POOLEY BRIDGE TO PATTERDALE

I woke up this morning to the news of the tragedy in Manchester. Ninety five miles from where we’re staying tonight, 22 people were murdered and dozens injured last night by a suicide bomber. Prayers for the victims, their families, and all the people whose lives touched theirs.

I thought surely our day would be affected by the tragedy. I’m not sure exactly what I expected, but I thought we’d see signs of grieving, actual signage of support for Birmingham, discussions in the pubs and among people we passed on the trail, even anger.

We heard or saw none of that. Absolutely nothing.  Marty said the little TV coverage he saw was wall to wall. But among the people we had contact with, it’s like the tragedy less than two hours down the M6 didn’t happen.

Granted, the beauty and remoteness of the Lake District is a world away from the city that Birmingham is, and I’ve heard virtually no news from English media, but still.

This bothers me. I want to attribute this to English “stiff-upper-lip-edness”, and I hope that’s the case.

What I fear is that the murders of 22 people by terrorists have become so commonplace that we’re numbed. In addition to prayers for the victims, lets also pray that’s not the case.

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Today’s walk started at Pooley Bridge, at the northern end of Lake Ullsmere, down the ridge of mountains on the east side of the lake, to the village of Patterdale at the southern end, 10 miles away. As is typical, we started with a long, steady, uphill out of the village getting up onto the ridge and shoulders of the mountains. This stretch lasted over an hour, starting on a village lane, and changing to a trail going up the open mountain side to the top.

There was a group of three hikers a couple hundred yards ahead of us, and we could see their Australian sheep dog racing across the moors. Every so often, he would turn and run off in another direction. When we got closer we could see that the dog was playing with a bird. The bird, maybe a swallow. Would swoop down close to the dog, fly past him close to the ground, and the dog would follow. The bird would soar up, swoop down, buzz the Aussie, and the dog would chase him the other way. This lasted maybe 5 minutes until the dog’s people disappeared over the crest. The dog broke off the game,  and raced up the trail past us, tongue out, smiling, and disappeared over the crest himself, anxious to catch up with his people.  Really neat to watch these two playing together. And it sure looked like it was a regular activity for both of them.

The weather today couldn’t have been better. Sun, broken clouds, nice breeze, and temps in the mid 60’s. The walk was basically along the lower slopes of the mountains lining the lake, and the lake was in view most all the way.

We got in to Patterdale in the middle of the afternoon, and followed our routine of cold one, shower, nap, cold one, dinner, walk the village, nightcap, write the blog, turn out the lights.

Life is good. Really, really good.

GREAT STRICKLAND TO POOLEY BRIDGE

We left Great Strickland around 9:00, after a big breakfast. The weather was cool and cloudy, and looked like we’d see rain sometime during the morning. Our route took us down a back lane out of the village that turned into a single lane farm road for a couple of miles, past an “ice cream farm”, and another mile or so onto Lowther Castle.

Lowther has been home to the wealthy Lowther family since the Middle Ages. In the middle of the 18^th century, William Lowther, the first Viscount Lonsdale, rebuilt the family home, Lowther Hall, into a grand castle. For the next few decades the building and gardens were developed on a grand scale. As time went on, the family fortunes dwindled and were squandered. Then, in 1939, the castle was requisitioned by the government to support tank development for the war effort.  By 1947 the gardens had become either disused, or grazing land for sheep, and he castle itself was auctioned off. The last Lowther resident had moved out in 1935.   In 2000 an effort by several charitable and local development groups resulted in a conservation effort for the castle and surrounding grounds. The castle opened to the public in 2011. It’s an impressive building. We walked around the outside, skipped the tour, and walked through the surrounding pastures, and over the Askham bridge into Askham village.

From Askham, we followed a one lane road uphill with great views across fields as far as the Pennines.  Then the  trail started crossing the fields downhill until we reached the River Eamont. Then we followed the Eamont into Pooley Bridge in the middle of the afternoon.

Pooley Bridge is at the northern end of Lake Ullwater where, as you might guess a bridge crosses the river we’d followed into the village. The 300 year old bridge was washed out in 2015 by Storm Desmond. Desmond brought record levels of rain, flooding and wind damage to all of Central England, the Isle of Man, and Ireland.  A temporary bridge is now in place.

Map Holder - Ingenious

Pooley Bridge is a popular Lake District vacation spot, and the streets and shops are starting to get busy. We had time to cruise the town, find a pub with a deck looking over the river, and relax in what was now a sunny afternoon, before dinner at the inn.

       

ENGLAND BRACES!

The newspaper and the headline are real. From today’s paper.

My comments below depart from reality at some point.

As the headline from the Daily Express indicates, England is preparing for a weather event of historic proportions. The current forecast projects that England, specifically, London and surrounds, can expect the next ten days to bring sunny weather. (NB: for clarification, note that in England a forecast of “Partly Cloudy” is to be counted as “Sunny.” In fact out of the next ten days, only two are specifically forecasted as completely “Sunny.”)

