One week road trip in UK - Scotland and Peak District (2)

(Part 1)

Day 6: Spend day at Crieff Highland games; Drive by some of the lakes in Loch Lomond and Trossachs Park

Our first day in Scotland turned out to be a sunny and warm day, perfect to be out in the open. So we drove South towards the town of Crieff to see its Highland Games. The Highland Games are traditional Scottish events which are held at every year across multiple locations all over Scotland. Initially, they provided a platform to identify and recruit strong talent for soldiering duties, but now they have become a national tradition. These events which have been going on for centuries have now become even bigger and international events.

Purple thistles

The drive there was grand and imposing. We drove through huge mountains and valleys, all of which were totally covered in purple thistle flowers. And once in Crieff, we followed the crowd to reach the games location. They were being held in a huge ground, and all around we could see high mountains looming above.

Crieff Highland Games

There must have been thousands of people there and it felt totally like a mela. In the middle, was a ground where the games were being held. Men in kilts throwing shot puts, races being held, tug-of war between teams and so on. And in between, typical Scottish pipe bands and children’s school bands would come into the field and walk around the field playing songs. There was just so much going on everywhere to entertain the crowds. While we were leaving, a Japanese band also came in - I am guessing that may have been the finale performance!

Spring dances at the Crieff games

All around the main field, the spectators all sat on the grounds, drinking, eating, talking and enjoying the spectacle. All around there were also many shops from across the world selling local food stuff, handicrafts, leather, warm clothes and anything else you can think of. There was live music playing at a couple of places, sponsored by the local Whiskey - Glenturret. And a Highland spring dance competition also going on. It was a full day affair and everyone there had come with their families and children to spend the whole day walking around and having fun.

The Highland Games are now huge affairs and also talked about in the local and regional news. Also, there is a tradition for each of the games to have its own Chieftains. And that year, it was Ewan McGregor’s father at the Crieff games.

Loch Tay on the way

We spent a couple of hours there, and then took a detour through Loch Lomond and Trossachs Park to drive back through some scenic routes. We drove next to Loch Earn where lots of people were enjoying water sports. Loch Tay was huge and breathtaking. We drove all along the mountain next to the lake for about 20 kms. We also stopped for a break at a boathouse on the lake which had mesmerizing views of the mountains around, dotted with typical Scottish summer homes. Its so common in Scotland, to just stop somewhere and find majestic views - you will never find their mention in any tourist books.

Scenes on the way

We also passed by Scottish castles at every turn of the road. As we did whiskey tours in just about every village. We also drove by some very pretty villages on the way, Killin was one of them with a very picturesque bridge overlooking the mountains. Most of the villages were quite grand, located next to a river or lake and were lined with bright flowers at that time of the year. And there were so many holiday homes everywhere on the road, this really seemed like the easier and richer part of Scotland. Unlike the northern part which was colder and more rugged than the South.


Day 7: Drive to Loch Ness through Scottish highlands; Return via stop at Inverness

Today, we spent all our day exploring the Scottish highlands and its lakes. We first drove towards Loch Ness and stopped at a few of the lochs on the way, taking our time to get there. It turns out there are very few roads in the region, given all the lakes and the high mountains. And most of the roads are quite small single lane roads. The mountains are huge and were covered with purple thistles (the national flower of Scotland) with a bit of yellow flowers sometimes.

Scenes on the way

We stopped at a few of the lakes (lochs) on the way, each of which was picturesque and unique in its own way. Loch Laggan had a dam on it. Loch Lochy had very pretty holiday homes next to it. Loch Oich was connected through the Caledonian canal to other lakes and had a historical Bridge of Oich on it. And passing through each of these, we reached Loch Ness. Honestly, you can spend more and more time at any of these places on the way if you want.

Loch Ness

Loch Ness is definitely one of the most popular lake in the highlands. It is 40 kms long and very narrow running all the way between two mountain ranges. It is located on a geological fault, and even though its not the deepest lake, it has the maximum water in the world. There is a lot of peat in the water which affects its colour and quality. And because of that, it has very limited fishes living in it.

All around the Loch Ness (and most of Scotland) was very bright green at that time of the year. As part of the tourism setup, there is an exhibition centre in Loch Ness village dedicated to Nessie, the monster. There is a huge hotel called the Clansman right in the middle along the lake from where you can take cruises to the lake and the castle. And there was also a nice souvenir shop their to buy Nessie, Loch Ness or Scottish souvenirs.

Castle Urquhart

We took a 1 hour cruise from Clansman along the lake, to Castle Urquhart and back. You can sit on top of the ferry and the views from there are majestic. It was a bit cold and windy though for us, so we sat in for a bit. Inside the ferry, they have a sonar radar which is always trying to locate Nessie the monster in the depths of the lake by sending and tracking signals. We however did not spot it in our trip 😊. The cruise also takes you very close to the Castle if you want a good view, or you can get off and explore it at leisure. Castle Urquhart has an interesting history. It was occupied by the Jacobites who has one of their most famous battles there which they lost. The Castle was destroyed and it has been in the same ruins state since then. The Castle seemed quite average but its location is definitely envyworthy.

Churches in Inverness

While driving back from Loch Ness, we drove via the town of Inverness and loved our short stop there. Its a nice little old town located right next to the river Ness and quite grand because of all the background hills. It had a lot of old buildings and the riverside was amazing to walk around. You can see the Inverness Castle and a few churches all along the river, providing it an air of a different era.

Inverness along the river

We walked all along the bridge up to the second bridge and back. It was all so green and empty everywhere, totally refreshing and relaxing. We also tried a bit of shopping for warm clothes. And I learnt that all the clans of Scotland have different kilt designs as well as coats of arms. After spending some time in town, we left for our drive back to Blair Atholl and surprisingly, the drive back felt a bit more plainer than the one we had taken up.

