 helium ballons, almost didn't fit into car. Turned away from La Gondola for the first time ever cos they were full at 18:00. Small fish supper ('supper' means inc chips in Scotland) f...

We've been together now (as the song goes) for sixteen years, and much land travelling has been done.  Heretofore we have taken photos and made occasional notes and sometimes annotated maps and guides ... but we've never recorded our exploits in the way we do for our sailing (cf https://sirenaivmaster.blogspot.com/). Henceforth we shall rectify this omission, perhaps (almost certainly) not consistently, but sufficent to entertain our dotage and possibly our family. Our main destination for land travels has been the Lake District every year - for Nic since 2006, and for Lesley going back 40 years or so. We stay with a family friend in a little cottage nestled away in a quiet corner. There are other travels too, and there may be more in future, so we hope dear blog-reader that you are entertained, and Lesley-and-Nic-of-the-future that your memories are jogged.