Lake District

My annual Thursday/Friday half-term break in February is the ideal opportunity for a trip to northern England. Combined with my regular weekend free time, it allows us to enjoy two full days exploring a location, bookended by additional space on the schedule. This year we booked accommodation in Cockermouth, a market town on the edge of the Lake District. Dolly Duster whisked us down the M74 to Carlisle, where we branched right and covered the remaining 40 miles to our destination.

Arriving in Cockermouth around 3pm, we spent a couple of hours walking around the town before seeking out our accommodation. A famous former resident is William Wordsworth (1770-1850), Poet Laureate for the final seven years of his life. The townhouse (pictured right) in which he was born is now owned by the National Trust, who took over the property in 1938 after a controversial proposal to demolish it and build a bus station on the site. Unfortunately the opening season hadn't yet begun but we were able to view the front exterior of the historic house (built 1745) from the street. The New Bookshop was well stocked and we made a couple of purchases after a lengthy browse. Prominently on display was the latest offering from former government minister Rory Stewart. Middleland: Dispatches from the Borders, released in October 2025, is a portrait of rural Britain based on his time as a Cumbrian MP. He has published a few books with walking themes. There was a poster advertising an appearance by Kenneth Wilson, author of Pilgrim Cello - a tale recounting a bike tour of every English cathedral with said instrument in tow. Worth buying for the concept alone! Needless to say, the in-store talk would be followed by a musical performance. A short walk from the main street brought us to the Jennings Brewery tap room, where I purchased a box of four bottled ales to enjoy during my stay. Jennings is a name well known among real-ale drinkers. The family firm first occupied the Castle Brewery site in 1874, taking over existing premises and launching an expansion programme. Jennings became a major regional brewer, owning many pubs in Cumbria. Their cask ale was shipped across the country and I remember drinking it in various hostelries. A takeover in 2025 by Wolverhampton & Dudley eventually led to Jennings becoming part of the Carlsberg empire. Three devastating floods within a decade and the outbreak of Covid enforced the closure of the tap room and the cessation of brewery tours. Beer production was moved off-site and the the future looked bleak for the Cockermouth operation. In stepped local entrepreneurs Kurt and Rebecca Canfield, who acquired the inactive site, along with the rights to trade under the Jennings name. The town is once again firmly on the British brewing map.

Cockermouth developed around the meeting point of the rivers Derwent and Cocker. We had a clear view of this junction from a footbridge connecting the town centre to the main public car park. Cockermouth Castle loomed overhead, behind the brewery chimneys. The private residence is opened to the public during Festival Week. Owned by the Wyndham family since the 18th century, the castle was recently occupied by Lady Egremont (1925-2013), who worked on decoding operations at Bletchley Park during WW2 and restored the interiors and gardens of Cockermouth in later life. The town has a history of textile production and the dual river system provided plenty of mill power. Many of these buildings have been repurposed for residential or modern commercial use. We proceeded to our accommodation, a town centre apartment within a corner block, directly opposite Sainsbury's. It was a bedsit arrangement inside and perfectly adequate for a few days. A little table would have been nice, rather than the breakfast bar that faced the wall. The bathroom looked more or less new. Pass marks overall. Parking was available at a long-stay facility 100 yards away and the rates were reasonable. We were up early the next day to meet Nicole's friend Hannah for breakfast at Café Fika just down the road. I ordered the Hunter Breakfast - bacon, sausage, black pudding, mushroom, roast tomato, hash brown, poached egg & cornbread. The vegetarian option is know as the Gatherer. A clever bit of word usage. Hannah lives down south but is familiar with Cockermouth and the wider Lake District as her sister resides in the Cumbrian town. We climbed into Hannah's car after leaving the café and headed out for a circular day trip. At this point I should state that I'm not familiar with the inner Lake District, despite the proximity to Scotland. I had only ever explored the fringes, or skirted the region on the motorway. Today would change all that. I would say the mountain scenery matches the Highlands for beauty. Several snow-covered peaks towered overhead as we drove along the valley roads. Traffic in the middle of February is light but I imagine it gets pretty hectic as the tourist season warms up. We pulled into the picturesque village of Grasmere, which is famous for its quaint gingerbread shop, tucked away in the corner of St Oswald's Churchyard. The unique recipe was conjured up by Sarah Nelson in 1854, a former domestic servant who sold her creation outside the family cottage, home to the current shop. A spicy-sweet cross between a biscuit and cake, the gingerbread's reputation quickly spread and food lovers visit from far and wide. The business today is run by third-generation owners Joanne and Andrew Hunter. Staff wear period dress and the wonderful aroma of freshly-baked produce hangs in the air as you enter. Naturally we sampled the wares and I was surprised by the chewy texture. The phrase "I could get used to this" rapidly sprung to mind. The adjacent graveyard is the resting place of William Wordsworth. When the poet arrived in Grasmere aged 29, he was largely unknown and was writing innovative poetry that provided a contrast to the fashionable verses of the time. His work centred around the love of nature, the power of imagination and the importance of empathy. Poetry for a new age, that retains the power to speak to us today.

