United Kingdom
Lancaster

Discover travel destinations of travelers writing a travel journal on FindPenguins.
Top 10 Travel Destinations Lancaster
Show all
Travelers at this place
    • Day 95

      Royal respite

      December 7, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

      I believe today marked the start of some very boring updates, dear readers!

      We awoke in our castle, enjoyed some tea and some freshly baked bread which was dropped off by our lovely bnb host, drank some more tea before heading out for a walk to see our castle grounds and the adjourning small town of Hornby.

      Our accommodation is buildings attached to the main keep of the castle - so we aren't staying in a castle per se, but it's close enough.

      After doing 2 laps of the 'quaint' (tiny) town we decided we needed to find a walking path if we even wanted to consider hitting our 10k step goal, so we found a public path that took us through some private farms before turning around and getting absolutely drenched in the rain.

      We made our way back after hitting the step goal and enjoyed watching Shaun of the Dean before finishing off the charcuterie leftovers from yesterday.

      Step count: 11.6k
      Read more

    • Day 94

      Roman around the countryside

      December 6, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C

      This morning we said goodbye to our Newcastle accommodation and headed east towards the great northern wall, none other than Hadrian's Wall! We picked around the middle of the wall as there was a Roman fort and museum there, but once we got there we found out that it was closed... It was very sad to see.

      Fortunately for us, today was the first day of blue skies and sun in England that we've had in a while, so we decided to walk part of the wall. It was a toasty 4°C and the sun was shining brightly and there wasn't a breeze. We walked past Roman ruins, sheep, frozen mud and puddles for about 45 minutes until we decided to turn around and start heading back. It was very peaceful, and a lovely way of getting our daily steps in. Thanks Emperor Hadrian for such a lovely wall, I'm sure that it was effective at keeping the Picts out!

      After making our way back to the car, we drove to a nearby town to grab a coffee and a scone, then bought some supplies for the evening and got back on our way to head to our accommodation.

      The road had us go between the Lake District and North Pennines nature preserve, which was a beautiful drive. The hills and mountains loomed in the distance, and the tops were all still covered in snow. We're hoping we get a chance to come back up and explore some of the area before we head too far south!

      Eventually we made it to the town near our accommodation and stopped briefly at the Lidl to grab some more groceries before heading to our dingy little hut.

      Did I say say dingy little hut? I meant to say castle!!! (Or at least, part of one.) It was pitch black when we pulled in so we have no clue what our accommodation looks like. I'm sure we'll have photos to share tomorrow.

      Once we got in and situated, we put together one of the few appropriate meals when you're in a castle: a charcuterie board! (And if you're looking at the photo, NO we didn't eat it all, there's plenty for tomorrow... And potentially the next day.)

      We spent the rest of the evening doing some more planning for our trip before heading to our much upgraded bed!

      Step count: 15k
      Read more

    • Day 96

      Just the one swan actually...

      December 8, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌧 8 °C

      Today was our day to explore part of the UK's lake district. We had a coffee and left for the hour drive into the hills.

      First up was the nice little town of Ambleside. This town contains a 17th century house built on a bridge over a river to avoid the town's land tax. Very cheeky!

      After walking around the town for a little while, we continued up the road to the lakeside town of Keswick, where we took a walk to Friars Crag, a view that overlooks the lake. It was lovely and peaceful, and considering the rainy weather, we had great visibility of the lake.

      After another coffee the next stop was Aira Force Waterfall, an impressively big waterfall. While it was a lovely area with a great view, it was also annoyingly busy considering the time of year and the weather, so we didn't spend too long there.

      Finally, on the way back to our accommodation, we took a lovely road that was on the edge of the lake Ullswater. At some points the lake was only a few metres from the road. It was very impressive! (And lucky that the road hasn't flooded...)

      Once we were home we relaxed a while before making up the third and final charcuterie leftovers for dinner while watching the legendary movie: Hot Fuzz!

