Of course, I’m talking about the BIG pond aka the Atlantic Ocean!

The biggest news of all, and the most exciting and life changing, is the birth of our first grandchild,

Hudson Peter Roscoe.

July 21, 2023 in Manchester, U.K.

Just how scrumptious and huggable is the wee one?

We stayed in an AirBB nearby, visited the family almost every day, and then took a side trip up to the Lake District.  Thanks to a most generous (and knowledgable) friend in London I had lots of Lake District information to sift through in the months before our trip. But it’s always tricky, isn’t it, choosing the correct hotel, town or village, neighborhood and tourist attractions when you know next to nothing of the local roads and by-ways. It’s a gamble really.

But this time I hit it just right!

We took the train to Oxenholme, then another train to Windermere and finally a bus to Ambleside. Ambleside was the perfect spot for us. And the Ambleside Townhouse was so lovely: the location, the room, the service…. all were excellent.

The weather varied, as it is wont to do in England! Our day in Grasmere was drizzly but certainly walkable. The next day we took the boat tour on Lake Windermere and it was gorgeous: clear views in every direction. No, we never did go hiking (as many people have asked me) as we didn’t bring hiking boots or the appropriate clothes and, if truth be told, we are not hiking people! Walks yes. Hike no.

 

We also took a day trip to RHS Bridgewater, near Manchester. Thank goodness for Ubers!  We don’t drive over there (I mean, how can they continue to drive on the wrong side of the road???🤪)    I had been to Tatton Park in May so wanted to finish my garden tours of the area with Bridgewater. We chose, luckily, a perfect day: passing clouds, not too hot or sunny, and no weekend crowds. Here is a slideshow of just a bit of what we saw:

 

It’s been a while since I’ve posted!  And now, it’s been more than eight weeks since that wee one was born. I leave to go back over in a week: cannot WAIT to see them all again. Of course, the day I was to arrive there is now a planned rail strike…so luckily with an Awards ticket it was easy to change to a day earlier.

To close, let me show you one last image. A very precious bundle held by me!