June 11, Day 1 Carlisle

Up at 7:35 and down for my last breakfast here which was a continental and very good. Checked the Ball scores and see that the blue Jays have now won 8 in a row and are at .508. Fingers crossed that the trend continues because I remember their run last year.

I am all packed or so I thought. Had a nice chat with David and Christine and took a picture of his MR2 Toyota and sent it to Richard Bowness. He thought it looked pretty good and told me to bring it home. It is for sale by the way. Incidentally the trees in the pastures are sycamore which are well known in the Sycamore Gap on Hadrian;'s Wall.

Thought I had a picture of a sycamore tree. I may find one yet.
















At 9:30 David drove me into Haltwhistle where I accessed an ATM and then on down to the train station. I was able to walk over the ramp and was just sitting down to wait for the train when I heard David calling to me. I had left my wallet in the car. I wouldn't have been able to retrieve my ticket from the machine at any rate. I did this next and was comfortably sitting down reading a book with only about 10 minutes to go until the train arrives. Just then I heard my name being called from across the tracks. Yes it was David again brandishing my two coats that I had left in the closet. Good thing it wasn't 20 miles away. I retrieved them and told him if he found anything else to throw it in the bin. I'm afraid all the good work I had gone to to create a good impression was now lost.

The train was right on time and took about 30 minutes back through that lovely countryside. I got off and looked for a place to leave my large suitcase and coats and was able to do so for 2 pounds (best bargain of the day), It then went looking for an electronics shop. It was 20 c and sunny and I was dressed pretty warm. I checked in one place and while they had a few options none of them would fit. They suggested I try a large electronics outlet about 2 miles away. Fortunately there was a #60 bus that stopped outside the door and dropped me right there for 3 pounds (second best deal of the day). Within 15 minutes they were able to provide a new converter that will adapt to all my electronics for 22 pounds (third best deal of the day). The bus ticket I had bought was an all day one so I was able to get back on the bus and be dropped at the Train Station.

I discovered that my Guest House was only about a 10 minute walk away. Rather than take all my stuff at once started off following a map and sure enough 10 minutes later arrived at my new home Langleigh Guest House on Howard Street around noon. I was welcomed by Yvette and Norman and shown up to my room. It was very pleasant with a large bed and armoire. An en-suite bathroom that contained a writing desk and chair rounded out my facilities.

Langleigh House

 

I connected my new charger to my computer and was back in business. I strolled back down to the City Centre and looked around for something to eat and drink. There were lots of places but I couldn't seem to find the right combination so against my better judgement I stopped at a chain pub called Wetherspoon's and ordered a pint of John Smith. I don't know why I did this because it is one of my least favourite beers but this place only serves a few on tap beers and this was the best of the worst. 

Leaving this place I walked around some of the side streets and there were a lot of them. I found the King's Head Pub. This where I should have been. I bought a 1/2 pint of Yates Bitter. I tried to talk them into cooking a couple of lamb chops (not on their menu) for me from the butcher shop across the street but they wouldn't do that.  Their menu did look good however so I might be back for supper.

King's Head

I stopped into the Iceland Grocery and picked upa piece of Wensleydale and Cranberry cheese and a package of Sultana Scones. After a shower I was sitting down with my own English tea and scones and cheese. It was delicious. After writing up more of my blog I left for supper at 6:10 fully expecting to go to the King's Head. For whatever reason I decided to try something different and went into the Casa Romana right on Warwick Street. It was clean but there was only one other customer there. I should have listened to my Father's voice in my head saying "Never eat at a place where there isn't a crowd, because they know where the good food is." I ordered a spaghetti bolagnese which was very good and paired it with a glass of Merlot which was also very good. The only problem was that the wine was more expensive that the meal. I could have bought a whole bottle for that price. Oh well I'll try the King's Head tomorrow although I did see another one by St. Cuthbert's Church.

After supper I walked toward the centre of town, along the West Wall, around St. Cuthbert's Church, past Carlisle Cathedral and down to the Carlisle Castle. These are all places that I intend to visit tomorrow. It was very quiet in the centre of town, a huge contrast to the day time. When the business offices close the place gets very quiet but it was also very peaceful. 

Back to Langleigh House by 7:45, wrote up some in the blog, watched a detective show on TV and off to bed at 11:00