A memorial daffodil garden was opened within the churchyard in 2003. Entry is free but visitors may sponsor a personally engraved slate paving stone, shrub, or flower. Our next stop was the village of Coniston, where we enjoyed tea and scones in a friendly café. The Ruskin Museum was just about to close as we arrived and it wouldn't have been worth paying the admission charge. The displays explore local heritage and a special exhibition covers the achievements of Donald Campbell who died in 1967 while attempting a new water speed record on Coniston Water in his hydroplane Bluebird. The vehicle was restored after being recovered from the lake in 2001, along with Campbell's remains. Coniston today is a hub for climbers and walkers. Two youth hostels are located in the small settlement.

Callendar House, Falkirk

Just a short walk from Falkirk town centre lies the 170-acre green oasis of Callendar Park. The centrepiece is Callendar House - a mansion fashioned in the style of a French Renaissance chateau, fused with elements of Scottish Baronial architecture, while a far older tower structure sits at the core. The opulent building has a varied 600-year history and is now in the care of Falkirk Council - functioning as a museum and art gallery. Entry is free and the splendid tea room offers views of the surrounding parkland.

I arrived on a misty Sunday morning, which leant the park a rather eerie air. I had limited time on my hands and proceeded straight into the museum. The ground floor exhibition deals with the history of Scotland over the lifetime of the A-listed house, while the upper levels host displays on the Antonine Wall (part of which runs through the grounds) and the local area's contribution to the industrial revolution. A collection of paintings can be viewed and the oak-panelled Victorian library holds the Falkirk archives, which can be searched by appointment. The oldest part of the house dates from the 14th century, built by the Livingston family. Many prominent historical figures have passed through over the years - including Mary, Queen of Scots, Oliver Cromwell, Bonnie Prince Charlie and Queen Victoria. The Livingstons were an influential political family and never far from the centre of public affairs. In the late Middle Ages, a string of Scottish monarchs were crowned before they were old enough to formally take up their duties. This prompted several noble dynasties to vie for power, the Livingstons among them. Indeed, they "looked after" the young King James II in the 1440s. A century later, the Livingstons walked a political tightrope, remaining loyal to the catholic Queen Mary, while emerging as a leading protestant family during the Reformation. Their luck ran out during the Jacobite era and in1783, the forfeited Callendar lands were sold by the government at public auction. Businessman William Forbes tabled the winning bid. When asked how he was going to pay, the copper magnate simply pulled a banker’s draft for £100,000 out of his pocket - the equivalent of around £50 million today. Forbes made significant changes to the house and wider estate, developing magnificent gardens and pleasure grounds with many ornamental structures, including the family mausoleum. Wings and turrets were added to the mansion. The new laird had come from rather humble origins, the second son of an Aberdeen merchant. The self-made man represented a major shift in society - the rise of the entrepreneurial business class, which challenged the landed gentry. At this point in time, Scotland moved away from agriculture dominance towards an industrial future, with growing urban centres of population springing up across what is now termed the Central Belt. The Falkirk area can be considered the cradle of this societal shift. The enormous Carron Ironworks was established in 1759 and the Forth & Clyde Canal opened in 1790, running right through East Stirlingshire. Large shipments of goods could now be easily transported to and from either coast. The world's first successful towing steamboat - Charlotte Dundas - was trialled on the canal in 1803. The intercity railway from Edinburgh to Glasgow passed right through Falkirk and commenced running in 1842. The local population mushroomed and facilities couldn't always keep pace with the influx of people. Social change eventually came and living conditions gradually improved for the working classes. Callendar House also features a fully functional Georgian kitchen - used as a filming location for the popular Outlander historical fantasy TV series. Installed around 1790, many features are more or less original. Fans of Outlander (a global success) visit in droves and - bang on cue - a busload of Spaniards trooped in with a tour guide. It all helps replenish the country's coffers.

