Seaside and St Bees

Porridge, coffee, Nic's sooty trousers washed by Ann after stain removal. (Sooty from sitting aft of the steam on the gondola).We had decided to attempt Black Combe, a top not counted as a Wainwright because it's just beyond the true Lake District. 

We drove over to Whicham and parked by a church to take the well worn path upwards. On the way we saw buzzards and what might have been a pair of kestrels hunting.  It's supposed to take 1hr 50 to reach the top. After about half that we called it a day, as the ascent through bracken was very steep and the down section looked equally challenging. And the view from where we had reached was pretty good. 

We ate our sandwiches and started down the hill. At least it didn't rain, and Nic's newish walking poles proved to be a boon. 

At the bottom, we walked some more of a level path to get in a few more steps, and then drove the short distance to Silecroft beach cafe. Wow, what brilliant coffee, beautiful picture windows on to the long beach. And then, a big surprise, six huge heavy horses appeared, ridden through the white surf of the Irish Sea. 

The horses walked into the car park where several horseboxes were parked. They were serene and patient, waiting to be loaded and taken back to the nearby home for heavy horses.

We had a short walk by the beach and set off for St Bees priory to the north. It is a glorious building, some of it medieval, dark and quiet, lit by vivid stained glass windows.

In here we found a statue by Lesley's old friend Josefina de Vasconcellos, of St Bega and the Virgin Mary. 

There were other works by Josefina but it was not clear where to find them, so we said goodbye and left a donation. 

It was a fair old distance from St Bees back to Ann's, so we wondered whether to go by better roads, via Keswick and have Lytham tea in the big town. But in the end we decided to just head back to Ann's where a crackling coal fire awaited us.

Tea was veggie sausages and three fresh veg, a simple joy after so many of our standard boat/van meals made with tins or pasta.

We watched the DVD of 'Brooklyn' with wet eyes, and retired to bed.