Sept 22
Dronfield to Carlisle
On a dull and slightly damp Sunday morning, following a glorious Saturday, Tina drove me to Dronfield Station, where I joined a dozen or so others on the platform awaiting the 10.03 train from Nottingham. It is the only train of the day (of the week?) which runs direct to Carlisle so my itinerary worked well. I only wish that I could claim it to be deliberate. It arrived about a minute late and I was relieved to see that there were plenty of empty seats. A four hour train ride standing all the way was not an enticing prospect.
The train was old – this is Northern – but I made myself comfortable and settled down to listen to the Rugby World Cup on my radio, to take photographs of the industrial scenery outside and to write my diary.
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The first hour took me through South Yorkshire, lots of industrial and some rural scenery. Lots of people disembarked at Sheffield and we were reasonably empty by the time we reached Leeds, just over an hour after we had started.
There, we had an almost complete change of passengers and left the same way that we had come. Just like Bourne End! In spite of all of the new passengers, there was still plenty of room.
The Leeds conurbation was soon left behind and we climbed into the countryside. The railway follows the canal for some distance but, unfortunately, it was on the other side of the train so I couldn’t photograph the boats and the industrial archaeology.
By Skipton, it appeared to be slightly brighter but there were still spots of rain on the windows. The cloud soon re-appeared, however, and the dull day resumed.
Settle Station has been tastefully renovated and was the last sign of civilization for some time. The line rose steadily into the hills, over the famous Ribblehead Viaduct which, from inside the train, cannot be seen. All that could be seen were rolling hills and moorland. Most of the stations are miles outside the villages that they are meant to serve.
Much to my amazement, a refreshment trolley boarded at Settle. I risked a black coffee, which was as weak and flavourless as I would have expected, and ate my last sandwich as an accompaniment.
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Settle Station |
It has to be said that whilst the train left a lot to be desired, the staff were very friendly. I’m sure that they would have been very helpful had I needed help – but I didn’t.
Appleby was the “Best Kept Small Station” in 2003 but, unfortunately, it looked as if the hanging baskets hadn’t been replaced since. The other flowers, however, were quite good. The scenery flattened out and we crossed the River Eden at regular intervals.
We arrived in Carlisle about three minutes early. I took photos of the train and of The Station and then attempted to find the hotel.After wandering round in circles in light drizzle for ten minutes, I sought directions and soon found the large and ugly Travelodge. The staff were very friendly, however, and I was soon in my room. As was to be expected, this was spotless, comfortable and boring – just like all Travelodge rooms. In terms of value for money, it couldn’t be faulted. |
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Minus my backpack, and my fleece as it was very humid outside, I crossed the road to the restaurant that I had earmarked for this evening. It was in the basement of a small end of terrace building that I wouldn’t have given a second glance if I hadn’t read it up on the WWW and then been informed by other friends that it was excellent. I reserved a table for 18.30 and returned to the city centre for a coffee. As I drank it, the sun emerged and things looked good for a walk.
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My first memory of Carlisle is visiting with my parents in 1963. The city seemed large, dark and menacing, particularly The Citadel, just outside The Station. Since then, I have grown a lot and the red stone walls have been cleaned.
This being a Sunday, lots of the tourist attractions were closed. The main museum is excellent but, having visited it only a few months ago, I didn’t call in to see if it was open.
The main square is an excellent space, surrounded with a mixture of old buildings and shops. Some manage to combine both.
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The Tourist Office, closed of course, was in the old town hall, quite magnificent, hiding behind the Market Cross. The Cathedral, one of the smaller ones, is interesting but, as there was a service in progress, I didn’t do a tour of inspection.
It is a city of narrow alleyways and also its fair share of shopping malls. One of these contained an excellent statue of an itinerant musician but the photo may be ruined by the strange lighting effects. Post holiday examination revealed that it was.
I wandered around for a couple of hours, taking photos of things that caught my eye, “enjoying” the warm, humid and dull weather. I then felt the need for a beer and, after investigating the scruffy pubs near The Station, took refuge in a craft beer establishment, with a long bar housing 22 beer taps.
I had a low alcohol – 3.8% - IPA which had lots of flavour but was slightly too fizzy to be really good.
I wrote my diary and ate a bag of crisps – don’t tell the nurse!
Back at the hotel, I rested, listened to the developments on Thomas Cook, showered and changed. While I was doing this, the drizzle re-appeared outside but it was still warm.
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I left the hotel for the 200 yard walk to the restaurant and was ushered into a side room, which I shared with half a dozen others.
The light was very low and very strange. All of the white balances that I tried had a very yellow/orange tinge. Some serious post processing will be required.
The prawns arrived with lots of butter and lots of chilli. Very simple to cook and very simple to screw up. These were excellent so I smeared butter and lemon juice everywhere. The McLaren Vale Chardonnay which accompanied them was much better than I expected.
The feather blade with champ was amazing. Even the rioja crianza was good. The Foxborough is an excellent restaurant.
I consulted the waitress about the puddings and she assured me that the chocolate mousse with coffee wouldn’t be too unhealthy, so I risked it. It did taste excellent.
I walked back to the hotel in more drizzle and watched TV in the comfort of my room.