Wensleydale

We said goodbye to Andrea and left Scarborough early Monday morning and started our 150 mile journey to  Carlisle for tomorrow's University of Cumbria graduation ceremony at which our niece Anneke will receive her degree after seven years of part time study. Our journey took us at a leisurely pace across country through Wensleydale, on the route where recently the Tour de France passed, leaving villages still bedecked with yellow bunting and painted bicycles.  The countryside is beautiful and reminiscent of the Welsh border land in Powys. The story of the community's reclamation and promotion of the valley's cheesemaking tradition in the late 20th century is one of justifiable pride.

We stopped for lunch in Hawes at the splendid Wensleydale Cheese visitor centre, and came away with a selection of cheeses for gifts to take with us when we go to Germany to see Connie and Udo next week. The weather broke as we arrived at the M6 motorway for the last fifty mile leg of the journey through the Lake District, completed mostly in driving rain and mist. We arrived at our B&B at Eastview Guest House close to Carlisle town centre at tea-time and went on a reconnaissance trip to locate the Cathedral in the central business district, before dining out in an Italian restaurant close to where we were to stay the night. We were given a quiet spacious attic bedroom with a comfortable bed and bathroom, a great place to rest after a challenging journey across the Pennines.