Inverness castle

During the day, I also learnt a lot more about Scottish history which I didn’t know before. And noticed many differences between Scotland and England. The houses in Scotland are different, most of them are painted white unlike the stone houses of England. I wonder if they were made of wood? There were loads of golf courses on the way. It was almost like every town and village had their own golf course! People were overall friendly and had a very sweet kind of English accent. And a lot of them did dress up in kilts. You could also see how proud they are all of their Scottish heritage.

Tourism was clearly huge everywhere. The place was full of hotels and airbnbs anywhere you look. And there was a lot of traffic at that time of the year. The weather when we were there was very cloudy and felt colder to me than the locals. They were all dressed in summer clothes while we were well covered with warm layers 😊.

Also the highland clearances are a big part of their history. When Scotland merged with England, a lot of the large land owners shifted from agriculture to animal husbandry and sheep farming which displaced all the poor farmers who used to farm on the landowners' lands. And as they become redundant, they were all cleared. That is why millions of Scots had to leave their homeland and that is why there are more Scottish people in Canada and US than in Scotland! Reading about it makes you very sad. Also England has also exploited Scots for years. For example, highlands kilts and tartans were banned for many years and no one could wear them. Its things like these which make the Scots so much more proud of their heritage now. And why they want to separate from England.


Day 8: Stay in our Otter Lodge; Shop at House of Bruar

After a week of exploring and driving around, we decided to take a day off when we would just relax at our riverside place and not do any touristy stuff. It was a good move as the day turned out to be rainy and we wouldn’t have got to see and do much anyways. Also, the next day was a long driving day, so the break helped.

So we spent time on the riverside, just eating our meals with the sound of the gurgling stream behind us. And in the evening, we went to the House of Bruar for a bit of shopping. It is a huge shopping centre located near Blair Atholl, also known as the Harrods of Scotland and I must say that the prices are definitely similar 😜. We ended up shopping a lot and spending the whole day there. I would definitely recommend shopping here as the warm clothes they have are quite unique and worth trying out.

Otter Lodge

After burning a hole in our wallets, we came back to our Otter Lodge and then went out for a walk around once the rain stopped. We again walked to the Blair Atholl castle, the caravan park within the castle and the nearby golf course. It was all very green and fresh because of the recent rains, and helped us freshen for the long drive the next day. The castle was also getting reading for the horse trials and the impending highland games, so there was a lot of activity around.

I would also here like to mention that our airbnb (the Otter Lodge) was a great place to stay. Very well decorated and right next to the river with beautiful views, especially of the sunset. I would definitely recommend it as a place to stay.

Map of Scotland and around



Day 9: Drive to Peak District at Hathersage; Stop at castle in Penrith

Today turned out to be mostly a driving day. The weather in Scotland was rainy and cloudy when we left. We also noticed a lot of boards about highland games on the way. As we got towards England, the weather got sunnier and temperatures got to 20 degrees. The drive back actually looked prettier than the way up, all because the sun came out.  We noticed a lot more windmills on the way back, ran into lots of delays and somehow a lot of bad driving by trucks too.

Penrith castle

On the way we stopped in the town of Penrith to have lunch and it turned out there was a castle in that town too. So we sat in the castle ruins in the open to have our lunch. What a setting it was 😇. It looked like a nice little town - you keep discovering small gems all across UK all the time! We reached our village of Hathersage in Peak District quite late in the night and checked in to our nice little airbnb in the village. It had been a long day of driving, so we called it a night very soon after a short walk outside. And, although it was August, it was not warm at all which felt a bit quite unlike summer (unlike summer 2018 I must say!).


Day 10: Trail up to John Stone Cavern near Castleton; Stop at the Ladybower reservoir; Explore Hathersage

View from Blue John cavern

We spent the day in and around our village of Hathersage in a very leisurely manner. It was all very green and rural everywhere, every stop was worthy of a picnic. Our first stop was the village of Castleton. There were loads of trails around, so we went up the Speedwell cavern all the way up the hill to the Blue John cavern which is famous for its unique Blue John stone. We then walked around it and through Mam Tor, came down the pass to where our car was parked. It was a relaxed walk up around the mountain through green stretches on a sunny day, with panoramic views of Hope valley below and a good way to spend the first half of the day.

Ladybower reservoir

Our next stop was a nearby Ladybower dam and reservoir where we stopped for some time to have lunch. We walked through the woods down to the lakeside and had a leisurely lunch there in the open. It was nice to just sit there and enjoy a nice meal. You can also boat in the lake though we didn’t do that.

Ladybower reservoir

And after the stop, we came back to our village. All the drives in the area were very picturesque and a treat to the eyes, through typical beautiful English villages with green hills in the background. Most of the villages were quite small. Also, most of Peak district seemed to have limited agriculture going on. Even in terms of animals, there were only a few sheep here and there. Wonder how they sustain themselves, especially as tourism doesn’t seem to be huge here.

Hathersage

We came back to our Hathersage village before dark and spent the rest of the evening walking around and exploring it. It was a huge village by local standards and had huge big houses everywhere. We walked up one of the hills and got to see quite a few panoramic views of the villages and the bright green grass beyond. Life in the villages is so calm and peaceful.

We noticed there were loads of doctors in the town, more than usual. Wonder why. We also ran into an Indian restaurant with an auto parked outside but as we had already eaten at home by then, we gave it a pass. But it was quite a welcome surprise. The day passed by so soon, we didn’t even realise. It was so sunny that day, the day felt totally amazing and the village a place worth having a holiday home at 😃.


Day 11: Stop at Bakewell and Stepping Stones; Drive back to London through Birmingham

On way to Stepping Stones

Today was our last day of our UK road trip and we did a few things in the morning, before heading back to London. We first stopped in the town of Bakewell which was a typical small town. We walked around a bit, visited a couple of small shops, some parks and generally explored around. UK is so much better when the sun is out? As it was that day.

