On the road from Edinburgh to England's Lake District.
Tom is not driving and taking a selfie.
David is, however, catching up on his sleep.
We make it to Cockermouth, the nearest town to our new abode. A pretty little town on the Cocker River.
Pretty green space.
And Kathy finds flowers.
We find a recommended bistro.
And the living is good.
The ferrel woodland creature is with us again!! That is Owen's name for McKenzie....Owen being a best friend and Kenzie's quirky eating, sleeping, sitting habits...and since Owen lived with them for nearly a year, he is entitled....we just copy!
This is JUST the starter. -- hummus, olives, shrimp dip, and pita bread, yum!
Followed by spinach and ricotta frittata, beet salad, cucumber/blueberry salad and noodle/red pepper salad
and chicken kabob and salad varieties. The owner has only been open for a few months, fulfilling her dream and doing it very successfully and having a great time doing. She has lived in Cockermouth for 20 years, working as licensed family therapist. Her dad died recently and she received an unexpected windfall....she named the cash register after him!!!! what a fun story!
As we drove out of town in search of our new home, it became very rural, as expected, because the "lodge" is on 10 acres. It is very "Green": "Everything we do is aimed at helping to save the environment...to demonstrate that sustainability and luxury can be combined.....ground and air source heat pumps, solar panels, recycled timber, organic linen, handmade furniture from sustainable sources, eco-friendly paint.....on and on and on." David was astonished that I would even consider such a place!
The owner, Marna, lives in the white building on the left. There are two units on the right...and two on the left (the 4th being hidden by her house).
Ours is called Skiddaw after some of the mountains in the Lake District. The two bedrooms are on the ground floor and the living area is on the "first" floor
We have to cross this stream to reach the property.
Our indoor hangin' out space
Our outdoor hangin' out space
Bountiful organic veggies, lettuce, zucchini, potatoes and spring onions from Marna's garden.
We spent lots of time watching the cows sleep and try to make babies!
The deck was so inviting and the weather couldn't be better!
Asleep again....
On our way out to dinner.....yep, we are gated!
Loweswater will be the first lake we see.....so titled, we think, because we kept descending slowly
Kathy is driving....the road becomes like those we remember from Cornwall, England, some years back....essentially, a horse path....one lane....no markers....no space to pull over....every few hundred yards, it becomes lower and narrower....we caught a small glimpse of water, but, essentially, all eyes were on the road! or perhaps, the lack thereof!
AHA! the sign we have been looking for. Our waiter at lunch suggested this place....not to be missed, he said.
Unbelievably, the road narrows yet again! Where IS this place?
It was worth it!!!! The Kirkstile Inn has been housing guests and serving fine food for over 400 years!!!! over 400 YEARS!
We ate in, some ate out
Poached pear with balsamic drizzle and fried goat cheese topped with glazed walnuts and ground coriander
smoked salmon on top of chive potatoes.
After dinner we walked next door...
Tom drove home....Kathy sat in the back and was happy to do so!!!!!
This picture is taken at 10:30 pm...the moon is beautiful, but it is still daylight!
