Cockermouth

Cockermouth is an ancient market town and civil parish in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England, and is so named because it is at the confluence of the River Cocker as it flows into the River Derwent. It has a population of 7,900. Historically a part of Cumberland, Cockermouth is situated outside the English Lake District on its northwest fringe. Much of the architectural core of the town remains unchanged since the basic medieval layout was filled in the 18th and 19th centuries. The town is prone to flooding, being flooded in 2005 and again in 2009.

Cockermouth's principal claim to fame is that William Wordsworth was born here, and spent the first years of his life at the school in Kirkgate (now the Church Hall). He certainly wrote about it in one of his poems.

"A little croft we owned - a plot of corn,
A garden stored with peas, and mint, and tyme,
And flowers for poises, oft on Sunday morn
Plucked while the church bells rang their earliest chime,
Can I forget our freaks at shearing time!
My hen's rich nest through long grass scarce espied;
The cowslip-gathering in June's dewy prime;
The swans that with white chests up reared in pride
Rushing and racing came to meet me at the waterside
From Guilt and Sorrow - XXIV

Wordsworth is not the only well known person to have come from the town or its environs. Both Fletcher Christian, the mutineer, of the Bounty, and John Dalton of atomic theory fame came from Cockermouth.
Our hotel -

River Cocker

Streets that were flooded in 2009 - water came nearly to the 2nd floor of these buildings. Re building is still going on today.


A pub stop behind our hotel!

Cheers!

Rainbow

We were lucky to see several rainbows in England but this one over the North Sea was my favorite!

Bamburgh Castle

As we continued down the east coast about 10 miles south of Lindisfarne we came to Bamburgh Castle. It dates back so far as an important stronghold because of its location that it is hard to comprehend. In 800 BC the Votadini tribe claimed it. The actual castle below was built by the Normans around 1066 and William II unsuccessfully besieged it in 1095 during a revolt supported by its owner, Robert de Mowbray, Earl of Northumbria. After Robert was captured, his wife continued the defence until coerced to surrender by the king's threat to blind her husband. Bamburgh then became the property of the reigning English monarch, Henry II. As an important English outpost, the castle was the target of occasional raids from Scotland. In 1464 during the Wars of the Roses, it became the first castle in England to be defeated by artillery, at the end of a nine-month siege by Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick. The Forster family of Northumberland provided the Crown with twelve successive governors of the castle for some 400 years until the Crown granted ownership to Sir John Forster. The family retained ownership until Sir William Forster (d. 1700) was posthumously declared bankrupt, and his estates, including the castle, were sold to Lord Crew, Bishop of Durham (husband of his sister Dorothy) under an Act of Parliament to settle the debts. The castle deteriorated but was restored by various owners during the 18th and 19th centuries. It was finally bought by the Victorian industrialist William Armstrong, who completed the restoration.

Richard Burton came to Bamburgh to shoot scenes for “Becket” with Peter O’Toole in 1964 bringing screen idol Elizabeth Taylor on location with him. It’s harsh beauty and history has captivated directors like Roman Polanski who filmed a violent interpretation of William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” at the castle in 1971. In the same year acclaimed director Ken Russell chose Bamburgh as the backdrop for cult film, “The Devils” starring Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave.

The castle enjoys more than its fair share of legends and myths. The medieval fortress is thought by many to be the original site of Sir Lancelot's castle, Joyous Garde.

Over the years the castle has starred in many a historical epic including the 1952 adaption “Ivanhoe” starring Elizabeth Taylor, “El Cid” with Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren in 1961, the 1972 film "Mary Queen of Scots" with Glenda Jackson and more recently “Elizabeth” with Cate Blanchett and Joseph Fiennes in 1998.








the town below...

Lindisfarne

This was one of my favorite stops - it reminded me of Mont St. Michelle, Lindisfarne is a tidal island off the north-east coast of England also known as Holy Island, the name of the civil parish. According to one place-name authority, the name originates in Old English, and means "island [of the] travellers from Lindsey",indicating that the island was settled from Lindsey, or possibly that its inhabitants travelled there. In 2001 the island had a population of 162. We were able to cross the causeway in and back out before the tide came in and closed off the road for 5 hours!