Stepping Stones

Our next stop was the Stepping Stones of Dovedale. The village was quite remote and tough to find. You have to keep on going much farther than what the GPS suggests. And then we had to trek through some meadows to reach the Stones. To be honest, they were actually nothing great. But still it was full of tourists! Wonder why. We made a quick stop there but left soon enough. And then were on our way to Birmingham and then back to London.

The 10 days passed so quickly, we didn't even realise it. Exploring the countryside of UK is fun and interesting as always. And something we don't do often, but I am glad I took out the time to do that. Its good to see the other side of the country you call home 😊.


Map of Peak district and around

One week road trip in UK - Pennines and Lake District (1)

UK countryside road trip

Last summer I spent 10 days on a road trip around UK. It was the longest holiday I have taken in UK ever and we ended up mostly visiting the places I have already been to before - the Lake District, Scotland and Peak District. But it still felt like discovering the country anew. We stayed in small villages in the countryside, walked around without an itinerary and loved our time exploring it at a relaxed pace. The best part of course was the experience of the English countryside, its charm and quaintness, greenery and freshness which made it enjoyable and refreshing the whole time.

I had booked the trip at the last moment and it turned out to be school holidays week too. So we ended up not getting the closest accommodation to the places we wanted to visit and stayed in places a bit away from the tourist hubs. Which actually turned out to be a boon in disguise, as we saw parts of the country where we would not go otherwise. And because we were far away, we also avoided a lot of the tourist rush, as the typical tourist places were too full of people all the time.

The weather was a mixed bag on the trip. There were days it was sunny and some days got a bit rainy. It was never hot at all even though it was August, mostly warm during the day but cooler by the evening. But given its UK weather we are talking about here, I don’t think I can complain about it, as it was better than average and our trip wasn’t ruined at any point.

Our itinerary was as follows:
Day 1: Drive from London to the North Pennines Area of Natural Beauty (AONB) with a stop in Birmingham; stay in an airbnb in the village of Garrigill near Alston Moor
Day 2: Explore North Pennines - Alston village and Hadrian’s Wall
Day 3: Drive to Lake District; visit Ullswater lake, Kirkstone Pass, Ambleside on Lake Windermere and Grasmere village
Day 4: Explore Eastern Pennines - Durham Dales, Stanhope village and High Force waterfall
Day 5: Drive to Blair Atholl, Scotland; explore area around; Stay at River Tilt Parc Royale
Day 6: Spend day at Crief Highland games; Drive by some of the lakes in Loch Lomond and Trossachs Park
Day 7: Drive to Loch Ness through Scottish highlands; Return via stop at Inverness
Day 8: Stay in our Otter Lodge; Shop at House of Bruar
Day 9: Drive to Peak District at Hathersage; Stop at castle in Penrith
Day 10: Trail up to John Stone Carvern near Castleton; Stop at the Ladybower reservoir; Explore Hathersage
Day 11: Stop at Bakewell and Stepping Stones; Drive back to London through Birmingham

UK drive itinerary map




Day 1: Drive from London to the North Pennines AONB; stop at Birmingham on the way; stay at an airbnb in the village of Garrigill

The first day of our trip was mostly spent driving, from London to the Pennines. We drove on the motorway all the way and the traffic was ok generally except from 5-7 pm when it felt like the entire road was full. Also people drive within the speed limit when near the cities but then accelerate above the limit when away. Clearly, they know when they wouldn’t be caught 😜,

The surroundings all around were green everywhere. At places there were yellow and purple flowers on the sides. The landscape was like the typical English countryside - gentle rolling hills in green, small fields dotted with cows and sheep grazing away lazily, and dark clouds showing up at regular intervals, to represent the rainy side of English weather. In between when we crossed the Yorkshire Dales, the landscape did become more dramatic at times, with larger and more rocky hills. But overall, it was quite gentle and low hills.

On the way, we stopped at Birmingham to visit our family friends. It was surprising to see the number of South-east Asians in the city. We drove through the Soho area and it felt like a different world together - all we saw were Indians and Pakistanis there, not a single white person! We had lunch at Red Leaf and loved the food. It was a buffet place and served tasty and authentic Indian food which we don’t find as often in London as we would like.

When I was booking our first stop, I was trying to find an airbnb close to Lake District. The best option I found though was in the neighbouring Pennines Park. I hadn’t realised that time though that it was quite a drive from the Lake District and so far away from the highway. So we had to turn in right from the highway and drive a long way inside the Park, quite late in the day.

View of the Eden valley

It was stunning all the way to Garrigill, driving through small villages going on about their rural life in a lazy manner. We drove up a huge hill and ran into spectacular views of the valley below. There were clouds and the sun was setting, and we could see sunlight filtering through the clouds which made for even more picturesque scenes. And it was all a bright green everywhere, like a sea of freshness everywhere. I later learnt it was the Eden valley surrounding the Eden river, which we saw from the top of the hill. Then we crossed the Alston Moors which were vast empty lands covered by dark purple thistle flowers till wherever the eyes could see. And then it almost felt like we were entering a different world on the other side of the hill.

The village of Garrigill was in a valley and it took us a bit of anxious moments before we got there, as it felt like we were just going on forever with nothing in sight. We reached there quite late, around 830 pm. Thankfully there still was light as it was summer and a sunny day. Once we reached the village, we started looking for our airbnb. And that's when we realised that we had lost our phone signal, so we had to find the place the old fashioned way - asking people around. We ran into one lone person walking on the road and somehow we found the airbnb. It looks like everyone knew each other in the village as the person directed us to the home based on the name of the owner. Even though he did not live in Garrigill but far off in a different village.

