View from the car when Nanny directed us half way up a mountain, only to realise it was a dead end and on the way down we met half of the county's sheep population coming the other way. the helpful elderly shepherdess asked, "Did you think I was standing int road fot good of me 'ealth?" so we just blamed Nanny and took pictures of the sheep like good little tourists!
The rest of our holiday was amazing, Doris and Little Fink went horse riding on a very rainy Saturday, they had a great time and I was 'proud mum' when I saw Little Fink on her pony, "Pinto" cantering up the beach.
We also took in the sights of St Bees - the wind had whipped the sea up into foam which was blowing all round the place - surreal.
We went to Ravenglass and saw the narrow gauge train, "L'al Ratty", we also visited the nearby Roman Baths (baths in Cumbria - they must have been mad brrr!). Then we headed up to Muncaster Castle and took in the castle, we waited patiently for the herons to come down to be fed on the battlements of the caste, Graham was beside himself but unfortunately the clocks had got back the night before and the birds had all been there an hour earlier. Graham was the only heron at the celebrated and widely advertised event! (During his whole day out with us, only one lady asked us why he was there. I told her Little Fink was 'special' and she would only be calm if she could bring Graham everywhere!! he he). Doris, Ched, Nanny, Little Fink and I went on a ghost walk (it being Halloween an all) round the dark grounds of the castle, we were led by a guide in Victorian costume telling us about the various murders and wrong doing that had gone on in the area, resulting in the ghosts and ghouls we were to see. As we passed a gazebo on our left a blood curdling scream resounded, Nanny shrieked in my left ear and Little Fink in my right. It was pretty scary. Then we headed up to the church, were led inside and given some background info, then walked back into the darkness outside. As the church door closed with a satisfying gothic thud, the church bells started to ring - THAT was spooky, church bells in the dark. brrrr. We rounded the corner listening to tales of Jenny Greenteeth who could just out of the water or hide under bridges, ready to trap unsuspecting children, when as we rounded the corner and passed a massive clump of gigantic bamboo, over 10 feet tall, the bamboo started to shake and rattle and a manic laugh came from within. Terrifying. As we rounded the final path and were told the tale of the poor woman drowned in the river Esk by 2 fellows, a shrieking woman figure in a white shroud ran up the path in front of us. We finished by walking down to the castle fire juggler. In some ways he was the scariest thing as his act was so bad!
In any case, I recommend a trip to the castle after dark. they also light up some of the trees in different colours, well worth a visit imho.
