Driving on.

The little hotel on Hadrians Wall was a friendly and unpretentious place. In some restaurants people sit in silence or stare at their phones. Here the staff were friendly and the diners clearly out to enjoy themselves. There was a  backdrop of genteel laughter. That of course may say a lot about the way people go out for dinner in the North of England compared with Edinburgh or London where dining is altogether a more serious affair .

There was one other table set for breakfast . We had expected the place to be full but last nights diners must either be still asleep or have taken cabs home. It's improbable that any of them would have been in a fit state to drive.

The bar was one of those places that could only be English. 'The Font' says it makes an exceedingly good Campari Soda.

Onto Hexham where there is a music festival in the Abbey. Miraculously it's dry although the weather has been 'changeable' and has been torrentially wet overnight. Hexham at weekends is busy. It's a market town and farmers and their wives from miles around flock into the centre for their weekly 'messages'. Parking is impossible but as we circle round the market square for a second time a car pulls out of a parking spot right in front of us.

Inside the abbey we stop and study a large Roman sarcophagus that was excavated and repurposed for the sixth century church that stood here.

For £3.50 ( each ) a guide opens up the old crypt. She tells us where to look to find the recycled Roman inscriptions that line the walls. Angus bangs his head going down the steps and grumpily leaves the hunt for Roman funerary inscriptions to 'The Font'.

My mood is greatly improved by a slice of Pecan Caramel Shortbread at the motorway service area.

In the early afternoon, after a BLT in a riverside pub , the rain has finally gone and  we arrive in Cartmel. Improbable though it might seem this is where a well known three rosette chef trains his staff. As a result of the business this brings in the village has a well heeled picture postcard feel to it. It is now a key destination on the culinary tourism circuit and has an interesting selection of upmarket shops. There is an aura of Farrow and Ball colour chart gentrification to the place. The village is dominated by the 12th century Priory - which is huge. Here is a video of the local theatre companies forthcoming performance in the old Priory. It gives a good feel of the place  :https://youtu.be/NAbAvBihedc?t=2

One final night in Ambleside and then home in time for the start of the golf tournament. The Sat Nav in the little BMW has a penchant for taking us down hedge lined single track lanes without passing places. So far we've been lucky but if we met something coming the other way we'd need to reverse for a long way to find somewhere we could both pass.

This little car is electric and is exactly what is needed for a trip to the Lake District although storing luggage might be an issue  :https://www.austinmotorcompany.com/

The cost of children :https://illuminatingfertility.substack.com/p/how-much-would-mothers-earn-if-they

Blue cheese in France:https://x.com/TerribleMaps/status/1971909957269545338

Now they tell me : https://news.ufl.edu/2025/09/brain-aging/