The village was very charming and small. It had a row of houses, a red London telephone booth (I finally found a place where it may actually get used!), a post office, a church and that's it. At night we went out for a walk trying to buy some milk and groceries. It turned out that there was no shop in the village, and the one pub they had was being renovated! So we ended up not really being able to buy anything the first day. We even tried asking if the local farmers in the village sold fresh food stuff, but turns out they sell it all to the co-op. So we cooked simple Indian meals in our airbnb and were sorted for the night. By this time, it already started to feel that it will be a very different experience to stay at a place like this.

Our bnb in Garrigill village

The airbnb we were staying in was very convenient and comfortable. It was a split barn with two bedrooms and a kitchen plus living room in the extension. There was too much stuff kept inside the house though, it was totally full and a bit cluttered, It was also full of wood pieces keot outside and inside for the winters. As the owner owned tree cutting services, he had just stacked up the whole place with wood 😊.

Inside it was generally quite cold most of the day, but we made use of the fireplace a bit, even though it was UK summers. All around the place, we had huge green grounds, a small stream running behind it, and then a huge hill. And there was no data or phone signal there. It felt so relaxed, so calm, so free; that as inconvenient as it was, it really felt like a boon. So in the evenings, we actually spoke to each other rather than keeping on checking the phone 😂.


Day 2: Explore North Pennines; village of Alston; Hadrian’s Wall

Our first day in the Pennines, we spent time exploring the area around our village as we did not want to drive much. And we also explored the North part of the Park including Cumbria, Northumberland and Durham county. Our first activity of the day was to walk to the village of Alston. We still had to buy milk which we hadn’t found the previous day and thought we could walk there as it was just a couple of miles away.

Walk to Alston

It was a sunny day and perfect way to explore the countryside. As we started walking towards Alston, we got signal in our phones! So all of us felt like we had got back to civilisation and quickly checked our phones before walking ahead. We enjoyed some impressive vistas along the way, some small waterfalls, a few churches, the usual village stone houses, a small church cemetery and lot of hares running around and sheep grazing lazily - all the typical sights on UK countryside walks. It was all green everywhere, with loads of yellow and purple flowers on the way. And there were lot of farmlands on both sides but surprisingly, there were not many places to sit on the sides of the road. All the farms had stone walls right on the road. It was turning out to be a strenuous walk with the sun being very bright, so we decided to walk back to Garrigill and take the car to Alston. It definitely turned out to be a much quicker drive that way 😊.

Alston was a biggish village and had a Spar and Co-op to shop for groceries, and even a petrol station which is rare in this kind of a place. It was full of tourists at that time and had some interesting things for sale in its shops. After getting our groceries at the local co-op, we explored the church and shops in the village. The local church had an art exhibition with lot of nice paintings. I was about to buy one from there.

They also has a beautiful town hall and a small railway museum nearby. Its so interesting to see that even very small places in UK are made interesting for tourists by adding some new local attractions. At the local library which had been converted to a tourist information centre, we found some maps and realised that Hadrian’s Wall was located very close by. Hadrian’s Wall is the ancient boundary of England and Scotland (and also the inspiration for the Wall in Game of Thrones), and given it was so close, we decided to drive till there.

Purple flowers covered hills

So we took off towards the Haltwhistle part of the wall and the drive turned out to be very refreshing. We passed through bare moors filled with purple flower shrubs till where the eye could see. These flowers may have been thistle, and they covered the entire landscape! And there were some cows in between, dotting the landscape. It also rained a bit and that made the whole atmosphere so much fresher and brighter.

Hadrian's wall

Once near Haltwhistle, there were loads of places to visit all along the wall where there were Roman forts and other ruins of that time. We first stopped near Cawfields Quarry and walked till the wall. Apparently this place was also the Centre of UK (I never realised it would be so North!). The wall that remains isn't much though - what remains is some part of the stone structures and a few foundations which would have been the towers on the wall. The wall was multiple feet wide, and the stones were stuck together with plaster. Even though its in ruins now, its impressive to see that a structure from 100 AD still survives in some form till today, 2000 years later! We drove towards another spot nearby which had ruins from a roman fort, but it closed by the time we got there, so we just decided to come back.

The drive back was through a different route, and as much if not more picturesque. We saw some amazing views of the Pennines park, hills, villages, yellow flower covered hills, farms and so on. On some of the farms, we also spotted some sheep which had black faces and legs. I think I noticed them for the first time, am guessing they are a different type of sheep…?

Back at the airbnb, since we had stocked up on groceries, we were able to cook a more spread out meal. And we also cooked some corn on the cob (makki) outside in the open on a charcoal fire. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing in a data and mobile-free environment.


Day 3: Drive to Lake District; visit Ullswater lake, Kirkstone Pass, Ambleside on Lake Windermere and Grasmere village

We spent the whole day exploring Lake District as it was a bit of a drive far from where we staying. The last time I had visited the place was 10 years ago when it had rained the whole time. This time it was different during the first half of the day but the second half was the same, cold and rainy.

Ullswater Lake

We first drove to Ullswater lake and stopped at a few places along the lake though there weren’t many of them around. The places were all full of people enjoying the summer around. And the lake was full of people sailing and swimming. We stopped at one of the coves for a tea break and enjoyed time just chilling by the river. There was a small stream there right next to the lake and provided a great place to sit next to. We saw a lot of people there with their dogs - looks like lake district is quite a favourite for dog owners. We also spotted 3 fighter plans flying furiously over the lake, snaking through the valleys and practicing their moves. It was a sight to behold, those impressive things, so charming, spectacular and still so dangerous. I am guessing Lake District might by a training location for royal fighter planes, isn't it too scenic for something like this?