      Step count: 10.1k
      Read more

    • Day 5

      Rainy Days and Mondays

      September 11, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

      We were on the move for most of the day today. Good thing we brought our rain gear because it rained all day. It also has gotten cooler yesterday, mid-20s, now in the teens. We saw so many different sites as we traveled through forests, fields, and cities. We decided to push on to the top of the canal so we can take our time on the way back. Only 4 miles north till we turn around and start heading south tomorrow. Turning around will be an adventure. It's amazing to think we were underway for 6 hours and only made 12 miles. There were times we had to pull aside to let someone pass, and we had to slow down when we passed moored boats, so it was very slow going. The canal was very narrow in places and extremely shallow. Also, it was busier today, and there were a lot more live aboard boats moored along the side of the canal. We had a swing bridge to navigate. I jumped off and manually opened the bridge, and Randy piloted the boat through. It was pretty cool. Before we were ready to carry on, another boat was coming through, so we opened the bridge for them. North of Lancaster, we had our first view of the sea. It was so cool to see the hills of the Lake district on our right and Morecambe Bay to our left. We found a mooring in the small town of Carnforth and headed out to find a pub. Bonus tonight, we stopped at two.Read more

    • Day 23

      Up hill and down (Yorkshire) Dale(s)

      May 19, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

      Nothing especially amusing today, but we do have a little bit of inside info for those who might be interested.

      It is apparent that there are a number of closet ‘All Creatures’ devotees out there, judging from the private messages we have received. It wasn’t our intention to devote any more space to this, but to satisfy the interest of said ‘Herriot-o-files’ here is a little extra we discovered this morning before leaving Grassington.

      After a full ‘Mrs. Hall’ breakfast - including some traditional Yorkshire Pudding which even Loss sampled, we went for a stroll around the village and came across a little street that looked (to our untrained eyes) as if it would be perfect for the series and both of us commented along those lines - cobblestone street, perfect looking little houses etc.
      As we looked further down the street we saw some activity happening. It was a group of tradies and people from the production crew of ‘All Creatures’ preparing another house to feature in the next series. It will belong to ‘Gerard’ - Mrs. Hall’s new romantic interest(!) They were preparing the house - external painting (replacing modern colours around windows and doors with appropriate shades of brown etc.) as well as internal furnishings.

      ‘Is it OK if I take some photos?’
      “Hmmm, you’re not really meant to….but I can’t see your camera…”

      Filming to take place on Monday. You saw and heard it here first.

      Our plan today was for another circuitous / scenic drive through the Dales. Again, it was fascinating to see the ever changing scenery and the amazing houses in little villages all jammed in together around the main road through town (which was often barely wide enough to fit the little Fiat through). After heading north and east through Leyburn, we headed across the more rugged part of the Moors to Tan Hill Inn - the highest Inn in England. A ‘signature drink’ Ginger hot chocolate was had before continuing on to Hawes
      - and the impressive sounding ‘Hadrow Force Waterfall’. This also laid claim to fame as being England’s largest drop waterfall.
      We drove in, paid our entrance fee and walked along the path towards the falls. With the hype about its vertical drop etc I was expecting a Niagara Falls type of experience, however this certainly wasn’t the case. Although very pretty, the water volume and height were relatively modest, perhaps more comparable to En Gedi falls (for those who have been) than Niagara - or even Fitzroy falls or similar, for that matter.

      Next point of interest was the Ribblehead Viaduct which is essentially just a photogenic railway bridge. We pulled over on the side of the road just long enough to snap a couple of shots, then it was onwards toward our main destination for today - the waterfall trail at Ingleton.
      This is a popular attraction in this area of the Dales. It is a series of waterfalls, gullies and chutes. The trail is about 8km and we took around 2 1/4 hours to complete it. Again, the falls were relatively modest but very picturesque and thoroughly enjoyable.

      We have settled into another very historic hotel tonight in Ingleton.

      And the weather has even warmed up a little - we were down to shirtsleeves for most of the day!
      Read more

