Farewell Settle,Hello Kendal

---

---

Sunday 28th June
Farewell Settle,Hello Kendal
Our two weeks and one day in Settle comes to an end today and we are moving north to the Lakes District and Kendal which is about 30 miles away.
Our stay here has been very relaxing and we have achieved all the things we wanted to by way of either walks or drives to outer lying places to see attractions.
The weather improved for us as the time went on and we are now experiencing what we hope will be a sustained period of warm temperatures from a settled weather pattern that has developed over the country.
Arthurs home had all we needed to make our stay comfortable and he and Dorothy have been so accommodating and welcoming to us.
Arthur came down this morning and we helped him set up his and Dorothys new travel blog on the website we use in preparation for the next and future trips they are planning.
Around midday we left Settle with the idea of having lunch in a picnic area on the way north.
We had one more thing to do and that was to photograph the superbly restored and maintained railway signal box at Settle junction just off the A6 north.Gretchen was unable to pull in by crossing the highway due to traffic so we had to continue on until she could find somewhere to turn around.
As we picked up speed to find a turning place a steam engine hauling enthusiasts carriages appeared from a cutting.It was gone so quickly that I did not have any time to get the video or the camera out before it disappeared out of sight.
Gretchen found a place to turn the car around and we headed back up to the signal box a couple of miles away only to find that the steam engine and its train had stopped at the junction and was now on its way back with a diesel engine hauling the train and steam engine at the rear of the train.
This time we had just enough time to take a couple of photos and a little video before the train was gone.If only we had known the schedule of the train.
With video of the signal box taken we turned the car onto the A6 and headed north looking for a spot to pull over and have a picnic.
One of the things we have noticed an the roads here is that although there are regular pull off parking lanes they are often just on the outside of the main roadway and are not set up with picnic tables or places to sit on the grass.Sometimes there are caravans parked selling cups of tea and coffee as well as food but we didn’t require any of these items.
As we entered the small town of Kirkby Lonsdale we noticed a large number of people picnicking in a field adjacent to the road and so we turned down a lane that looked like it would provide parking so we could join them and have our picnic.
Well we would have had to have been there hours ago as all the available parking space and more(judging by the traffic wardens placing tickets on the windscreens of illegally parked cars)had well and truly been taken up.Where all these people had come from was beyond us as it was just a small village and the locals could have walked if they had wanted to picnic.
We later found out that there was a large motor bike rally going on and we assume the cars carried the biker supporters.
With lunch over we drove on the remaining short distance to Kendal and followed our instructions to Get to Bruce and Anice’ home on Beast Banks(a rather grisly sounding name for a street!!).
We turned up the hill in the centre of town but missed the narrow lane the first time around.With the complex one way and no entry streets in the centre of this very old market town it took us another 15 minutes before we were back in a position to make a run up the hill again.
This time we went slower and spotted the road sign in time.Anice had been expecting us and welcomed us in to their home sited with a grand view over the town.Thneir home was converted from two cottages several years ago to make a substantial 3 storied home built into the hillside with 3 levels of garden down the hillside.
Anice took us on an orientation tour of the town while we waited for Bruce,who is a volunteer ranger,to come from taking a guided walk on one of the many trails in the Lake District a short distance on from Kendal.
Behind their home is a site which was occupied as a castle from the 1100’s and although nothing is left of any of the structures it was well worth the visit to gain a wide perspective view of the town.
Then it was across the valley to a castle built in Norman times which does still have part of its structure remaining.Like its counterpart on the other side of the valley this castle also had a commanding view of the valley.At this castle you could also make out the remains of the moat that surrounded the castle.
We then walked home through the town which was almost deserted as it is Sunday afternoon after all and arrived home just before a small sharp thunderstorm broke.
Bruce was home to greet us and we sat down to a beer as large raindrops fell briefly and then cleared away almost as fast as they arrived.
After dinner we spent the evening chatting and getting to know each other and roughly plan the next 4 days we will spend with them.

---

Photos

The Shambles,Kendal
Shambles were the buidings where stock were slaughtered.Most,like the one in Kendal,have been converted to accommodation for people!!