Lindisfarne Castle is a 16th-century castle and is located in what was once the very volatile border area between England and Scotland. Not only did the English and Scots fight, but the area was frequently attacked by Vikings. The castle was built in 1550, around the time that Lindisfarne Priory (above picture) went out of use, and stones from the priory were used as building material. It is very small by the usual standards, and was more of a fort. The castle sits on the highest point of the island, a whinstone hill called Beblowe. Lindisfarne's position in the North Sea made it vulnerable to attack from Scots and Norsemen, and by Tudor times it was clear there was a need for a stronger fortification. This resulted in the creation of the fort on Beblowe Crag which between 1570 and 1572 formed the basis of the present castle below.

Alnwick Castle

In the north east corner of England, on the border with Scotland is Alnwick castle which was on my bucket list! I was thrilled to see where Harry Potter was filmed.....think Hogwarts school!

A little background on the castle for you - Alnwick Castle is the second largest inhabited castle in England, and has been the home of the Percys, Earls and Dukes of Northumberland since 1309, making this year the 700 year anniversary. The earliest mention of Alnwick Castle in the history books appears soon after 1096 when Yves de Vescy became baron of Alnwick and erected the earliest parts of the Castle. The Castle was first restored, primarily as a fortress, by the 1st Lord Percy of Alnwick in the early 1300's and portions of this restoration remain today, including the Abbot's Tower, the Middle Gateway and the Constable's Tower. Since then generations of Percys have continued to make their mark. During the late 17th century the Castle fell into decay until Elizabeth Seymour and her husband Hugh Smithson, later to become the first Duke and Duchess of Northumberland, took up the challenge and turned it into a family residence of "gothick" style with the help of architects such as Robert Adam and the landscape designer, Capability Brown. Algernon, Fourth Duke later replaced the 18th century "gothick", employing the architect Anthony Salvin. Since then modern comforts have been added, and Alnwick Castle was one of the first homes in the North East to have electricity. Run by a recently restored hydro electric system installed in 1889, there was enough power produced to run 100 electric lamps.








Keith, Fred, Mary Etta and Terry

The country side was breathtaking - like a picture!

York, England

During our first week in England we traveled around the northern part of the country and a touch in southern Scotland. So much history! Our first stop was York. York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city was founded by the Romans in 71 AD. Now that is old! In the Middle Ages York grew as a major wool trading centre and the ecclesiastical capital of the northern province of England. The Province of York has remained one of the two Church of England ecclesiastical provinces, along with that of Canterbury. York's location on the River Ouse, in the centre of the Vale of York and half way between the capitals of London and Edinburgh means that it has long had a significant position in the nation's transport system, specifically the railway network. In recent decades, the economy of York has moved from being dominated by its confectionery and railway. The University of York and health services have become major employers. Tourism also boosts the local economy because the city offers a wealth of historic attractions, of which York Minster is the most prominent, and a variety of cultural activities. In 2009 it was the 7th most visited city by UK residents and the 13th most visited by overseas visitors.

York Minster:





A view of the Minster from one of the narrow shopping areas:

Who's thirsty? We tried a pub or two in every place we visited!

Our hosts showing us the ropes! Keith and Terry.

Narrow Boating

With no internet access during my travels, it was impossible to blog so I have a bit of catching up to do! I spent the last 3 weeks in the UK with friends and we spent one of the weeks traveling through the canals of central England on a narrow boat. We've all known each other for nearly 30 years which is a requirement when you are living in such a small space for a week! We mastered the art of going up and down the locks and I think we stopped at every pub along the way! Our boat was from Shakespeare Classic Lines and every one of their boats is named after a Shakespeare character. Ours was the "Falstaff". Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare as a companion to Prince Hal, the future King Henry V. A fat, vain, boastful, and cowardly knight, Falstaff leads the apparently wayward Prince Hal into trouble, and is ultimately repudiated after Hal becomes king. We on the other hand did not lead anyone into trouble!!

Here is a tour of our boat. There were 5 of us and the boat sleeps 6 so we had plenty of room!!!!





Here we are pulling into a lock, the lock filling with water and then exiting at the new level. We must have gone through 30 or more of these ranging in depth of 5 to 11 feet - although some seemed bigger! No lock-keepers to help us so we had to open and close them all ourselves which kept everyone on their toes!