    • Day 6

      Turn Around Tuesday

      September 12, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

      It was another great day traveling the Lancaster Canal. We see so many walkers and cyclists using the tow path, but this morning, as we were getting ready to head out, we saw our first person on horseback. The horse came right up to me for a head scratch, and the rider gave Randy a treat for the horse. Randy started the day cleaning dog poop off his hikers. It was not a pleasant task, but he was happy it wasn't horse poop he stepped in. We've rented our narrow boat from Crabtree, and we would highly recommend them. They are a small company with four boats, and last night, three of the four were moored together in Carnforth. All three looked great, and Robert and Mandy really take care of their small fleet. We headed north to the top of the canal in Tewitfield. Just before it comes to the end, there is a winding hole that is used to turn the boat. Turning a 44-foot boat in what looked like a 60 foot wide canal was an interesting move. I tried to film it but I was needed. As usual, Randy did a stellar job. The route to Tewitfield was unbelievable. At times, we had weeds touching both sides of the boat, and we couldn't imagine passing another boat. Once we turned around, we kept south until we reached Lancaster. A nice couple who live aboard a narrow boat helped us find a place to moor. We are with a small group of boats just south of the town center. After securing the boat, we headed into town to find a couple of pubs. We stopped at the Water Witch, a beautiful spot that originally was a stable for the horses that pulled the boats. We decided we wanted to find a pub called Fibber McGhees. We liked the name. We stopped to ask a gent who had stepped out on the street for a puff if we were close and he told us it was closed. He was having a pint at The Penny Bank and said why not come in. It was a great place, the bartender sang Blonde to us, we ran into our bartender from Sundays pub in Galgate and we met a couple from our home town who just moved to Lancaster 10 months ago. We had way too much fun. We are going to explore Lancaster Wednesday and moor in a beautiful wild area called Deep Cutting so thank goodness it will be a short day on the water.Read more

    • Day 7

      Walkabout Wednesday

      September 13, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

      We had a nice low-key day today. We enjoyed a relaxing breakfast onboard and spent some time tidying up the boat. We walked into Lancaster to find a bank to switch our 50-pound notes. We tried to spend them in shops and pubs but no one wanted them. The first two banks were lined up, so we tried what appeared to be a credit union. They said no if we weren't customers. We found a Lloyds Bank, and they turned us down, too. They suggested we try a Post Office. The first person we spoke to at the Post Office suggested we take them to the Bank of England, seriously? Randy explained our challenge to a lovely young lady who initially apologized and said she couldn't help us but then said she would change all our 50s into 10s and 20s. We were so grateful. A word of caution don't bring 50 pound notes if you come to England. Actually, everywhere we've been tap has been the preferred payment method. Once we had our cash under control, we visited the Lancaster Priory and the Lancaster Castle. Both were definitely worth seeing. The area surrounding them was also very beautiful. We stopped for a late lunch in a little cafe and picked up some supplies at Aldi. It was a beautiful day today, and we really enjoyed our short southbound trip. Initially, we planned on stopping in a heavily wooded area, but we decided we wanted to enjoy the sunshine. We found a really nice secluded spot, no pub for us today. We had our chairs at the front of the boat to enjoy the sunshine and seclusion, but then a friendly dog came for a visit with his owner. Many people walk their dogs along the tow path. We had a nice chat about the history of the canal. As he continued his walk, another canal boat pulled up behind us to park for the night. We've met them a couple of times and it was nice to have a happy hour with them. They owned their own narrowboat previously and were now occasionally renting. They shared so much information on other canals. We had a nice dinner on board and played a few card games.Read more

    • Day 97

      A broken streak

      December 9, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌧 8 °C

      This morning started off slow, listening to the rain pouring while we had our morning drinks. Eventually we decided to go and check out a nearby town and its large antiques (/junk) collection, we were in there for quite a while, the store had many interesting things, some of it even for good prices! With backpack space in mind we decided not to get anything.

      With the weather having a temporary pause in showers, we saw that the town of Ingleton also had a waterfall trail, so we drove over there in the hope of seeing it. To our disappointment we realised that it was going to cost £10 each for the privilege of hiking the 3 miles round trip. (Which we definitely weren't prepared for anyway)

      Instead we walked around the town centre for a little while before deciding that we would head back to the castle (you know, our current accommodation!) and walk to the local pub for a late lunch/early dinner.

      We got back to the rain and wind back in full force, and waited a bit to see if it would let up... Which it didn't. So we donned our wet weather gear and walked to the local pub. Which was a 400 metre walk from the castle.

      After eating a nice meal, having a pint, and listening to the locals talk about... Well we're not quite sure... We again braved the weather to head back to the accommodation (no afternoon walk for us without getting blown away or drowned)

      We spent the rest of the afternoon resting since there wasn't much else we could do. At one point the roof sprang a leak which we had to deal with using pots and pans. Other than that it was a mostly uneventful evening!

