Today we entered Scotland! Driving from Carlise to Newton Stewart, and had much better weather. As soon as we entered Scotland we got sunshine 🙂
Photo of the day
Sweetheart Abbey at New Abbey
Carlise
Carlise was our last stopping point before crossing the Eden and Esk Rivers into Scotland. The impressive Norman castle and Jarno in the rain.Good point!Carlise Cathedral dating from 1133, just down the road from the castle.
Caerlaverock
Our first stop in Scotland at the medieval Caerlaverock Castle. We also became members of Historic Scotland, as it looked like the route ahead would probably include many castles and historic sites!A small but surprisingly elaborate Renaissance castle.Looking up to the sky from the pit-prison.
New Abbey
Sweetheart Abbey in New Abbey, named after Lady Dervorgilla, its founder who was buried with the heart of her husband.Freshly cut grass at the abbey.A quick tour of the The New Abbey Corn Mill.
Carse Bay
Views across Carse Bay and the Solway Firth.
Southerness
An unusual square backed lighthouse sitting among rock pools at Southerness Point.
Rockcliffe
Our first ice cream in Scotland, and believe it or not, the first ice cream on our coastal road trip.And plenty of people squeezed on to the beach enjoying the sunshine.
Orchardton Tower
The Orchardton Tower down a small lane. The only roundhouse in Scotland. And we were its only visitors.
Hazelfield
Eco views across the Solway Firth from Hazelfield.And a straw giant in a field by the road…. no we have no idea either.
Dundrennan
Dundrennan Abbey was closed by the time we arrived but fortunately it towered above the walls, so we could easily take a quick look around from the outside.
Kirkcudbright
Kirkcudbright town viewed from across the bay, with MacLellan’s Castle under a bit of renovation. We had pie and chips for dinner as a little arrival treat in Scotland 🙂An old boat on the banks of Kirkcudbright Bay.
Little Ross
Little Ross Lighthouse in the distance.
Fixer-upper
We came across this fixer-upper on the coastline between Ross and Anwoth, maybe we need a bit of a smaller project.
Cardoness Castle
Built by the McCulloch family in the 1400s. It had already closed for the day, so just viewed from a distance.
Cairnholly Chambered Cairns
And finally, glowing in the evening sun, an ancient burial ground and meeting place from 4-6,000 years ago! Jarno couldn’t open the gate (the gate was newer).
A rather dull day nine as we drove north along the coast from Barrow-In-Furness to Carlise.
Photo of the day
St Bees Lighthouse
South Walney
First stop of the day was the South Walney Nature Reserve, with its views back north to Piel Castle, which we had seen the evening before from the other side by Rampside.The ranger’s hut at the nature reserve, an Aladdin’s cave of nature related info.We encountered a very curious (and hungry) friend.
Eskmeals
Next to the pebble beach, we found this sign, we moved on quickly…But behind the beach there were idyllic views over meadows to the Lake District.
Ravenglass
Cute seaside cottages (very close to the sea on the other side) in the small village of Ravenglass.
Sellafield
The word’s first commercial nuclear power station. Julian had remembered adverts for the visitor centre as a kid, and was weirdly curious to visit. However, it seems the visitor centre no longer exists, so instead we made do with these views across the fields.
St Bees
More views across fields. We were trying to get a closer look at St Bees Lighthouse, but down a very narrow quiet country lane we came across private property signs. So we decided to view from a distance over this golden brown wheat field.
Whitehaven
A bit of a tired looking lighthouse at Whitehaven.Remains of Whitehaven’s industrial past.
Maryport
Next to Maryport Lighthouse there was a display of lighthouse paintings by local school children, so here is one of them to add a bit of colour to day nine of our Coastal Road Trip.A bleak and cold evening at the Maryport breakwater.
Siloth
Before heading east along the coast to Carlise we stopped by Siloth, with its surprisingly wide cobbled streets, and long stepped promenade stretching into the distance.
Today’s drive on the north west coastline was pretty varied as we covered everything from quiet coastal villages to busy holiday resorts like Blackpool.
Photo of the Day
Blackpool Lights
Preston
As you follow the north west coastline, Preston is the first crossing point over the River Ribble. As luck would have it there was a disused lighthouse by the local Morrisons supermarket at the town marina. I guess not many lighthouses have a trolley park at their base.
