Lammerside Castle or the Castle Dolorous

A very healthy hike from where we are staying at the moment is Lammerside Castle, or Castle Delorous as it is also thought to be. Nobody knows for certain when it was built, or who lived in it . . . or even who destroyed it. All that remains now are two storyes of the tower stabnding in a field in the middle of nowhere in Mallerstang Dale. It is possible from a distance to see the scars left in the earth by ythe builders of this ancient fortress . . . but where the wounds left by walls that once stood strong and sure . . . there is now a mere imprint beneath a skin of grass. Nearby are two ancient burial mounds, which are fascinating in their own right.



It is said to be the home of the Giant Tarquin, a Saxon warrior, who had the terrifying habit of eating little boys . . . no Giants live there these days . . . only sure-footed sheep, which clamber aupon the wall tops and in the upper chambers, nibbling on the grass therein. I would imagine it also gives them a most welcome shelter from the driving wind and rain that pelts down across these ancient fels on blustery days, and we have sure experienced more than our fair share of that over these past few days.



We ventured out to Hawes today as well, known as the "Little Capital" of the Yorkshire Dales, and home of the Wenslydale Creamery, where they make Wenslydale Cheese, a favourite of Wallace and Gromit, amongst many other delicious cheeses. We've done the cheese factory tour before and so gave it a miss today. I did pick up some Sticky Toffee Pudding however which we will enjoy tucking into later on today. Hawes is a very pretty village and has a street market on Tuesdays, which we were able to enjoy amidst the rain and wind. There is also a museum and ropewalk. We didn't do either of those either, again because of the dog.

We are realizing just how very limiting it is to have Miztie with us. She is very well behaved, but in lousy weather it is somewhat of a handicap to have a dog along, as you are not able to duck into the shops and such when it starts to bucket down! I have also learned that not many people above a size 14 must live up here, as I have been unable to find a jacket that would suitably fit my happy figure, and so am freezing my arse off out of doors! Good thing I have Todd with me to keep me warm. ♥♥♥ We did find him a good and warm jacket yesterday, or should I say he did. Yesterday I stayed at here at the cottage with the dog.

She is great company is our Mitzie. We love her to bits. She and Todd are watching an old Western on the telly at the moment in peaceful companionship . . . nothing much changes does it? ☺



You can read about what we had for dinner last night today in The English Kitchen.