I headed upstairs to view the permanent exhibition on the Antonine Wall. The turf barrier (with a deep ditch at the front) marked the northern limit of the Roman Empire. A window provided a nice view of the remaining evidence within Callendar Park. Construction began around AD142, by order of Emperor Antonius Pius. At that time, the vast empire spanned three continents and was around around 9000 soldiers helped erect this latest fortification - commemorating their efforts with decorative slabs, 20 of which survive. The wall ran for 38 miles and the remains of 17 forts have been discovered, the largest of which was located just 2 miles east of Callendar House. The Forth & Clyde Canal arrived over 1500 years later and followed roughly the same route across the narrowest part of Scotland. The wall was three metres high and likely topped by a wooden palisade. Pius never visited Britain and his project was abandoned just eight years after completion. Much of the structure disappeared back into the landscape, unlike the more substantial Hadrian's Wall 100 miles to the south. It has been nominated several times for UNESCO World Heritage status, but this has not yet been granted. I strolled into the art gallery, which featured an exhibition entitled This Island Earth, by Glasgow-based Marianne Greated. It explores the relationships between nature and human intervention, particularly those shaped by power generation and excavation. The show looks at two sites - a granite quarry on the small Danish island of Bornholm (where Greated’s mother is from) and the UK’s oldest oil refinery at Grangemouth - four miles from Callendar House - which controversially ceased operations this year. The artwork characterises declining industry and prompts reflection on environmental responsibilities and sustainability. It's a topic of great personal interest to me and the bleak but colourful images struck a chord. A large permanent gallery on the top floor chronicles the trading history of the Falkirk area. The foundry at Carron was fuelled by local coal reserves and the main output in the early days was a supply of military hardware. A light cannon was developed and became known as the Carronade. It proved lethal in short-range combat between ships and was successfully deployed in the Battle of Trafalgar. Bigger factories were required to keep pace with the growing industrial revolution. Only cathedrals and castles had been built on such a large scale before. Poorer quality coal was used to fire salt pans along the shores of the Forth. Flax was widely cultivated to make linen and most large towns had bleaching fields on their perimeters. Tanneries benefitted from the staging of the Falkirk Trysts - a huge open-air market for cattle and other livestock. Drovers set out on the annual pilgrimage from all corners of Scotland. Agents made their way north from England. The railway boom eventually provided a more efficient way of transporting the animals.

Falkirk town outgrew its traditional walled boundaries and began to resemble the settlement we know today. The exhibition also looked at the social habits of working people and touched upon the expanding role they played in local and national politics. Town councils were created to solve the problems created by rapid population growth and limited infrastructure. The church was no longer the dominant force in society and the state became responsible for the provision of education. The exhibition had mock-ups of several businesses, including a record shop from a more modern era. Two magnificent paintings of Falkirk High Street in 1750 and 1850 gave a fascinating glimpse of day to day life. There was a wealth of information on the gallery text panels and I have only provided a few snippets here. Set aside at least two hours if you want to visit Callendar House and do it justice.

Edinburgh National Trust

Most people probably associate the National Trust with grand country mansions, surrounded by extensive grounds. Or perhaps a historic castle with sweeping views across the landscape. There's plenty of that in the portfolio, but the organisation also maintain properties in the heart of our biggest cities.

The Georgian House is the Trust's prize asset in Edinburgh's New Town. The wide boulevards and terraced stone villas were constructed for the professional classes between 1770 and 1820. Until then, people from all walks of life lived in the medieval and increasingly overcrowded Old Town. 18th-century Edinburgh was one of the few major cities where poor and wealthy citizens inhabited largely the same space. Conditions were unsanitary and the agreed solution was expansion beyond the Nor Loch - which functioned as a cesspit. It was drained as part of the development programme and Princes Street Gardens now occupy most of the site. Those who could afford to, moved into the spacious new apartments arranged in geometric street patterns. The National Trust attraction is located on the elegant Charlotte Square. Next door is Bute House, official residence of Scotland's First Minister. This side of the quad was completed in 1796 and the first family to occupy the Georgian House (No. 7) was the Lamonts. They spent nearly two decades living here and the interior has been restored to reflect the fashions of this particular point in history i.e. the turn of the 19th century. The rooms were tastefully decorated but not extravagant. The Lamont finances were reportedly stretched at times. Gas lighting and the first toilet were installed by the second owner, Catherine Farquharson. She also had a wash house built out the back. Fine views of the distant Forth Estuary can be enjoyed today from the upper north-facing floors. When the property was built, there would have been only farmland between Charlotte Square and the shoreline. I was working my way through the self-guided tour in a top-down manner. Charles Neaves - an advocate and judge - occupied the property with his wife and 11 children for over 40 years during the reign of Queen Victoria. Considerable modifications were made in order to accommodate the larger household, such as an attic extension and extra servant quarters. A pivotal figure in the history Charlotte Square was John Crichton Stuart, the 4th Marquess of Bute. He purchased No. 5 in 1903 as a family townhouse and by the mid-20s had snapped up two adjacent properties (the present-day Georgian House and Bute House). Committed to preserving the architectural significance of the area, Stuart removed many of the Victorian additions. He let out No.7 to an antique dealer and cabinet maker. On the death of the 5th Marquess in 1956, the family passed the three Charlotte Square Properties to the National Trust. The 7th Marquess (also John Crichton-Stuart) raced on the Formula 1 circuit as Johnny Dumfries in the 1980s.