Lytham St Anne’s
Lytham Windmill, our first windmill (keeping Jarno happy), right on the edge of the grassy Ribble estuary.The view across the estuary from the local RSPB sanctuary.Lytham St Anne’s Pier and the broad sandy beach.Donkeys being prepared for the day ahead on the beach.
Blackpool
A few typical sights along the long Blackpool seafront. First at the southern end, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, behind a chippy.The Blackpool lights (by day), no prizes for guessing who were sponsoring this section of the lights.And at the northern end of the promenade, the magnificent Blackpool Tower.
Cleveleys
The promenade looked pretty smart here, it clearly had a recent face lift. A huge shell work of art (Mary’s Shell) on the empty beach.
Fleetwood
More disused lighthouses, first the larger Pharos Lighthouse at Fleetwood.
Knott End-on-Sea
Then whilst having a picnic at Knott End-on-Sea, we had a great view back west over the River Wyre to the Lower Lighthouse at Fleetwood.
Lancaster
Crossing the River Lune at Lancaster, we stopped to look at Lancaster Castle. Interestingly it was still a working prison until 2011.
Morecambe
Silhouette of the Lake District mountains, outlined and labelled on this clever art piece on Morcambe Promenade.This statue needs no introduction for the Brits, but for the rest it’s a statue of Eric Morecambe. A famous British comedian. Julian did a selfie with him but his sunglasses were lopsided, ironic.
Arnside
Small quiet pier on to the River Kent at the quaint village of Arnside.
Grange-over-Sands
The railway line separating the view back over the River Kent to Arnside.
Ulverston
The Hoad (Barrow) Monument on the peak of Hoad Hill to the east of Ulverston. Only took a picture as it resembles a lighthouse.
Rampside
Before heading to Barrow-In-Furness for the night we stopped by the rather unusual and slim Rampside Lighthouse.
We started day seven of our trip by going back west a few miles to Llandudno before continuing east out of Wales into England. Some typical and some not so typical British seaside sights today.
Photo of the day
Crosby Beach
Llandudno
Early Sunday morning at Llandudno Pier, eerily empty. Everyone was clearly still in bed, as they knew the heavens were about to open.Colourful hotels at the end of the Llandudno promenade. The start of the Great Orme hill and headland behind. We then drove around the Great Orme Heritage Coast loop, would have been great views if it it hadn’t been pouring down with rain.
Colwyn Bay
We looped back to Colwyn Bay where we stayed the night before. The promenade and road along the sea front was closed off due to an ongoing waterfront improvement project. In the distance we could see the pier, which looked in a sorry state… hopefully that is part of their improvement project too.
Prestatyn
The lifeguards were having a peaceful day at a very quiet Prestatyn Beach. Wind turbines off shore in the background, which became a surprisingly common sight on our coastal journey.
Talacre Lighthouse
The Talacre Lighthouse at Point of Ayr. Abandoned, but looked great, even on a stormy morning.
Flint
Flint Castle with impressive views over the River Dee. We bumped into a lovely Canadian family that had also been staying at the same B&B as us near Cardigan, we had also bumped into them at Cilgerran Castle three days earlier… small world.
Flintshire Bridge
Crossing the River Dee over a rather striking Flintshire Bridge, flanked by electricity pylons. Blue sky starting to peep through the clouds…
Leasowe Lighthouse
The now disused Leasowe Lighthouse, not the most attractive lighthouse, but still striking with the blue sky behind.
New Brighton
The view from New Brighton out to the lighthouse and beyond to the cranes on the other side of the River Mersey.
Crosby
One of the one hundred Antony Gormley’s ‘Another Place’ statues, submerged in Crosby Beach. A bit spooky but very striking. Very cool to see in person.A bit of beach marketing.
Formby
A lovely clean beach backed by sand dunes and pinewoods at the National Trust’s Formby Point. They’ve clearly struggled with beach erosion though, this looked like an old road or building that had collapsed in the beach and sea.
Southport
A Mr Whippy ice cream van finishing work for the day at Southport Beach.A striking looking weather vane style fish sculpture on the Southport Promenade.
Marshside
On our way to Preston for the night, we passed Marshside, with views across to Lytham St Ann’s, and Blackpool Tower ghost-like in the distance. A sneak preview of our trip tomorrow.