River and flood water.
On Friday 15th March we left Manchester and headed to Scotland. It was a cold, dull, rainy day. We were travelling up the west coast through the Lake District, then crossing over to Edinburgh on Transpennine Express. We had booked wheelchair assistance for Peter. We were told to go to the assisted boarding lounge. The helper we were assigned was absolutely lovely. He could not have been more kind and caring and he had a great sense of humour.
I noticed an interesting statue just outside the station. It was called 'Victory Over Blindness'. This statue by sculptor Johanna Domke-Guyot depicts seven blinded soldiers standing in a line each with their hands on the shoulder of the man in front as they lead each other away from the battlefield. This statue dates from 2018.
Victory over blindness.
The train had only started from Manchester Airport, so it came in not too busy. We were soon comfortably seated onboard where we could sit back, relax and enjoy the snacks we had brought with us.
We shared a carriage with a group of women who were off to Edinburgh for a hen night. They were quite loud, but very friendly and pleasant, so it turned out to be a comfortable and enjoyable journey.
The landscape is so different from Hong Kong that I couldn't help but take lots of photos.
Scenery.
Stone dykes.
I actually saw a lot of animals from the train: cows, horses, a herd of deer, a hare and even alpacas on a small farm. The only ones I managed to photograph, however, were the sheep. Many of these had newborn lambs.
Sheep grazing on the hillside.
Sheep.
Grazing sheep.
Sheep and newborn lambs taken from the train.
It must have been very wet recently as some fields were flooded and the rivers were in full flow.
Flooded fields.
Flooded fields.
Gushing river.
Cottages on the river.
River.
House on a stream.
Bridges, rivers and hills.
We raced past farms, villages and beautiful scenery. The sun even came out for a while.
Village beyond the walls.
Farms.
Hilly country.
Hilly countryside.
Hilly countryside.
There were several wind farms on route.
Wind farm.
Wind Farm.
When we got to Edinburgh, I thought we might have to go looking for the person who was to help us, but he was there at the carriage door waiting for us. He had Peter straight into a wheelchair and helped me with our case. Then he removed a barrier, allowing us to go straight to the entrance to the other platforms without having to go up and over the bridge. He was also really pleasant and friendly. We told him that last year we had stayed in a hotel in Edinburgh, but this year they were all so expensive we couldn't afford one. He said: "You should see the price of houses. Noone can afford to live here." Such a shame.
The journey to Bridge of Allan was also really comfortable and the sun actually came out too. I even had to look out my baseball cap to stop the sun getting in my eyes.
Catherine, Mark and Mack were there waiting for us at Bridge of Allan. It was great to see them again. Mark did a bit of shopping, while Catherine and I walked Mack and began catching up on all our news.
We soon arrived safely in Catherine and Mark's home. We were really tired even though the journey had been very easy. Catherine made us a lovely meal of vegetarian sausages cooked in a stew with potatoes, cauliflower and beans. It was all very tasty.
Harry, Catherine and Mark's son, very kindly came round bringing us a very enjoyable bottle of wine.
Our welcoming committee.
After dinner we relaxed watching an episode of 'Coast.' Catherine and Mark have a new wood burning stove and their house is now toasty warm. We were all gently lulled to sleep by the heat. I had arrived home.
This featured blog entry was written by irenevt from the blog Trip To Europe 2024.
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