Kirkstone Park

Our next stop was the Kirkstone pass which provides panoramic views of the valleys on either side, with both Lake Windermere and lake Ullswater on either side. The drive there is windy along the mountains and it is a worth a stop for the view. Our next stop was the village of Ambleside where we stopped at the northern edge of Windermere lake.

Borrans park in Ambleside

We first drove towards the town of Windermere but then came back to Borrans park in Ambleside as it felt like a better place to stop. We had a nice home cooked lunch sitting on the green grass with a pretty view of the Windermere right in front. We then also visited another Roman settlement ruins just 5 mins from the park. Even though its in ruins, it still had the foundations of the gate to the settlement and some of the rooms. I always wonder how something can last 2000 years, and what all it may have seen...

Roman fort ruins

While driving away from the town, we saw some parts of Ambleside and it felt like a quaint little town. It still had the typical stone houses, but they were made of sharp and black stones, unlike any other place we have seen. I think its definitely a town I would like to visit again.

We then drove to the village of Grasmere driving by a few lakes on the way. By now, the weather had changed and it was raining again. Grasmere is quite a popular village to visit, mostly because of Wordsworth as he used to stay and write in this town. And now, it felt like a small little place with some nice shops for tourists. We bought some amazing warm clothes from there but missed the famous gingerbread pudding shop as it was already closed. We also walked to the Wordsworth daffodils garden nearby which is an ode to Wordsworth.

As most places had closed by then, we left soon enough but I liked my little sojourn here. The village seemed very very charming, with green woods, small streams, dark stone houses and Grasmere lake nearby to walk to. It could be a nice place to stay on my next trip - somehow every trip in the UK gives me even more bright ideas on where to stay the next time 😊.

Sunlight playing games

During our drive back to the Pennines, the weather suddenly cleared and became sunny again. So we again got some spectacular views of the hills and the valleys. As it was earlier than our first day, we stopped at the Hartside summit (at 1800 ft) located in the middle of nowhere on a hill with panoramic views of the valleys on both side. The view was amazing, of the plains in front and sun shining on it through the clouds.

Our day out in Lake District turned out to be enjoyable, unplanned but fun. And we soon retired to our non-data home for the night after another home cooked meal. Lake District has a lot of places to visit, so every trip can be different. The villages of Windermere, Bowness on Windermere, Borrowdale, Buttermere & Honister Slate Mine are all popular with tourists. And if you like activity, then hiking in Great Langdale - Langdale Pikes is a good option or in the Newlands Valley starting in the tiny village of Little Town southwest through Brandelhow Park. Maybe for next time...


Day 4: Explore Eastern Pennines; visit Durham Dales, Stanhope and High Force waterfall

This day we explored the Eastern part of the Pennines and kept it quite ad-hoc and relaxed. I marked a few places that we could go to and then kept striking off some of them as we kept spending more time at the first few places we went to 😊. We drove a lot and all the way there were hills and greenery and small picturesque villages, any of these could be a picnic stop. We started driving towards the Durham Dales and first stopped at Nenthead for groceries. Even such a random village on the way had a tin mine museum from old times, for people interested in museums.

St Johns village

Then we stopped at a random village in between, St Johns which looked charming enough to stop. It had better houses than some of the other villages on the way and we could see that the people staying here were richer than the others. We took a small walk around, walked through the fields to a bridge on a local stream. It was sunny and felt very fresh and fun, even though it was a random walk. And then we stopped at another bigger village for a walk, Wearhead where lots of people were walking their dogs. The whole place felt so relaxed and nice, that you could stop anywhere you want to enjoy the sun and take a break.

Stanhope village

Our major stop of the day was the village of Stanhope where we stopped for a couple of hours. It was a captivating village and had a lot to offer. We found some cute shops there and bought purses, pottery, show pieces, farm produce and so on. We went to the local church, spoke to a few of the local people and spent some time just taking in the sights. As we drove further, we found a place next to the river - Kingfisher leisure park which was perfect for a lunch break. There were loads of trailers there and we took a short walk next to the river. It kept raining regularly that time, so we ended up seeing the rainbow also.

High Force waterfall

We were planning to go all the way to Durham and see the sea but we spent so much time in between that we had to turn back by this time. While coming back, we drove back through a different road and again passed by many purple flower coloured mountains. We passed through the pretty valleys of Meardale and then drove through Teesdales. On the way back, we stopped at a waterfall called High Force, which was pretty average but a good walk anyways.

The driving was slow as the roads were narrow and there was some traffic at least but it felt very enjoyable and fresh everyday. We also ran into bikers driving very fast all the time. Maybe this is the only place they get their way and space. And the locals also drive too fast. They are really used to the narrow curvy roads, but not for me, as I drove quite carefully and much slower than them.

Rainbow on the way

And soon we were back in Garrigill. Coming back to Garrigill everyday that week almost started feeling like coming home 😊. As today was the last day, we thought we would cook food in the angithi. We made rotis and sabzi outside on the charcoal fire in the angithi. And the outcome was amazing. The food tasted yummy and a different kind was tasty - it felt almost like eating Indian food in a village, it was so simple and tasty. By this time, it started raining (again!) which was a spanner to the works, but we had cooked most of our food, so were still able to enjoy the meal.


Day 5: Drive to Blair Atholl, Scotland; explore area around; stay at River Tilt Parc Royale

It was finally time to leave Garrigill and early morning, we left for Scotland. We mostly drove on highway A74 and then took the smaller road all the way to Blair Atholl in Cairngorms national park. On the whole, it was quite an uneventful drive except at one point near Lancaster, we were able to see the sea on one side from the car itself, which looked striking. We spent most of the day driving and reached our place only in the evening, with limited time left to explore much.

Our Scottish abode next to the river

We were staying at the River Tilt River Park which had a lot of small cute trailer homes located right next to the river. It was near the village of Blair Atholl, in the southern tip of the Park. It was a lovely location with views of the river, and an ideal place to relax and chill (especially with a book). You could just sit outside forever, with the gurgling of the river providing the background music.

