Skipton Galloway Dumfries that was July

As you may know the Queen told us we could stay in the country at the beginning of July.  So we immediately booked a trip out of here.  We are going for a week to Munich to witness the Oktoberfest, 2nd to 8th. I think it is a large farmers market, hope I'm not disappointed.  Shouldn't be, we are meeting Jon and kylie, Trish and Cora et al and they have promised to buy us a beer.  So that will be nice.

Speaking of agriculture this month's blog hints at Gail's delight in cows.  We saw lots in SCOTLAND!         Yes we spent another fantasicloverly week up there with Carolyn and David staying in Jill's holiday cottage right on the beach, well, almost,near enough.  As the photos will show below.  As we have done the Monrieth (search this site from the search box to the right if you want more photos) before I will only put some pics here of it and will load our day trips etc, and cows.

Other than that Gail won a secondment to two Newcastle based hospitals for 6 months to learn lots of scary stuff that she is excited about.  The hospitals are only 50 miles away so closer than her usual trips to find the mobile vans in Manchester hospitals and further afield.  For me, I've been applying for hundreds of jobs, any job, any pay, and going to recruiters, redesigning my CV, working my tail off looking for work now we can stay and work here unrestricted.  So far I have an interview to drive a white van delivering meat.... got to start somewhere I guess.  All good practise.   But you want to see adventure pictures...  So .....  Here they are all 40 of them.  C lick on the first and you can just scroll through them one at a time

 The Tempest Arms is just out of Skipton and was a really nice pub for lunch I did a trip adviser on it it was so noice.

While we were in Skipton after the lunch, we walked the streets and back canals, Dodged the rain and had a nice cream tea.... how very yorkshire. 

 Not so long after that we followed David up to Scotland, A1, A66, M6, A74 for those who get off on English road numbers.... it's quite a way of conversation over here...

Stopped off at the Llama Cafe but didn't take them up on their offered Llama walk through the burns and dells of Scotland.

The we followed David some more

Until we arrived in Monrieth unpacked and looked out our bedroom window.  Doesn't look all that scary.

So we went for a walk to the beach

And met some cows

And looked back to our holiday cottage

And over the Gavin Maxwell memorial view

 It is quite the climb and I look as knackered as I felt.  Carolyn of course is used to much sterner walks and looks gorgeous.

When we got back this girl was looking over the back fence

There were other walks on the beaches

And up hills

And through fields

Which had cows

and barns

And stupidly high cairns which we saw and decided to climb up to see the views.

which were quite amazing

I mean really amazing

But a long climb and again we were knackered.  We did have a nice long chat to the farmer who had just recently uncovered a 3000year old grave with a skeleton in it and the Government came and did study and stuff, told him bronze age , important person, more later.  He hasn't heard.

Nice views to catch breath by.  Air is yummy.

The walk down hill was easier and we met some sheep.

 They live next to a creek (burn) at this place.  It has history.  Look it up.

That bloody cow was still there when we got back

We also went for drives and this is Gateway of Fleet mill.  We saw a red squirrel near here, and an eagle.   They have a big camera you can zoom in and look for things up and down the river.

MockOrange is sweet.

These are Cairn Holy we found on another drive out.   No one really knows. Probably a community burial site for rural village thousands of years ago.  Spooky and amazing .  Like a tiny Stonehenge,

We also ate some cheese and drank some wine in the backyard, and kitchen, and lounge room, and after dinner.

Then we drove to New Galloway, past Black Loch

And into the town to look at an art gallery where we didn't buy anything because we don't have any walls left to hang stuff on.

Stupidly we decided to see if we could encourage a coronary by walking a kilometre straight up a forestry trail to look at another view.

 

Which was rather worth it to be fair.  And we didn't die.  Which was nice.

The bridge at Newton Stewart

A delay on the way home.  127 cows.

That bloody cow was there again.  with friends.

So we went down the beach again.

The rains had caused the Burn to run strong and wash the stepping stones away so our headland walk was thwarted.

On the way home at the end of the hooliday we stopped into the farmers market at Wigtown. Bought chocolate, yum, breads, yum, and socks...warmmmm.

This is Lunch stop Dumfries city, Robbie Burns was born here, that's him in white. Much loved by all except seagulls.  The rest of these are Dumfries views we liked.

 And that was July.  Or most of it, it's the 25th today and who knows what may happen in a week.

June end - Bentley, Blooms, Bulls and Buns

All the 'B's are a fitting alliteration for the final days of the mid summer month of June.
Summer, what a joke.
Please don't presume for one minute that just because the camera comes out on fine days that we have had anything other than mostly cold wet days.
 I just heard today that June 2012 has been the coldest for 20 years.... What's all this about global warming then? Anyway, on with the pictures.

 Gail and I found our way into Leeds for a spot of High Tea one afternoon, wit champagne at the Cosmo Hotel on the Calls, an acceptable outing 
Before going out for a couple of drinks and a DVD (The Dish) with our neighbours Kate and Graham. (and Bentley). On the way we also glimpsed the finishing touches going on Leeds' big new glass covered shopping adventure in the city centre.  More on that when it opens later this year.

The night with Kate Graham and Bentley was a relaxed affair.  A few drinks, a nice salad and pork pie meal, some drinks, some drinks, some drinks and a DVD with some drinks and we wobbled home around sometime after 2a.m.  Gail had behaved herself, me, not so much.

Recovery took the form of a nice long walk the next day, again to Spofforth, this time for some nice greasy fish/chips/hamburger combo and a calming ale. 

 Gail decided some local little bulls waiting to go to market would just love to listen in to a work call she took as we were coming home from the pub.

Duty calls in the charity world and flowers still need water despite the rain we are told.  There is a schedule for doing the town's display and Bob Rolf and I got a Wednesday night spot.  I am nit the right size for the watering tractor.

At some time between drinks earlier in the week I had obviously agreed to look after Bentley while Kate and Graham were off doing.  He is a charming and sweet idiot of a dog.  Granted the back yard is not quite Great Dane sized but we were a little surprised when he jumped down this stone embankment while Gail was playing with him. 

After a long walk and his growing phobia to wooden floors we managed to settle him into some form of a relaxed state in time for Kate and Graham to come and collect him.  A coffee and a chat and our June 2012 was over.

BUT WE HAVE OUR PASSPORTS BACK!!!!