We have now left Scotland for England and the Lakes District for Christmas celebrating. Keswick (don’t pronounce the “w”). Scotland was beautiful, but so is this area. 16 big lakes, lots of small ones, and mountains and and dales in between. Sheep, sheep, sheep and just as many hikers. Walking, or rambling, is the thing to do here. BTW, it is mating season for the sheep. That is all I will say about that. English weather has finally met us; it is drizzly most of the time.
Our accommodation is a townhouse (cottage) with a wood burning stove. Keeping the fire lit, a necessity for warmth, is a constant struggle. We arrived in time for another village Christmas lighting festival. Must have been every person living for miles around comes into the village for a fair, food, and music, culminating in the Lake District town’s Christmas lights being turned on. Every third person had a baby and another third with a dog. After the lighting all the people, babies, and dogs piled into the towns several pubs. It is fun to be a part of these rituals. We missed Thanksgiving at home, but had a nice call with the whole family accumulated for turkey.
We will be leaving this cottage for a quick stop in Liverpool and then another cottage rented in the Cotswolds.
Harry Potter landmarks are the biggest thing in tourist activities. Here are a few we have taken in since being in the UK.
- King’s Cross train station platform 9 ¾. Someone painted a small directional sign indicating platform 9 ¾. There was a line of about 200-300 people to take a picture of the paint.
- Piccadilly circus: Exterior shots where we see Harry, Hermione and Ron rushing through London’s West End. Fact : the statue erected in the center of Piccadilly Circus is named the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain (to honor the philanthropist Lord Shaftesbury) but many call it the Statue of Eros (the Greek god of love).
- Leadenhall Market: The Leadenhall Market shows up in Harry Potter and the Philospher’s Stone as the exterior for Diagon Alley and the Leaky Cauldron. Fact : Leadenhall Market, built in 1881, is London’s most beautiful Victorian Market.
- York: Shambles This Street is the inspiration for Diagon Alley
- Goathland Station is Hogsmeade Station. The steam train Hogwarts Express is the North Yorkshire Moor Railroad. I posted a picture of this on instagram.
In Edinburgh:
- Victoria street is said to be Diagon Alley. Since it is a stone’s throw from the cafe window where JK Rowling wrote the books, it probably did enter in to her imagination, but Shambles in York is closer to the look.
- Greyfriars Cemetery: real headstones of peoples names that could have inspired the characters: Tom Riddell, Minevera MacGonnagal, and Elizabeth Moody.
- There is also a view of the four spired, George Heriot’s School. It is a boys school with four houses that compete against each other scholastically annually. Sounds familiar. I think we have covered Harry Potter for now.
We have picked up another house sitting assignment. This one in Chateaubriant France (Brittany) for a month in February. A large farmhouse with land and dogs, cats, ducks, and chickens. Hopefully we will meet another Gisela to dog walk and struggle with language differences.