View from the river

Since we reached there so early, we decided to just take a stroll nearby. It was very green and fresh all around, and as it had rained a bit recently, the brightness was more than usual. First we walked to the Blair Atholl village, which was very striking. It was full of grand grey stone buildings lining the road. We then went down to the river from where we got a view of our huts on the other side.

We next took a walk down the old Atholl road which went to the old village. and the old bridge on the river Tilt. The place was located right next to a huge camping ground which is quite popular with camp loving tourists. Blair Atholl castle is also located there, which was gearing up for upcoming Highlands games. And right near the turn to Parc Royale, there were a few restaurants and clubs which played a lot of music all night. The walk was interesting and we realised, that even though it was a very small village, there was loads to keep tourists busy.

As we had had a long day of driving, we again cooked food in our airbnb and had it sitting outside next to the flowing river. The presence of a water body makes so much of a difference to your experience, doesn’t it?


Map of Pennines and places around



Part 2

Working in Bangalore and Singapore

I recently spent some time in Bangalore and Singapore on a work trip during the London winter. Its always good to travel to warmer countries during this time and Bangalore and Singapore were perfect for that.

Bangalore

I haven't been to Bangalore much even though I have heard a lot about the city for long, as a lot of my college friends went there on their first jobs. Since then, I've had a fascination for the city, always. Also, I hadn't visited India for some time, so on this trip both factors made me enjoy my time there a lot, even if it was short.

A view of Bangalore

The first thing I noticed about Bangalore was that it is so green. And when you drive around, you can imagine how beautiful it must have looked years ago. With the old stone buildings, small rock hills, all its green gardens and the lakes. But not much of it remains in the same form now. And what takes over is the negatives, the biggest of which is the traffic - with so many small roads and so many cars, its too much! There is dust everywhere and sound of horns in every direction. Going from anywhere to anywhere takes at least an hour, irrespective of the distance. Most of the buildings seem old and dusty. Also, from the top, it doesn't look that there are as many high rises in the city as you would think. There are small pockets which have high rises and the rest are quite normal.

The drive to the hotel made me very nostalgic. I passed by some iconic names and places which I remembered from my last trip to the city - especially DRDO offices. Also seeing all the billboards, names of schools, shops and so on, I just had that rushing feeling of being back in 'my' country. Its a feeling which never leaves you, irrespective of how long you have stayed outside your country.

View from the balcony

I was staying at the Ritz Carlton hotel and it was amazing. Being at a luxury place in your own country feels very different than being abroad. The service was top-notch, with the whole staff taking care of you as if you are royalty. And I must say, the suites in the hotel were outstanding (and quite reasonably priced too). The views from the hotel were beautiful, a panoramic view of the city till wherever the eyes could see. It looked so green from the top. Also, it had many different coloured flowering trees everywhere. Apparently, different coloured flowers bloom in the city at different times of the year - purple, yellow, orange and so on.

Art at the Ritz

The art in the hotel was also something worth talking about. Here are a few photos of some of the pieces. The hotel prides itself on the art collection and it was very clearly visible. And the Indian food, whether room service or on the terrace restaurant are worth dying for, especially the dal makhani, yum... A definite recommend from me.

Art at the Ritz

I spent a Saturday in the city and was amazed by the number of restaurants all around. And ta lot of them were open air terrace restaurants, so those were my preferred ones during my stay. On the weekend, I went to Brigade estate for dinner which seemed like a nice community, with malls, restaurants, offices, lakes and residential flats within the same complex. Living in India is so much more luxurious than London. On top of that, the weather was pleasant, the food was great and the service perfect. I really enjoyed the time I spent there on the weekend, especially the weather. And it was quite the opposite to my next weekend in Singapore.

I loved my short stay in Bangalore, especially the pleasant weather. It was so cool the entire time, its the perfect place to stay. Ola and Uber is everywhere, so its easy to get everywhere. And its quite a green city. People also seem chill, and there is an entrepreneurial feel all around. Most things about Bangalore are superlative, except of course the traffic which is the bane of the city. That's why most people prefer to stay near their place of work and places like Brigade estate are popular. But overall, loved my short time there and would like to go back there again soon.



Singapore

Ive been to Singapore a couple of times and this time I spent about three weeks there on work. To be honest, it feels almost the same as it was more than ten years ago that I had first visited the city. Its all about malls, shopping, restaurants, high rises and completely man-made living. There is very less vibrancy and liveliness underneath what you see and that hasn't changed yet.

View from the St Regis

I again stayed at the St Regis and the hotel surely is amazing. Great service and a magnificent view of a green Singapore which you never see from the street. It felt very refreshing every morning. Most of my time was spent between the hotel and office. And it was as usual efficient. I did spend one weekend there which was mostly about meeting friends and also exploring a little bit more than what I had done earlier.

Little India Diwali decorations

This time again, I went to Little India twice for meals at Kailash Parbat (which is awesome btw) and once for a movie. It had decorations for Diwali this time, as the last time - again nothing has changed since then. And then I went to Arab street which was a nice experience, sitting outside and eating spicy food. We also walked around there a bit and could sense the Arab influence everywhere. And of course I visited Dempsey Hill a couple of times for meals, always a good place to go.

Marina lighted at night

The Marina Sands hotel is a big part of the city. It has spas restaurants, hotels, shopping and just about anything else tourists would be looking for. In terms of restaurants, a good find this time was the Punjab Grill at the Sands which had very tasty food. And I saw a fountain show outside the Marina at night which was very impressive.

