Frank, Joy, Wolfgang Wolfgang doesn’t know. “If I tell you how to go to White Horse Farm Inn, I’d be lying.” “I’ve owned the Buck Inn for fifteen years, but I still don’t know much about the surrounding area.” The night before, I talk to two locals in the pub. “White Horse Farm Inn, for …
Author: sabbatical2017blog
331. Parish Church Interiors
An English village without a parish church is inconceivable, unimaginable. It is as if small town Georgia had no Dominos or Subways or high school football stadiums more grand than county courthouses. Google informs me that there are 16,000 English churches, approximately 9,000 from the medieval period. Yikes! Entering a small church, my nose picks …
330. Sheep Thoughts
There are three sheep related facts that I know. First, I like socks and shirts made from Spanish originated Merino wool. Second, I know that in the late medieval and early modern periods, numerous English cities became wealthy centers of the wool trade. Third, I don’t know any children or family that have pet sheep. …
329. How Far Have the Stones Moved
Yesterday from Kirkby Stephen to Keld, a walk shaped by clouds and fog. The ubiquitous gray. Family room, bedroom, kitchen walls painted a gray going out of style. The gray as close as the end of my walking pole. Little to be seen. Wonderfully eerie. A gray day walking past the stones of Nine Standards. …
328. Vikings to Sheep Farmers
At 5AM, I look out my window onto Kirkby Stephen’s market square. The market has been around awhile, in 1361 a royal market charter was granted. I see a very early morning hiker already heading out of town.Yikes! I also see a Viking longboat in the middle of the square. Bread Shelf Loki Chained Late …
327. The Path in and through the Lake District
“No man steps in the same river twice.” Heraclitus “No person walks on the same path twice.” Lindquist One way to appreciate the Coast to Coast trail in the Lake District is through William Wordsworth’s classic metaphor in Guide to the Lake District. Place yourself in the center of the district, an area probably 35x45 …
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326. The Wordsworths and Grasmere
Specific individuals link to specific places. Since I was born in Springfield, Illinois, I live with images of Abe Lincoln. Tending store in nearby New Salem; living in the only home he owned on South Eighth Street; giving his sad farewell address to friends at the Western Train Depot. The Wordsworth are forever linked to …
325. “Ramblers for Rory” along the Way to Grasmere
Suzanna Cliff Christine The Borrowdale valley is beautiful in that representative English way. Stone walls. Stone bridges. Stone houses. Cold streams. Green pastures. Sheep centuries old. Lambs born yesterday. Seatoller, morning rain Today, I walk from Seatoller to Grasmere. Upon reaching the pass, I have to choose which route to follow. Once again, the High …
Continue reading 325. “Ramblers for Rory” along the Way to Grasmere
324. An Ibuprofen Day
Looking north from Ridge line, a tarn (lake) The first day proceeds as I expect. Making for Cleator, I walk almost six miles, a little more than a Stone Mountain circular. Wanting to break-in the legs, I walk in sunshine through a woodland timber area, pastures with sheep munching the grass. Dent Hill toward St …
323. Leaving St Bees
St bees Well, well, well. A diversion. I’m going to walk almost 200 miles and I don’t even get to start the trail in the usual way! The Coast to Coast Trail begins with a diversion. So much for walking along the actual coast as I did on the South West Coast Trail. Last December, …