As an example of the significance of this weather event, even the notoriously rainy and cold Lake District in northern England is forecast to have as many as six of its next ten days to be Sunny (i.e. sunny or partly cloudy). High temperatures in the Lake District may even soar to the mid 70’s on some of the more sun drenched of the next ten days.

As news of the pending weather event leaks out, Londoners are starting to experience shortages in sun lotion, swimming costumes, and ice cream. Rationing is being considered, and troops are on alert in case of rioting.

Trains, airports, and highways north are jammed as entire families try to wend their way north to those places that are forecast to continue to have “safe” weather, such as Scotland and Ireland. On their own, these countries are laying in extra beer and crisps for the expected onslaught of weather refugees.    

A local reporter in Pooley Bridge in the Lake District encountered a couple of visiting Yanks in a local pub, who would only identify themselves  as “Al” and “Marty", and enquired as to whether or not this weather event would cause them to change their plans. The two would make no commitment, other than to say that, “Damn, that sounds like some awesome hiking weather!”   

ABOUT THOSE STRICKLAND'S

Turns out to be a lot of reading here, so don’t  feel obligated.  I did want to explain my ties to the part of England we’ll be walking through, and why that makes this walk so dang cool in that regard. But it's become a little like a family history, and I expect if you aren't related to me, reading this is kind of like looking at other people's vacation pictures.

A caveat with all of this family tree stuff.  When you get back several generations, some of this stuff can be vague. Heck, I’ve heard of family tree surprises that turn up within the current generation. Point is, I might get to Sizergh Castle and find that, instead of the family tree I think I’ve discovered, my progenitors include some bastard child of Henry VIII or some other member of English royalty. If that turns out to be the case, then all bets are off, and my return ticket will have to wait until I get a chance to talk to Aunt Elizabeth and work out some arrangements. 

I’ve been lucky to have some pretty good documentation about Strickland's to use in putting some family tree stuff together. I did some work on this 3-4 years ago, out of curiosity, and also to leave some family tree information for Matt and Jo. My mother had some family history stuff she had put together. I also had learned over the years that Sizergh Castle was the home of some Stricklands, although it was news when I learned that my ancestry .  It turns out that there has been a lot of work done on “The Strickland's of Sizergh Castle” including a 300 page book of that name done in 1908, and reprinted since. With that as a start, and with Ancestry.com,  I was able to get a whole lot further on the family tree than I ever expected. 

The name “Strickland” is derived from an early Norse term, “Sterca-land”, “sterca” meaning young cattle. Sterca-land then was country where  young cattle were were found,  and in the 12^th century the area in northern England in what was then northern Westmorland county was known by that name.

The use of Strickland as a surname in my genealogy can be pretty much traced to a couple in Westmorland county in the late 12^th century.  Sir Walter de Castlecarrock (1151 – 1235), a large landholder in Sterca-land (Westmorland), married Lady Christiana (1152-1200) a member of the enormously wealthy Fitz Renfrid family. (For those of you following the geography, “Castlecarrock” was, and is, a village in northern Westmorland county) Walter changed his family name to reflect his manor, and became known as Sir Walter de Stirkeland. 

Walter, Christiana, and their descendants lived in the manors of Great Strickland and Little Strickland for several  generations.  During this time they sorted out the various spellings of their name. It took a lot of time, but they finally got it right. 

Meanwhile, in the southern part of Westmorland, outside of the town of Kendal, the Deincourt family had also been doing pretty well for themselves, including a large grant of lands from Henry II.  Henry II’s grant included Sizergh Castle, a large, fortified manor house.

Then,  in 1239, upon the death of her brother, Elizabeth Deincourt became the sole heiress of Sizergh Castle and other holdings, and Elizabeth dutifully conveyed these holdings in marriage to her husband. Her husband  was William Strickland, great-great-grandson of Sir William Strickland (nee de Castlecarrock).

Sizergh Castle has been the home of the Strickland family since.

(The writer will now pause to contemplate the deeper meaning of his ancestors acquiring a castle by marriage, a notion completely foreign to him.)

For the next  few centuries, the Strickland’s spent their time managing their holdings, occasionally raising armies for their king,  and trying to stay on the king’s good side. As a result, a couple were made Knights, and one Sir Thomas, who had the honor of bearing the Banner of St. George at the Battle of Agincourt, a major English victory in France in the Hundred Years War.

Also of significance during this period,  Sir William’s daughter, Joan (my 20^th great aunt), married Robert de Wessington. Robert and Joan were given a generous grant of lands from Sir William as a result of their marriage. Robert de Wessington is the ancestor of the Washington’s of Lancashire, England. Members of the Washington family ultimately moved to the colony of Virginia where one of their progeny, George ( 20^th cousin?) was instrumental in severing the ties with the old country, and ultimately became deeply involved in politics. Nice work, cuz.

