Wandering Scotland & England 2005

Following the International Porteous Family Gathering in Scotland, Doug Porteous from Toronto, Bob and I wandered down through The Scottish Borders, Northumberland,
County Durham, Yorkshire and then on into Lincolnshire
to High House Farm Bed & Breakfast Bob and I stayed at last year.

Doug tagged along for a couple days getting to know a little of Lincolnshire. He went home on the 18th. That week I did three days of research in the Lincoln Archives while Bob got to know the city of Lincoln. We also visited cousins we met last year.

The weekend before we flew home, Bob and I wandered
over to Stratford Upon Avon and Bath, went into Wales for breakfast one morning, and then wandered back into England to roam the Cotswolds, having lunch in Cheddar, then we checked out High Ham and Bletchley Park. Back to High House B&B to visit with cousins and do more research.
Did one more day of research. And spent some time with
my cousins.

Our last full day in England was another travel day towards Manchester...we drove through the Peaks District after we stopped to take in a little of Sherwood Forest.

September 12-29, 2005 – WE WANDERED ENGLAND & STOPPED FOR GENEALOGY
	Following the International Porteous Family Gathering in Scotland, Doug Porteous from Toronto, Bob and I wandered down through The Scottish Borders, Northumberland, County Durham, Yorkshire and then on into Lincolnshire to High House Farm Bed & Breakfast Bob and I stayed at last year. Doug tagged along for a couple days getting to know a little of Lincolnshire. He went home on the 18th. That week I did three days of research in the Lincoln Archives while Bob got to know the city of Lincoln. We also visited cousins we met last year. The weekend before we flew home, Bob and I wandered over to Stratford Upon Avon and Bath, went into Wales for breakfast one morning, and then wandered back into England to roam the Cotswolds, having lunch in Cheddar, then we checked out High Ham and Bletchley Park. Back to High House B&B to visit with cousins and do more research. Did one more day of research. And spent some time with my cousins. Our last full day in England was another travel day towards Manchester...we drove through the Peaks District after we stopped to take in a little of Sherwood Forest.

	FIRST LAUDER FOR TEA AND BISQUITS We decided not to linger in Edinburgh, so we had breakfast in Lauder. This town has preserved its medieval plan where the street widens at the market. In the center of the road is the old Tolbooth which now is being used as the town hall. To the left, the larger white building is the Black Bull Hotel, built in the 1700s. It might still be for sale. Bob and Doug go to the Post Office for stamps and birthday cards...somethings need to be done even when on a trip.

	CROSSING THE RIVER TWEED SOUTH OF MELROSE, SCOTLAND A quick stop for a photo op. What a gorgeous spot. The river flowed lazily -- there was no hurry to get anywhere. The only sound was an occasional car or lorrie on the bridge above. The sun warmed our rain-weary backs. It was just a perfect spot and time to stop.

	RAILROAD VIADUCT Trains no longer use this viaduct. Never the less, it is very impressive. I'm not sure I would have wanted to be on a train that crossed the river via this structure. In the quiet stream under the arches, a heron was fishing.

	COOL SNAIL ON THE ROAD Isn't this a beautiful thing? We found him on the road as we were taking pictures of the arches. Yes, he was that beautiful yellow. Under the arch, looking up from where the snail was on the road.

	JEDBURGH, SCOTLAND Through the Cannon Gate, Bonnie Prince Charlie rode into the city. Since very early times 13th century there have been many attacks and the town has been occupied by English and then Scottish. It has been rebuilt many times also. Now it is a peaceful village at the border to England. Through the ages, there have been many visitors, one was Robert Burns.

	LUNCH IN JEDBURGH We picked out savory meat pies and water. Chicken and leek for Doug and I; spicy meat for Bob. The three of us sat on a park bench near the Abbey ruins under a horse chestnut tree next to the cemetery. Only the pigeons and a few squirrels knew we were there. Oh, in the picture below, the haggis is on the left. We ate the pie.

	JEDBURGH, SCOTLAND Isn't this a pretty town square? The flowers with the sun shining made it a great picture. The Jed burgh Arms was across from where we were eating our lunch. As peaceful as that looks is how peaceful it was.

	FROM WAY DOWN THERE, WE CAME This is the last we saw of Scotland. We were a few feet away from the border to England. Those heading north would see the Welcome to Scottish Borders sign and the Scotland border rock.

	PORTEOUS GHOSTS DANCED IN THE SKY We took a break to look back at the Scottish Borders. I wonder about those swirling clouds... could they be ghosts of Porteii past waving goodbye? ...Hmmmm.

