Folksy Finds: Summer Holiday

Rob and I are taking a 'Staycation' in a few weeks time, so I had holidays on my mind when I put together this Pinterest board, featuring the work of Folksy.com designers and makers.

Cheerful, "The Sun Has Got His Hat On" card from Tania Sneesby, £2.00

World Map Scarf, from daftdaisy, £9.95

Beach Bag from Seaforth Designs, £28.00

"Ringed Plovers At New England Bay" Handprinted by A Deegan, £45.00

Hemp and Seaglass Beach Bracelet, by Beach Shack Project, £26.00


To see the rest of the Pinterest Board, please click here.

To browse the wonderful gift guides at Folksy.com, please click here.

Wild Flowers in an Abandoned Graveyard

Rob, Brock and I often walk to the abandoned grave yard at Kirkconnel on the Sprinkell Estate, Eaglesfield. Apparently there was a medieval village with a church here at one time. There is now just a ruined mausoleum and lots of 18th century and newer grave stones.

There is an easy walk to it along by Kirtle Water, a small river with views of fields of sheep, lovely old trees and, at this time of year, wild flowers. We were also lucky enough to spot a swarm of bees!

Please click on any photo to see a larger version.

 The remains of the mausoleum in the background.

Lots of the grave stones have these rather morbid skulls/heads on them and other symbols of mortality.

The last photo is of Brock, taken back in May on the same walk.

Portinscale Walk, Cumbria

Rob, Brock and I did a walk from Portinscale near Keswick in the Lake District. We headed from outside The Chalet Tearooms towards Ullock and then along the Newlands Beck until we got to the bridge, where we retraced our steps. You can go on up to the pub and back along the road to Portinscale, but we preferred to walk by the water on such a hot day.

 Heading along a country lane just beyond Ullock; distant mountain views

  

Hawthorn bushes just coming into blossom

 

 

Brock takes a quick rest on a bench overlooking Newlands Beck

 A sheep farm

 

This is the point at which we turned round - sheep guarding a bridge!

 Rob's photo of water in the Newlands Beck - very David Hockney

 Here I am standing in the Newlands Beck - not much water in it

We ate lunch afterwards at The Chalet Tearooms. They allow dogs inside and out. Since it was a hot day and there was a space on the shaded verandah, we sat there. The building is nice, with large windows and lots of wood. The menu has breakfast items until 11 am, lunches such as soup, sandwiches, salads etc. There are cakes and scones for morning and afternoon coffees/teas.

We both had jacket potatoes with cheese and beans, plus coffees, a mineral water and an apple juice. The bill came to £21.50. There was lots of food on the plate - pretty good - the beans could have been hotter. The salads included two items containing gluten, which I had forgotten to ask them to leave off my plate. There was a strange mixture of little gems and roasted squash with a bitter/sour/hot flavour. The lettuce had gone brown from the heat, and neither of us liked the taste. There was beetroot cous cous, half a pointed pepper stuffed with another type of grain and the usual lettuce, cucumber and tomato. The coffees were very good. I would eat there again as it is convenient for the walk.