A Visit To New Lanark and The Artist Textiles Exhibition

Rob, Brock and I had a day out at New Lanark today. We started off with a walk to the Falls of Clyde, along the riverbank.

 You pass a hydro-electric power station at one point.

After that, we had a tasty jacket potato with beans in the Mill Café, followed by Americano coffee and tray bakes. Pretty good value for under £19.

I love the old cotton mill buildings and the lovely homes built for the workers by manager, Robert Owen. There is a roof garden on top of one of the buildings, which we haven't yet visited. Today, however, we were here to see the Artist Textiles Exhibition, which is running until 29/4/18.

 Henri Matisse Echarpe No 1 headscarf, 1947

 Salvador Dali dress in Flower Ballet (detail), 1947

 Pablo Picasso scarf designed for Berlin Peace Festival, 1951

Georges Braque furnishing textile from the Saison Happily Married range, c. 1956

John Piper Foliate Head furnishing textile, 1954

Barbara Hepworth screen-printed linen table mat, c.1957

Zandra Rhodes Top Brass furnishing textile, 1964

Andy Warhol William Tell Apple on skirt, 1950s

Andy Warhol Happy Bug Day, mid 1950s

Andy Warhol Ice Cream Cones cocktail dress, c.1963 -1964

This was a really enjoyable exhibition for me, as a lover of both textiles and art. The biggest surprise for me, was Andy Warhol's work - so colourful, full of humour, and with great colour palettes. It still looks very contemporary.

This is a tiny sample of the 200 pieces on display, so there is plenty more to see.

We ended our visit to New Lanark with the obligatory look around the gift shop and Village Shop, where we bought some caramels for the journey home.

Visit to Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Rob and I went to Newcastle-upon-Tyne yesterday. We parked by the Quayside, and had morning coffee in the Dala Swedish Café: the coffee was a bit bland, and they didn't have any gluten free cakes, so we would probably not return there.

We walked for about 15 - 20 minutes, to The Biscuit Factory, the lovely old building has been converted into an art and craft gallery over two large floors, and there are two restaurants on site.

We ate lunch in the restaurant on the first floor. The food was excellent: the best either of us has had for a long time, while eating out. The setting is light and airy with views over the surrounding buildings. There was construction work going on, and it looks like a new outdoor extension is being added.

 Quiche (one bite missing!) with beetroot, and chickpea and rice salads

 Baked potato with hummus and sundried tomatoes, served with coleslaw

Stephen Heward has an exhibition of his striking landscape paintings on display at present, but there are all sorts of other styles of art and craft, jewellery, books, cards and homewares available.

We were so pleased to have found this place and will certainly return.

It is another 15 minute walk to the centre of the city, where you can find the unique shops in Grainger Market (a covered marked with many interesting, small units, selling everything:- Mexican deli items; speciality teas and coffees; vintage clothing; books; fruit and veg; joss sticks; health foods, etc.

This collage shows some of the interesting architecture that we spotted, including derelict buildings; Newcastle University; and the Central Arcade (rebuilt in 1906, after a fire), with its seemingly unused mezzanine level and ornately ceramic tiled interior.


There are, of course, large department stores and the usual chain shops. I bought a copy of Jane Foster's book "Fun With Fabric", from Waterstones, which includes an overview of designing fabric for digital printing. Her own work is inspired by vintage printed textiles and has a colourful, simple, pattern-led aesthetic that I admire.

It is a downhill walk back to the Quayside area and we stopped off in the Hexham Waitrose to buy a treat for dinner.

All-in-all a very nice day during our week's 'staycation'! We finally picked up Brock, who had been having one of his twice yearly fur cuts, and having fun with groomer, Jenny's, dogs for the day. [Brock's before and after photos from an earlier visit.]

A Walk Along The Jubilee Path, Kippford to Rockcliffe

We made the most of the good weather this week, with a lovely walk along the coast between Kippford and Rockcliffe.

Some images from along the route. [Please click on a photo to see a larger version.]

