Sad Goodbyes and New Adventures...

Hi All

Well yesterday it was time to say goodbye to two very dear friends. It is sad to say goodbye when you don't know if or when you will see these wonderful people again. But I keep telling myself thatI will see them again, they are wonderful people, too good to have them leave my life. I am so very grateful to them both, they have gone out of their way for me and I do really appreciate all they have done. As Sheonagh says, I can go back anytime, I still have their house keys!!! Doh!! I was being so careful not to put them in my bag, to the length that I was locked out and I still ended up taking them away... I amaze myself sometimes. I have promised to return them by mail, first thing Monday morning.. Thank you to both Sheonagh and Ally, I had a wonderful time in you company and your lovely home.

I have hired a car, it has been christened Dorothy. I travelled from Dundee to Bishop Auckland, it took all of the afternoon, not a great length of distance, but the rain and the fog made driving very difficult. I was not used to Dorothy, she is a manual and has no cruise control, hence the dinasaur name... It took some getting used to Dorothy and she had to put up with the occasional gear grind, the poor love. I had to keep getting off the road to let all the traffic go by, it really was hair raising at times, the English countryside is lovely in the sunny weather, but not so great in the fog!! Never mind I managed, just another adventure.


Meet Dorothy..

Today I went for a drive all around the ancestoral area, it was awesome. I started by going to Staindrop, where my Ruddocks hailed from, I then went to Winston and Ingleton, then back to Staindrop and onto Hamsterley. It was very reminisent of Cornwall, little roads and high hedges, but the scenery I did see was lovely. If only the sun had came out it would have been awesome. The fog and rain are still lingering with me, bugger it!!


The church at Winston, a really lovely setting with beautiful views.

The villages are very close together and the roads are really narrow, turning is usually not an option. I went up a little lane to the Winston church and when I got to the gate it said "No cars past here". Well I looked around and there really wasn't anywhere to park, there was a gap in front of a house, so I thought "I will sneak in there and hope they don't notice, I'll only be a minute." As I was getting out of Dorothy, my bag hit the horn, twice... So much for being discrete, never mind I bolted and hoped no one was waiting for me on my return (they weren't thankfully). I searched the graveyard, but couldn't find any of my Ruddock graves, although I do know some of them died there...


The view from Winston Churchyard.

I also went to the graveyard in Staindrop, I took some pics of the Ruddock headstones there, although I do have them already as lovely Simon sent them to me years ago. I then headed for Hamsterley, no headstones of my lot there either, but it has a lovely view. I was a little hesitant searching the Hamsterley cemetery as it had a sign up that scared the hell out of me...


What the heck does that mean?? What do they use, I was looking for graves while watching for traps and I didn't know what... So I had a quick look and bolted!!

I had a lovely morning and early afternoon driving around. I saw Raby castle, but the place was closed, so I got a shot from the road. If our Royal ancestory is really correct then many of our ancestors were born in this castle. If not I have a pic of it anyway....


More tiny roads, just like Cornwall. Picturesque though.

The hotel I am staying in is very cheap, quite quaint from the outside and my room is quite nice. Well except for the bathroom, that really needs renovating. Last night when I entered the bathroom I pulled the cord hanging from the ceiling, the light didn't come on, but the shower started working, I kid you not. I pulled it again and the shower stopped...!!??? I was like, that didn't really happen, so I pulled it again, and yep the shower turned on again.... I looked around and saw another rope pull hanging from the ceiling, so I pulled that too, in for a penny, in for a pound. I was wondering if the toilet would flush, I kept a weary eye on it, but no, the light came on... So there you have it, the first time I have ever started my shower with a cord pull attached to a ceiling, you learn something new everyday. I think I have had enough of cheap hotels, so the next two nights will be spent in a B&B and I shall let you know how that turns out..


See no taps, you regulate the heat from here and pull a cord to get it started...different to say the least...

I am heading for the Lakes district tomorrow, I shall stay for 2 days and then head south, through South Yorkshire to hopefully catch up with a couple of friends I met in Greece. I have no idea where I shall head then.

So til next time

Cheers
Lones