      Step count: 7.7k
      The first day that we haven't hit at least 10,000 steps. It was bound to happen with the weather getting worse. 96 days in a row. Not a bad innings!
      Read more

    • Day 5

      Die Strasse nach Liverpool

      May 16, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

      450km ohne Autobahnen- wie anstrengend kann das schon mit einem 22 Jahre alten Jimny sein?
      „SEHR!“
      Wir sind heute morgen direkt nach Liverpool gefahren um eigentlich den Beatles Ehre zu erweisen… Aufgrund des ESC‘s war leider der komplette Platz abgesperrt. Also war ich auf der Suche 🔍 nach einem Löchlein in der Absperrung und habe auch eines gefunden 👌🏻…
      Weiter ging es dann nach Blackhead im Lake Destrict.
      Nachdem wir die letzte Nacht im Zelt ⛺️ übernachtet hatten, haben wir uns etwas Luxus gegönnt.
      Übernachtung im Derby Arms. Zimmer natürlich mit freistehender Badewanne, die direkt zum shooten verwendet wird ;0)…
      Read more

    • Day 4

      In Schottland angekommen

      June 4, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

      Gefahrene Strecke: 136 km
      In der Früh haben wir heute noch einen Spaziergang am River Lune in Lancaster gemacht. Ein kurzer Stadtbummel, ein feines Frühstück so richtig mit Croissant und Cappuccino und ganz ohne Beans und Hot Dog und dann machten wir uns wieder auf den Weg.. Jetzt aber ganz richtig nach Schottland.
      Es geht eigentlich immer auf der M6, einer Autobahn, sodass wir gut voran kommen. Mautgebühren gibt es hier in Großbritannien nicht, außer auf kurzen Teilstrecken rund um London.

      Schottland beginnt für uns bei Gretna Green. Genau dahin wollte ich schon als Jugendliche, animiert von einem Song von Cliff Richard "Kein Zug nach Gretna Green".
      Das Besondere an diesem Ort? Gretna Green galt im 19. Jahrhundert als Heiratsparadies für junge Engländer*innen. In England war nämlich die Ehe unter 21 ohne Einwilligung der Eltern nicht möglich. In Schottland aber durfte man und so hat Gretna Green als schottischer Grenzort ein einträgliches Geschäft entwickelt und junge Paare aus ganz England flohen nach Gretna Green und ließen sich vom dortigen Schmied, ja, vom Schmied!!! trauen.
      Der Ort hat noch bis Ende des 20. Jahrhunderts Sänger wie Udo Lindenberg, aber auch diverse Schnulzensänger und Poeten inspiriert. Heute ist der Ort touristisch vermarktet und entsprechend verkitscht. In der dortigen Schmiede wir aber immer noch fröhlich geheiratet.

      Nach einer guten Stunde Gretna Green hatten wir genug von Liebesschlössern, Herzen jeglicher Art, Liebeslabyrinthen und jeder Menge Liebeskitsch.
      Wir fuhren weiter nach Annan, einer netten kleinen Stadt im Südwesten Schottlands. In einem sehr netten Lokal mit dem einfachen Namen "Our Place" haben wir einen Tisch fürs Abendessen reserviert und sind dann weiter zu unserem heutigen Übernachtungsplatz "Waterfoot" gefahren. Ein wunderschöner Platz am Meer. Dass wir uns an einem sehr geschichtsträchtigen Ort befinden, haben wir erst dort gesehen. Waterfoot war nämlich von Mitte des 18. bis Mitte des 19. Jhdts ein berühmter Hafen, von dem aus die schottischen Auswanderer nach Amerika verschifft wurden. Jetzt erinnert nur mehr eine verwitterte Gedenktafel an diese Geschichten.
      Außerdem durften wir die schottische Gastfreundschaft kennenlernen. Kaum standen wir 20 Minuten da, kam ein älteres Paar vorbei und hieß uns herzlich willkommen in Schottland, freute sich darüber, dass wir genau an diesem Platz übernachten wollten und erzählte uns einiges über die Geschichte dieses Ortes.
      Am Abend gingen wir also Essen und ich muss jetzt mal meine Vorurteile bezüglich schottischer Küche revidieren. Es war nämlich ausgezeichnet.
      Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Lancaster

    Join us:

    FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android