Back in Westmorland, several generations later, on February 20, 1627, another Strickland was born, apparently at the castle. This Strickland was named Matthew.  In 1649, when he was 22, Matthew married a young lady from Liverpool, Elizabeth Golsom.

After their marriage Matthew and Elizabeth emigrated to the colonies. (I haven’t been able to confirm the date). They landed in Isle of Wight, Virginia, where Matthew , as a colonist, was granted some land. He took up farming (apparently tobacco) and  traded in land and tobacco until his death at age 69 in Isle of Wight. During their marriage, he and Elizabeth had a son, Matthew, the first Strickland in my tree born in Virginia.

This Matthew married, lived his life in Isle of Wight, Virginia, married Ann Braswell, and had several children.

One of those children, Sampson Strickland, born in 1757, married Christiana McKinney in Isle of Wight, and they moved to Wake County, North Carolina, apparently in search of better tobacco farming opportunities than the Isle of Wight offered.

Sampson and Christiana are my 5^th great grandparents. Their progeny lived and died in Wake and Johnston Counties in North Carolina ever since, until my father left North Carolina for Northern Virginia in the 1940’s.

HONEY, I"M HOME

We’re in the village of Great Strickland this evening, at the Strickland Arms.

Getting here wasn’t easy. Some of you know that our flight itinerary started with a flight from Charlotte to Boston, with an hour and seven minute layover to catch a flight to Dublin, then on to Glasgow. And you also know we tried to change that but were assured everything would be all right.

As expected, it wasn’t all right. Never had a chance. The American flight from Charlotte to Boston was first delayed, then cancelled because of a window that wouldn’t close. I expect a window to get stuck and not close on a bus, maybe, but not on an A300.

Anyway, two customer service lines, three planes, two trains, and two taxis later, we got into Great Strickland, in England’s Lake District.   Even better, our luggage came along. And, even after all the hassle, we got here just four hours later than originally planned.

As I noted earlier, this village and surrounding area of Westmorland County was the home of Strickland’s dating back to the twelfth century. It was the home of , and first named by, my 24th great grandfather William.  Today, it’s a typical Lake District village of 370 people, including those living in the surrounding countryside.

The village pops up out of surrounding farmland laid out by seemingly endless stone walls.  The main (only) street, Priestclose Lane, might be a half mile long. But in that half mile Priestclose Lane is lined on both sides by one 17^th century house after another. These, and the new houses, are  made from local limestone, and roofed with slate mined from local quarries 250 years ago. In this half mile, there are 17 English National Heritage buildings.  

Typically, these houses were small homes with a stable or barn attached. In many cases, the barn has been converted to additional living space. These are still private homes, all with elaborate, well tended gardens, in the English fashion.  Saying this is a pleasant place to live would be a huge understatement.

The Strickland Arms, the Inn we’re staying in, appears to be the only commercial establishment in town, and it’s another of those 200+ year old buildings where the sleeping rooms are in what used to be the attached barn. A neat place, and It’s also got a great kitchen.

In spite of getting here late, we had enough time to explore Great Strickland, take a break before the walk starts tomorrow, and have an English Sunday Dinner. I chose the steak and ale pie, with roasted potatoes and vegetables. Marty had the sticky lamb pie with the same accompaniments, but he wouldn’t eat his peas.

We’ve both taken the tough it out approach to getting over the time change, even though it maybe hasn’t been by choice. Not much sleep on the planes, nor the trains, for the last 30 hours, so we ought to sleep well tonight. That’s going to happen any time now...

St. Barnabas' Church

From my side of the family

   

THE BEST LAID PLANS...

I know some of you like to follow where we are on a map. I'll try to post maps as I can. But for those adventurous sorts who'd like to put these place names into Google Maps and see for yourselves, here's the itinerary. The walking miles from Monday the 22nd to Sunday the 28th are on the Westmorland Way, in England's Lake District. The walking miles from Monday, June 5 until that Thursday, are in the Scottish Highlands on the West Highland Way. 