Lunch was at the Loch Arthur Restaurant, with attached Farm Shop. Always a pleasure to eat and shop here. The food is fresh and wholesome and delicious! I ate the 'dipping platter': three dips with crudites, salad and tortilla chips; gluten free orange polenta cake and a large mug of coffee. Rob had the chickpea burger 'dish of the day', coffee cake and coffee. Highly recommended :o)

Holiday in Yorkshire - Day 3 - Brimham Rocks and Ripon

After a vegetarian cooked breakfast at the cottage, to set us up for the day, we headed out to Brimham Rocks. There are hundreds of weird rock formations on the site.

It is like walking around an alien landscape. It was a bit busier than when we were last there in October. The car park costs £5 per car, which is their 'entrance fee', I suppose.

Dogs are allowed onto the site, so Brock came along and was off the lead for most of the way, although you do have to watch out for some steep cliff edges in places. We wandered at random along small grass pathways and over the moorland before coming back to the Visitor Centre, which sells souvenirs. There is a refreshment stand (not yet open when we were there), picnic tables and a toilet block.

We drove on to Ripon and ate lunch at The Royal Oak pub. Dogs are allowed into the bar and beer garden.

I had feta salad (the only vegetarian, gluten free option), Rob had a falafel burger and chips and we both had cups of coffee. There were about four vegetarian options to choose from. The food was tasty and well prepared, and the staff were very attentive. The other people in the bar were locals and chatted about dogs with us - always a good subject! Definitely a recommended place to eat.

Ripon has a good range of small, independent shops, as well as some chain shops, plus plenty of places to eat. We bought some food for dinner in the Sainsburys, then headed back to the cottage to read the papers and relax.

Things To Do In And Around Edinburgh

I recently spent a couple of weeks in Edinburgh and managed to find plenty to do:-

[Please click on any photo to see a larger version.]

Afternoon tea and cake at Henderson's at St John's. I have to say that this was not a very good experience, although I have enjoyed lunch there in the past. The teapot barely held enough for one tea cup and the gluten free cake was about 2 inches square when it came out of its packaging (bought in, not made on the premises). Not very good value for money. However, it is an interesting place to sit and they do a good range of vegetarian food.

 The Scottish Gallery of Modern Art, housed in two buildings on opposite sides of Belford Road.

There are two interesting exhibitions on at the moment:- American Impressionism: A New Vision; and Generation: 25 Years of Contemporary Art in Scotland. The views above show some of the sculptures in the garden of Modern One.

I enjoyed early morning coffee and cake in the restaurant at Modern One before it was busy. A very nice place to sit and excellent gluten free cake choices!

The Royal Botanic Garden has two great cafes, glasshouses with exotic planting, and 70 acres of landscaped grounds to wander around in. This time I particularly enjoyed the mixed vegetable and flower borders, the wildflower meadow and the alpines area.

The National Portrait Gallery is set in a beautiful building that I believe was the Museum of Antiquities at one time. The library houses a rather gruesome collection of death masks. There is a John Ruskin exhibition on at the moment, and also one of John Byrne's work.

The National Museum of Scotland is well worth a visit. There is so much to see, including the 'Ming' exhibition, which is on until the 19th of October.

A short walk away is Mother India's Cafe, where you can order a variety of small dishes. Since I was on my own, I limited myself to two dishes with rice, poppadom and coriander chutney. I ate dal made with split peas, and okra with tomatoes. Everything was very tasty, with fast and efficient service.

When I had had enough of walking, I went on an open-top bus tour with Edinburgh Tour. It costs £14 for a 55 minute trip around both new and old towns. The view above shows the Scott Monument with Jenners Department Store in the background, seen at the start of the tour from Waverly Bridge.

 There are lots of East Coast beaches near to Edinburgh. The view above is of a beach near Aberlady.

 Brock on the beach at North Berwick.

 A view of boats from the beach at North Berwick. This was our favourite beach and town.

 A panorama of Portobello beach.