The commercial lease on No.7 expired in 1973 and the building was transformed into the Georgian House visited by 40,000 people annually today. The uppermost floor contained an apartment used by the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland until 1999. The quarters now form the beginning of the house tour. A film depicting the history of the New Town is shown to guests upon arrival. The cooking range in the kitchen dates from the 1790s and was salvaged from a nearby property. It fits into a fireplace added in the late Victorian era. Next door, Bute House is still owned by the Trust and leased to the Scottish Government. Before the reconstituting of the Edinburgh Parliament, the living space was made available to the Secretary of State for Scotland. A pro-Palestine demonstration was taking place outside the political residence as I walked back towards Princes Street. I was bound for the Old Town, where the National Trust have another city-centre venue. I headed up The Mound - an artificial slope built to connect historic Edinburgh with the modern quarter. Earth extracted from the New Town foundations was dumped into the Nor Loch to form the access road. Once on the Royal Mile, I sought out Gladstone's Land, a tall tenement linked to the history of commerce in the Capital. The property has hosted a wide range of business activity, from spirit dealers to shoemakers, bakers to boarding-house keepers, and drapers to dairymen. Thomas Gladstone purchased the property in 1617. To attract wealthy tenants, he extended the building to the front, adding intricate and fashionable painted wooden ceilings in the new rooms he created. These overhead gems were later concealed beneath plaster and remained hidden until the 1930s, when the National Trust acquired the house and uncovered the stunning artwork during renovations. The local authority had declared parts of Gladstone's Land as unfit for human habitation. The modern complex incorporates a café and ice-cream parlour at ground-floor level and tickets for the upper floors are purchased here. I gained free entry with my membership card. Once again, the tour began at the top and I climbed the spiral staircase to the first of three displays - a boarding house for working-class men in the early 20th century. I perused the list of rules and conditions on the wall. The daily fee included one meal. Strictly prohibited were gambling, swearing, drunkenness and fighting. Doors were locked at 10pm and pets were not welcome. I descended to the mid-18th-century drapery, which offered a wide selection of quality cloth. Visitors are encouraged to touch the exhibits and explore the nooks and crannies. The final stop was very impressive. An ornate four-poster bed dominated the room in which the Riddoch family lived. The five children slept on mattresses pulled out from underneath. The Riddochs traded expensive foodstuffs and other imported items out of two ground floor shops. They ran a tavern in the cellar and lived on the fourth floor of the six storey building.

The Old Town was hemmed in between Castle Rock and the Nor Loch. The city walls acted as a further barrier towards expansion and - as a result - many tall precarious buildings were constructed. An economic downturn set in as the wealthy residents decamped to the New Town from the tail-end of the 18th century onwards. While Gladstone's Land retained an air of respectability, it housed workers of lesser skilled trades such as porters, labourers, and rubber workers alongside the skilled craftsmen who did remain. The property also became increasingly subdivided, with smaller apartments rented out at cheaper rates. In 1934, the entire building was scheduled for demolition until it was rescued by the Trust, who paid £760. Restoration work was carried out between 1935 and 1938, creating apartments, a shop, and a suite of showrooms. By 1980, additional conservation projects enabled the building to open as a public museum. Four holiday apartments are available to rent and are tastefully furnished, although access is via the narrow staircase, which may not suit everyone. The listed status of the building restricts the amount of structural changes that can be made. The selected the next available dates on the website and was quoted £348 for a two-night stay, plus a refundable deposit of £200. I guess I'll stick with the Travel Lodge or Premier Inn.