( A dram of whisky to those who recognize the significance of the portrait)

          Our Best Laid Plans...                                                                                                                                    

                     

Saturday,  May 20       Charlotte to Glasgow

Sunday, May 21           Glasgow  to Great Strickland     

Monday, May 22         Great Strickland to Pooley Bridge  (8 walking miles)

Tuesday, May 23         Pooley Bridge  to    Patterdale  (12 miles)

Wednesday, May 24   Patterdale  to  Grasmere  (9 miles)

Thursday, May 25       Grasmere to Troutbeck  (16 miles)

Friday, May 26            Troutbeck  to Kendal    (15 miles)

Saturday, May 27       in Kendal and Sizergh Castle

Sunday, May 28          Kendal to  Arnside  (17 miles)

Monday, May 29        Arnside  to Edinburgh       

Tuesday, May 30        in Edinburgh 
  

Wed, May 31              in Edinburgh     

Thursday, June 1        Edinburgh to Sterling                                        

Friday, June 2             in Sterling                                                             

Saturday, June 3        Sterlng  to Glasgow                       

Sunday, June 4          Glasgow   to Bridge of Orchy          

Monday, June 5        Bridge of Orchy to Kingshouse  (12 miles)

Tuesday, June 6        Kingshouse  to  Kinlochleven  (9 miles)

Wednesday. June 7  Kinlochleven to Fort William  (16 miles)

Thursday, June 8       Fort William   to Glasgow
             
Friday, June 8            Glasgow to Charlotte and Home                                           

INTRODUCTION

Most of you know that, for the last several years I, along with one or more of you, have been fortunate enough to be able to go to Europe to walk and hike from village to village across some of the most beautiful countryside  in Europe. On past trips, we’ve walked in Ireland (multiple times), England, Spain, and Hungary.  I’ve learned that these walks are terrific ways of really learning the countries we walk through and meeting their people.  These are unforgettable experiences.

The typical day on one of these walks involves having a big breakfast at the inn or B&B in the village where you spent the night, then heading out (with rain gear at the ready) into the countryside on back roads, farm roads, or trails, pointing toward the next night’s village and warm shower. That village could be anywhere from 8 miles to 18 miles away. Fortunately, your luggage is transferred forward for you, and you spend the day walking with a light load (lunch, rain gear, dry stuff, etc.).  The walking day usually ends late in the afternoon, and after a shower and a nap, you’re in the pub winding down and discussing the day with the locals. That routine begins again the next day.   Every one of these days is an awesome experience

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Last year’s walk was in Hungary, and we deemed it a “legacy” walk. The adventurers in the walk were me, Marty Szabo, and Diana Skelte. Marty’s been a part of all of these adventures, and was the reason  the Hungary walk has  a “legacy” moniker.  The walk itself was in Bukk National Park. When it was over, and we returned to Budapest, we spent a day in the quiet little village an hour outside of Budapest where Marty’s grandfather was from, and where the church cemetery was populated with Szabos.

BTW – last year’s walk also included meeting Scott and Pat Kremers in Budapest and all of us going from there to Vienna, Prague, and Paris. These trips aren’t all just about exercise and villages.

This year’s trip involves two countries and two walks. The trip starts and ends in Scotland (hence the Loch Ness reference) where Marty and I will meet up with our good friend and backpacking buddy Steve Hoyt and  walk the West Highland Way. Steve will meet up with us in Glasgow, coming from San Francisco, via a golfing gig in Ireland.

Before the walk in Scotland, Marty and I will be going to the Lake District in Northern England. There, we’ll be walking the Westmorland way through the heart of the Lake District, England’s most scenic area.

The Westmorland Way is also where the “legacy” part of this trip takes place. It turns out that the old Westmorland County in England is the home of the Strickland’s, and the Westmorland Way will be taking us through the middle of Strickland country.  

We’ll start our walk in the northern part of the county at the little village of Great Strickland outside of Penrith.   Here, in the 12^th century,  a prominent landholder, Sir Walter de Castlecarrock (my 24^th great grandfather), first added “Stricklande” as a surname, to reflect his holdings. The village is still there, and the surname stuck. In Great Strickland we’ll stay in The Strickland Arms, the most popular (only) pub in town.

Our walk will go through the Lake District for 6 days and will near an end at Kendal, a small town in the southern part of Westmorland County.  There is quite a bit of Strickland memorabilia in Kendal, including a Strickland cemetery, and Stricklandgate, a main street.  A few miles outside of Kendal is Sizergh Castle. Sizergh Castle was acquired by William Strickland (21^st great grandfather) in the 13^th century. It’s been owned and lived in by Strickland’s ever since, Matthew Strickland (7^th great grandfather), who, along with his wife Elizabeth, emigrated to Isle of Wight in the  new colony of Virginia).

When we get to the end of the Westmorland Way, our plan is to return to Scotland, spend some time in Edinburgh and Stirling, and return to Glasgow to meet up with Steve.

From Glasgow, we’ll take a train to the Bridge of Orchy, past Loch Lomond, where we’ll pick up the stretch of the West Highland Way we’ll be walking. We’ll end up further north 4 days later at Ft. William Scotland, on Loch Linnhe, near Loch Ness.

I’ll make a separate post with the complete itinerary.

Marty and I have both been spending time over the last couple of months getting in shape for the walks.  There’s a reasonable amount of elevation change on both of these walks in addition to some long mileage days, so there's work involved here.

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For now, it’s getting close. We leave Saturday  and I think we’re both pretty pumped.