nted out that a "mere" was a lake so saying Lake Windemere was redundant. Sort of like E.R. room and ATM machine). We climbed aboard the previously mentioned steam train that would take us through the countryside to the boat dock at Windemere. The fragrance of fresh air was co-opted b
y the memory jarring smell of burning coal. We detrained at the dock to take the Swan lake cruiser; alas it was under repair so Phil found us another quaint boat to take us along the lake that inspired Wordsworth and many others. We met our bus and then went a little farther to Lake Grasmere (now why doesn't the rule apply here?) This small village with its shops and small churches was a pleasant backdrop to William Wordsworth's life. Indeed, he is buried in the churchyard in the family plot with his ever-present sister nearby. Oh, his wife as well made the cut it seems.
y the memory jarring smell of burning coal. We detrained at the dock to take the Swan lake cruiser; alas it was under repair so Phil found us another quaint boat to take us along the lake that inspired Wordsworth and many others. We met our bus and then went a little farther to Lake Grasmere (now why doesn't the rule apply here?) This small village with its shops and small churches was a pleasant backdrop to William Wordsworth's life. Indeed, he is buried in the churchyard in the family plot with his ever-present sister nearby. Oh, his wife as well made the cut it seems.We now were eagerly anticipating our drive across the border to Scotland where our first stop was Gretna Green. I probably would never have heard of Gretna Green before arriving here save for the sensational Simpson murder trial, where we all were privy to Nicole's resi
dence at 825 Gretna Green Way in L.A. Now this Scottish Gretna Green does not have the bloody history, but does have the somewhat interesting distinction of being the British version of Las Vegas. It seems that the English passed a law in 1753 that no one could get married under 21 unless with parents' consent. Scotland did not abide that rule and allowed boys of 14 and girls of 12 to marry on their own, and Gretna Green, being on the border, and the blacksmith shop being the closest thing to a church (?), became the place to elope and has been a tourist attraction since 1887. In fact we witnessed the results of a wedding of a soldier and his lass as we gawked around the place.
dence at 825 Gretna Green Way in L.A. Now this Scottish Gretna Green does not have the bloody history, but does have the somewhat interesting distinction of being the British version of Las Vegas. It seems that the English passed a law in 1753 that no one could get married under 21 unless with parents' consent. Scotland did not abide that rule and allowed boys of 14 and girls of 12 to marry on their own, and Gretna Green, being on the border, and the blacksmith shop being the closest thing to a church (?), became the place to elope and has been a tourist attraction since 1887. In fact we witnessed the results of a wedding of a soldier and his lass as we gawked around the place.I also saw my first Belted Galloway cow in Gretna Green. Sort of the Oreo cookie cow, which are now being raised in Wisconsin by the Ho-Chunk Nation (formerly the Winnebago Indians).
We moved on after visiting the Scottish shops where one could buy an number of Scots coats-of-arms, tartans, kilts, sporns, and other regalia. Diana, being of the McLeod clan (Lewis branch, Isle of Skye) by way of her maternal grandfather found one of each item to buy, nearly. I found some fudge (Scottish fudge, I am sure).
Before we went to our hotel in Glasgow we dined at the Corinthian, an elegant restaurant in an ornate, high-ceilinged former bank. The food was good, complete with haggis (the Scottish treat) and we happily shuffled on the bus to our hotel for the night.
Tomorrow we will see a few sights in Glasgow and then head to the Scottish highlands, the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond, and Glencoe.
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