Too cool for school

Rain lashed down from the heavens pretty much all of the way from Aberdeen to Carlisle, but as we crossed the border into England the clouds disappeared and the car thermometer said it was 24 degrees outside. A great start to the holiday.

The journey felt much shorter than the seven hours it took after picking up the hired car. This was due in part to the entertaining playlist and the banter. When we stopped at an Asda supermarket for breakfast, for some reason my son decided to buy a bright orange toy machine gun and an action figure called John Cena which they found very entertaining in the back seat of the car, and I found completely mystifying. It was obviously some in-joke that went way over my head. But a while later, in complete contrast to the larking about, they started discussing politics and how they would eradicate world hunger.

We found the cottage thanks to the ingenuity of an iPhone satnav. On a map the cottage looks easy enough to find, but the reality of the tiny twisted lanes going up and down dale is somewhat different; not to mention an unexpected road closure with diversions sending you in the opposite direction. But we arrived to find the cottage nestled into the side of a hill surrounded by trees and a commercial stables. The stables are home to 52 horses, with some prize winning bloodstock. Our cottage is a converted stable. Ancient exposed stone walls, low ceilings, and huge inglenook fireplace. For some reason the cottage was listed as having three ensuite bedrooms, whereas it actually has four. I’m not quite sure why the owners would play down such a useful feature. We also discovered that WiFi was available if you sat outside and picked up the signal from the neighbours property.

Our first full day involved a trip to Manchester, and involved much traipsing around second-hand record shops looking for vinyl records, and the purchase of Harrington Jackets from Affleck’s Palace. Ian got a great haircut from a fierce looking barber and then it was off to lunch at Pizza Express as that was one place guaranteed to cope with the combination of peanut allergies and vegetarianism.

We drove back over Saddleworth moors in full sunshine and then took a trip through Hebden Bridge. We shall be going back there for a proper explore tomorrow.