	WE HEAD INTO DOUG'S COUNTRY Five ways to say "Drive on the left"; "Links Fahran"; "Tenere le sinistra"; "Conduisez a gauche"; "Circule por la izquiera" We are on our way through Northumberland and County Durham stopping where we think it is interesting and where Doug's ancestors could have been. Doug's country will end at Yorkshire's south border with Lincolnshire. My ancestral land is in Lincolnshire.

	HADRIAN'S WALL- BRUNTON TURRET Passing through Northumberland, we came across a portion of Hadrian's Wall. We parked down at the street, climbed over a fence by way of the public path, ventured up to one of the watch towers the Romans built. Hadrian's Wall was started in the year AD 122. The whole wall stretched from coast to coast or a distance of about 75 miles (80 Roman miles). Now only parts of it remain. With sharp eyes, you can spot some of its stones in building foundations and houses in villages close to the wall. Sheep share their pasture.

	BARNARD CASTLE - CHURCH IS PRIVATE RESIDENCE NOW Barnard Castle is in County Durham. Before dinner, we started to look for Porteii graves. We knocked on the door of the church. A couple mean dogs barked, the door slowly creeeeeek open just a bit; a woman yelled at us not to bother her because she didn't have anything to do with the cemetery. This is an interesting way to get petrol. It was not a stand-alone building like in US. The station was carved out of an old building. Someone actually came out to pump the petrol for the customers.We walked on to the main street to have wonderful dinner at "The Old Well."

	ELEGENT B&B IN BARNARD CASTLE What a find! The bed was so high, I almost needed a ladder to climb in. The breakfast was great, too.

	HIGH FORCE IN THE DURHAM DALES About 15 miles from Barnard Castle we entered the Dales. Despite the rain, the Dales were still beautiful. We walked up a long path in a forest to get to the waterfall. The photo op afforded us a break for apples and water.

	YORK - A TWO-NIGHT STOP The York Minster and city wall. The Minster at day.

	WHAT DO YOU KNOW...A PIG GARGOYLE The York Minster has a bit of whimsy. I can't imagine this gargoyle warding off anything. Inside the minster were very elaborate graves of the rich and famous. Scary sentinels outside cathedral door. Gardens below the Castle with the Cathedral in background.

	YORK A quaint church with beautiful stained-glass windows.

	OUR YORK HOTEL AND A VERY OLD BUILDING This half-timbered building almost looks like it has just unfolded from a story book Below - CCW camera stands watch at the entrance to the parking lot of some official governmental building. It seemed to be concentrating on a car that had just pulled in....then I moved and it paid attention to me.

	YORK Yep, that's a stamp store Bob found on the corner entering The Shambles. The Shambles The ancient street of the Butchers of York, mentioned in the Domesday Book of William the Conqueror. It takes its name from the word "Shamel," meaning the stalls or benches on which the meat was displayed - later versions of which can still be seen. It was rebuilt about 1400, when it assumed its present character. We had dinner in a building which was just about where the little curve is on the lane.

	YORK This little piggy went to the Newgate Market.

	YORK There was an old mill below the city walls. Walk into old city over the remains of a Roman Fortress. "Roman Fortress - This plaque marks the site of the Porta Principalis Dextra or North Western Gate of the Roman Fortress of which the foundations as rebuilt circa A.D.300 lie just below ground."

	YORK Ruins of the old prison which is now a museum. Below is the castle wall at Monks Gate.

	YORK There is no end to interesting names for streets, businesses, and buildings.

	YORK Here are the ruins of the Abbey of St. Mary which was founded by King William Rufus in 1088. For 450 years it was the most powerful and wealthiest in the north of England. Below are the ruins within the ruins. Norman cathedral ruins were found while excavating the Abbey ruins.

	YORK St. Mary Abbey ruins which are now gardens and museum. Sometimes it is used for the settings of the York Mystery Plays. This place was huge!

	YORK FORK When we came to a fork in the road... we didn't take it. We walked back to the other side of town to have dinner at the Cafe Concerto where we shared a piece of Banoffi pie and coffee for dessert after a very nice organic dinner.

	A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON OUR WAY TO LINCOLNSHIRE Low Catton is a village west of York and is "starred" on Doug's family find list. We drove into the Churchyard and started looking for PORTEOUS headstones. We searched and searched.... couldn't see anything. It started to rain; I went back to the car; peered out the window and there it was! I yelled at Doug and he ran over wondering what happened. He quickly took out his notepad and started writing the inscription on the headstone. Click for Lincolnshire portion of our trip.

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