Thursday, May 5th to Tuesday May 10th: Scotland
We left my friend’s house in Weatheral early. It was election day in the UK and she had a full day planned for her. She told us how supportive friends have been so she not left alone too much. Her 2 daughters both live in Scotland but thanks to Skype she sees and chats with them every day. I was pleased to see them as the last time I saw them they were about 8 and 10 and bathed our two kids aged 3 and 5! They remembered! I doubt my kids do! They each have 3 kids of their own and interest in the grandchildren is an added incentive for my friend to cope with grief and her own health issues.
Our drive to the next destination at New Lanark took us into Scotland at Gretna Green and through the towns of Annan and Dumfries. This was familiar territory for us as Michael’s parents lived in this area. Also, I had my broken ankle fixed in Dumfries Hospital in 1999 and we spent a year in this part of Scotland.
In New Lanark we stayed at the Old Mill. This is a World Heritage site. The mill was built in 1816 by a visionary, Robert Owens, who believed in giving mill workers decent living conditions and treating the workers with dignity. The workers had fresh air, good food and decent living conditions. There is a choice of accommodation to suit all types of tourist from the more luxuriant hotel to a hostel with single rooms or dormitory for back packers, and others on travel budgets. We stayed in the hostel and had a private room.
The area surrounding the mill is a nature reserve with walks to observe such rare sights as badgers and peregrine falcons. The walk to the Falls of Clyde has identification cards for the wild flowers growing beside the track.
The local people won a petition to stop a large quarry being built in the locality
The website is New lanark mill
Canada to Spain 2016 