Bridge near Robertson Quay

The three new places I visited this time were the Pebbles Bay island where I visited a friend, Robertson Quay and the Botanical gardens. Pebbles Bay looks like a nice place to live, high rises with a view of the river and a long line of restaurants right across which are a nice place to sit and chill in the outside. And I liked Robertson Quay which was again located next to the river and had a few nice brunch places. I walked there during the day and enjoyed the calm and quiet there. The outside seating places in Singapore are definitely much better than the crowded mall type restaurants.

Botanical gardens

One of the evenings, I walked to the botanical gardens from the hotel as it was very close. Its a nice park in the middle of the city, with plants from all over the world and lot of landscaping done to make it look interesting. There is also an orchid garden which was closed that time but seemed promising for another time. I liked the gardens, its a nice place to walk and when you want to be away from the noise of the city. Have noted it down for the next time definitely.

The weather overall was too hot and humid, around 30 degrees max. It was always like that and there was no respite from the heat at all. We did have thunderstorms everyday though but don't think they did much to reduce the temperatures much. On the other hand it was extremely freezing inside, whether in the office or the malls. It was a bit of a downer as we would have liked to enjoy the warmer Singapore temperatures given we were trying to avoide the London winters.

Overall, the food was too expensive. The city has become a lot more expensive in the last few years. Its very very convenient though, especially the taxis and it is totally safe. There is also a lot of greenery in any of the free spaces. Even on bridges and under them, there is vegetation growing to increase the greenness around. But something is still lacking. And I noticed it even in the people - the locals don't smile much. I think the city really needs some life, something more real than what it has.

A Nordic winter in Stockholm

This winter, I spent two very cold months (Jan to March) in Stockholm. My last visit to the city ten years ago had been quite uneventful even though it was in summer. And my view hasn't changed much this time either. As I was there on work, I was mostly confined to my hotel and office. But I did get a chance to see a side of the city which maybe could have been more interesting, if not for winter...

About the city

View of Stockholm at sunset

I mostly stayed in the central part of Stockholm, overlooking Gamla Stan, the old town set on a small island. The views outside the hotel were impressive, with huge majestic stone buildings perched on top of small hills all around and surrounded by water. Stockholm is composed of a lot of small islands dotting the sea and there are a lot of waterways and canals everywhere, which adds a dash of character to all views. And a lot of the buildings are colourful, at least by Swedish standards, making all the views quite picturesque.

All snowed up

Stockholm is old, yet very modern and efficient in how its infrastructure is setup. And everything works fast and like clockwork. In fact, its one of those countries where its very easy to catch your flight even if you leave just an hour earlier - I tried it many times and it always worked. Also Sweden, is a low cash country and everyone accepts credit card. I spent three months there without ever seeing a Swedish Krona!

Its easy to get around the city, there are trams, trains and buses. We used taxis quite often and they were easy to find. One thing to note is that different cabs charge different rates for the same distance, so its important to book one in advance, preferably the cheaper ones😊. Overall, they are very expensive as is the rest of the city. Regarding food, there are amazing restaurants in the city and food is really yummy and its easy to be a vegetarian. But as expected, its very very expensive.

Touristy stuff

One weekend, I decided to stay back in the city and explore some of the places around. It also turned out to be the week when the Beast from the North was hitting Europe. So it was -23 degrees that weekend, definitely not the best time to explore a European town. As expected, I did get to see some of the city, but it wasn't as much as I would have wanted.

Narrow streets of
Gamla Stan

One of the days, I walked to the Gamla Stan which was very close to my hotel. I first passed by the Houses of Parliament which was am imposing building with lion head gates. And then into the old world charm of Gamla Stan. Even though the weather was cold, there were loads of tourists around. The whole area was full of cobbled pedestrian streets with lot of colourful buildings and small alleys everywhere. The streets were lined with small quaint cafes, boutiques and handicraft shops on both sides. They were fun to explore and I could see it being a lively place in the summer but for now, it was a bit of a struggle walking around in the biting wind and cold.

There were a few popular buildings nearby to visit too. The cathedral was quite well decorated inside and had some exquisite pieces in gold, especially from the last coronation. Next to it was a grand square and the Nobel museum. And the Royal Palace next door was huge and had great views against the setting sun. There were also loads of museums everywhere. Stockholm is known for its many museums, but I wasn't as interested in them. So I continued walking around and taking in the sights and feel of things around.

Views of Stockholm

While walking back to my hotel, I saw other parts of the city and it looked very enchanting. With old grand colourful stone buildings visible from a distance on top of hills and waterways with boats all around. It was a nice enjoyable walk, but I couldn't stay out for more than 2-3 hours in the cold, so I had to soon come back to to the hotel for the warmth of indoor heat.

The next day was even colder, if that was possible! So I chose to visit the Vasa museum and it turned out to be a good idea. Vasa is the name of a ship from 400 years ago, with almost as tragic a history as the Titanic. It was supposed to be the pride of Sweden, decorated with 1500 wooden sculptures and big enough to house 400 crewmen. However, it sunk on its maiden voyage within a couple of hundred metres of its launch and lay at the bottom of the seas till it was taken out after 400 years on the ocean floor. And the best part is that even after being in the water for so long, most of its structure remained intact. And it now gives a good insight into the lives of people 400 years ago.

Mast of the Vasa

The museum is setup on multiple floors and has lot of displays linked to what they found in the Vasa and how it was recovered. For me though, it was the actual ship which was the most interesting of all. The wooden mast with all its sculptures is majestic and a sight to behold. Imagining how it would have looked in its glory, all painted in bright colours with the Roman Gods and the lions and other sculptures is fun, it would have looked quite magnificent sailing in the sea. And you can now imagine how Sweden and other colonial countries would have impressed and conquered the worlds at that time with their huge and dominating ships.

