Cumbria 3 Carlisle continued / Bore Da and some bored prisoners or guards

---

Well it might begin with a C but Calais it aint . It will have to do though. A chance to scratch the itch of wanting to travel . Something that seemed unlikely a few weeks ago.

So what did I think of Carlisle ?

It seemed a mix of independent shops, many empty ones and a few beggars on the street . Masked shoppers and unmasked . Victorian splenour next to charity shops and a massive square filled with shoppers and a singer belting out Christian hymns . A medieval building or two, bench seating and alleys , jitties and gennels galore . Leading from one street to another . Scotland Street . Lowther Street , cafes , restaurants and pubs . I even found the Jobcentre . That is something I always find myself doing when on holiday . Check out the local jobcentre . See where it is and what it looks like . Imagining what it would be like to work there . Was it better or worse than my place of work .

Our afternoon was to be spent at the Castle . Another free entry thanks to our Cadw card .

We have got used to booking on line for trips out before visiting . That is part of the new normal . You cannot just rock up and hope to visit a property .Numbers are limited and if you dont book you dont always get to visit .

We get the places almost to ourselves as the crowds have not returned in any great number So perhaps that is one good thing about Covid . .The castle stands proud on its own neatly kept green. The busy city life goes on around it . The traffic on the main road is busy and noisy . The entrance was easy to find and we masked ourselves as we approached . That is becoming a habit . I wonder if we will always have to book visits ? Will we always have to wear masks ?

. A guide walked to towards us with a clipboard . Had we booked ? Yes but we are early . No problem - we are quiet and can fit you in .

Oh by the way Bore Da she said as she noticed our Welsh masks . She pointed inside and told us about the one way system . Another one of those things we are slowly getting used to since Covid. We sanitised our hands . Someone is making money making hand sanitiser . Go the right she said and follow the arrows . You can go to the museum first or the castle . You choose she said .

We chose the castle and headed for the Wardens Appartments . Mentioned was King Richard III who was warden of the castle . One of his royal titles was Warden of the West March. The apartments like many castles were empty giving little idea of what life might have looked at that time. Mary Queen of Scots was once imprisoned here held by captive by Sir Francis Knollys. The castle certainly had had a turbulent past . Home to King David I of Scotland and home to a prison and a barracks . We walked out and followed the arrows around the walls. We met Mrs Kilt as we called her . She climbed the spiral staircases wearing clumpy black shoes that clumped on the way up and then on the way down as she went against the flow of the arrows . We saw her many times and noticed her every time due to the shoes and the kilt she was wearing .

The keep was our next port of call . Again empty it gave up few clues of what life was like when it was built by the Norman William Rufus in 1092. The keep was built from red soft sandstone and was square , powerful and elegant in equal measures as only a Norman castle can look . I felt that I had been inside before but realised I was thinking of the keep of Warkworth in Northumberland . All built to the same pattern. Each floor of the keep was empty . Each one had walls of green where the damp had pervaded the building . The most interesting of things in the room that caught our eye were the carvings on the wall . The soft sandstone lended itself to carving by either bored prisoners or bored guards . Mermaids, fishes , birds and knights were all carved beautifully .

We left the castle and headed to the barracks. Each named after a battle . The Alma, Balacalava and Gallipoli . The Museum of the Border Regiment was housed in one of the buildings . We were again asked for our tickets , required to mask up and sterilised our hands . Another one way system weaved like a snake around the building . We had it to ourselves which meant we could stop at the exhibits from the Boer War and the Crimea . Barbed wire from the Maginot Lines , Playing cards from the Iraq War. So much to see in what felt like a small museum .

There was a cafe there but we resisted the temptation of a cake . Perhaps we could stop for one at our overnight stop at the Nook Farm Shop and Cafe .

So what was the final verdict on our first stop of the trip . Well it definately was not France but at least we were getting away. It felt better than stopping at home .

---

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Cumbria
It is grand being able to read about someone who is out exploring. It gives all of us hope.

[JenGog]

out and about
It is not very good here . There is talk of a third wave and the Delta variant is spreading at an alarming rate . Hopefully the AZ vaccine will work against it . We cannot travel abroad so Cumbria and Scotland it was . We are all wearing masks and sanitising our hands all the time. We can visit National Trust properties etc but everything has to be booked in advance and only limited numbers allowed in. All opening here due a week ago has been postponed for another four weeks . Fed up of Covid now . How is it with you ?