Rambling Russells

We have always enjoyed our visits to Lowther Castle but had never actually walked around the gardens before, so on a nice spring day we set off. There was an exhibition in the courtyard gallery that told the story of Lowther. It has belonged to the Lowther family, latterly the Earls of Lonsdale, since the Middle Ages. The age of the country house waned in the early years of the 20th century and in 1936 Lowther Castle was closed. The military used it for secret tank testing during WWII before returning it to the family.  They removed the roof and kept it as a monument rather than demolishing it. However after being left to deteriorate for many years, a charitable trust was established to restore the castle and grounds. The castle opened in 2011 after the initial restoration and the stable courtyard has been converted into a visitor centre, cafe and shop. The gardens are being restored too. It is a huge garden when you get inside. We began by looking around the ru...

Although we were aiming for Aberdeen we began with a trip to Hawick to pick up two friends who were going with us. We began with no definite plans for where to go or what to do - so it was definitely an adventure. Our first stop was only a short way down the road. None of us had been to the National Mining Museum even though we had passed it by before. Although it wasn't raining it was cool enough that coats were needed just in case there were outside exhibits. Details of how coal is formed, the different types of coal and details of the colliery we were visiting were all presented alongside exhibits and representations of miners' living conditions. It was then time to look around the colliery .... what a huge place. Everything is on a grand scale and although many of the fixtures and fittings have been removed the scale of the operation is obvious. The noise within certain areas must have been horrendous when all the machinery was in action! And then it w...