The Vasa

There was a lot of history related to the ship which was quite revealing to me. It was interesting to know that the Swedish and Polish had years of wars because of differences in faith - Protestant and Catholic. I never knew that earlier. It was also ironic to see, that an imperfect ship which failed in its purpose has a museum to itself now 😂. The ship drowned because it was not constructed properly and then survived 400 years to be in a museum today! How ironic is that?

That Christmas-y feeling

As soon as I came out of the museum, I ran into a view right out of paradise. There was a white river with bridges across it and the beautiful coloured houses of Stockholm, up and down the streets. With the sun setting, there was light music playing in the cafe and the Christmas lights started to light up. On the other side of the road, there was a huge park which had a frozen river. I just sat there outside the cafe for some time and enjoyed this view. No one had mentioned this place to me and I am glad I found it. Though the cold ensured that I couldn't stay there long enough, but I would have loved to...

Then I walked to the neighbouring park and tried walking on the frozen river. It was an exciting but scary feeling. I knew that nothing would happen to me, but still every step I took was very very carefully placed. Again it was so cold, I could not stay out too long and after accomplishing the feat of walking on frozen water, I went back quite quickly to my hotel.

During winter, skating on ice in the lakes and water bodies is quite popular. You can do it in Hagapark, Hellasgarden or Millesgarden. However, given how cold it was, I was not in the mood to do anything too action oriented and so missed out on it. Also, there are many other parks and small castles around which are good to visit, explore and enjoy.  I went to one small old castle very near the central city which was lovely. It had great interiors and a view of a frozen lake outside, again dotted with houses in white around it, all very captivating views. And of course, in summer, the most touristy and popular thing to do is rent a boat and explore the islands around by yourself, stopping at some of them and having a picnic in the sun. But that's for another time.

This one weekend when I stayed back in Stockholm and explored it a bit, I finally found that it is actually a beautiful city. With its waterways and hills and scenic buildings. But it takes time (and better weather) to explore it to find the beauty that lies there.

Weather

Zipping through the snow

The weather in Stockholm in winter has to be one of the worst I have ever seen. Its so dark and cloudy the whole time and there is no sunlight at all - its not a joke, it is actually that bad. All the waterways are frozen and always white. And its always snowing. Apparently February is always the worst month and then slowly it starts to get better, so I saw it at its worst. It is quite dark most of the day, with limited hours of light and I found it quite depressing.

One of the weeks I was there, it snowed continuously for 3 days in a row. And everything turned white. There was many feet of snow outside. Initially I thought I would play with the snow, but it was so cold to just be out, leave along trying to play in it, I never got to do it. But I did learn that it doesn't make sense to wear heels at all in such weather. It could get very slippery very quickly, so boots was the way to go the entire winter.

The temperature when I was there was below -10 most of the days. But when the sun came out for a bit, the whole city looked a lot brighter and cheerful. One of the days when the maximum temp was 6 degrees, people actually thought it was hot and were regretting why they wore a jacket 😂. Not for me though, I was just happy to see some sun and some sunlight, even if for a few minutes. Maybe that's why museums and eating out is quite popular in Stockholm; there isn't much you can do otherwise in the winter.

People and culture

Swedes are said to be quite reserved people and don't mingle well with people who are not Swedish. And I heard this so many times while in Stockholm that I would assume it to be true 😜. I also heard that Swedes almost behave like different people in summer and winter. Apparently they become more open and friendly in summer and clam up in winter. I don't know how true it is, so can't say. But I did find them to be quite distant even if friendly in the few interactions I had. Overall, Swedes are not very religious - they say they are 'culturally Christian but not religiously'. Its also a very non-hierarchical society and you can see it for yourself very easily.

I noticed some small things while there which are definitely part of their culture, even if it cannot be defined as such. First, they have a lot of holidays. Everyone gets full 6 weeks off in summer, then one week sports week where they all go skiing in the mountains and then Christmas. That is quite impressive.

Also, Swedes all like to eat lunch at 12, almost like clockwork. Everyday the cafeteria used to be full at 12 and empty completely if you go at 1230! While I was there, they had a festival of eating semlas (a kind of pastry) which are traditionally eaten on the day. They are not very healthy and neither very tasty, but everyone around was excited to eat semlas on the festival day 😊. Also pancakes Thursdays seems to be a thing there which I haven't seen elsewhere.

They do have some funny traditions too. One of which is jumping into ice cold water in frozen rivers after a shower and then running back to the indoors warmth. And this is taught and practiced in schools! Very interesting...

Service quality overall was quite poor. The worst example was my hotel - even though they were a 5 star chain, they would not send water or come up to my room to give my passport. They rarely helped with the luggage. You ask for a taxi and they ask you to come down and call for it yourself. I also once got almost scolded for calling the carpenter to fix my door lock! Its a very do-it-yourself country which I found worse than some of the other European places I had visited.

In the last few centuries, Sweden and other Nordic countries used to be quite poor. They only recently became richer. And because of this history, there are thousands of Swedish people in US who had migrated there when conditions were difficult. And now Sweden has a lot of migrants coming in (and consequently migrant problems). I didn't see it much when I was there but heard it being talked about quite a lot, plus a lot of my friends asked me if I saw it. Once asked, I started noticing it a bit. All taxis are now driven by migrants. And a couple of times when walking in Central Stockholm at night, I saw some people standing around and creating a ruckus on the streets which made it look less safe than I would expect. Things seem to be changing even in this country which for years has been quite isolated from the world...

One view I always remember of Stockholm and Sweden is a view from the air when flying out one of the weeks. It was dark as usual, and I could see the clouds below me, stars above and some house lights below. And all through the route, the clouds shone because of the lights below... It was the perfect example of finding beauty in small things, where you would not expect. But it hasn't happened for me and Stockholm yet. People love the city but I haven't figured out yet why. I have been there many times and I still think its an average city. It does have a lot of museums but something is missing. But maybe there is something in its beauty which I am missing?