Dumbarton Castle

Dumbarton Rock and Castle

Dumbarton Rock and Castle

If, in your travels you find yourself to be going just a wee bit north of Glasgow, then you should definitely find time to break your journey at Dumbarton Castle.

The name Dumbarton derives from Dun Breatann meaning fortress of the Britons. The rock on which the castle stands is a volcanic plug which is situated at the confluence of the rivers Clyde and Leven. To me it has always been a magical place and I can just feel the history oozing out of the stone. However if actual castles are your thing then you might be a bit disappointed as there isn’t really much in the way of castle, it is definitely mainly rock, albeit it in a very strategic position. Apparently The Rock is the oldest known continuously recorded stronghold in Great Britain, having been occupied since AD 460, at least.

It’s the perfect place to stretch your legs – and I really do mean that as there are supposed to be 365 steps to be climbed before you reach the top. It’s worth it however as the view from the top is just great.

I think the castle has been pretty much neglected over the years as a tourist destination and I know that there is talk of making it more high profile. When you think of all the history behind it, it certainly deserves to be made more of. There is a small museum which mainly has things to do with the old Dumbarton Volunteers Regiment but there just isn’t enough room to do the place justice. I know that there are things scattered around Dumbarton in various places like the library for instance, which should really be shown off properly with everything being in one location and a purpose built building near the castle would be great but I don’t suppose there is the money for it at the moment.

Another view, Ben Lomond in background

Another view, Ben Lomond in background

When we went over to the Greenock side of the Clyde recently, it was the view of the Dumbarton Rock which I really wanted to go for as most of the paintings, engravings and postcards have been done from that angle. Dumbarton has an elephant as its emblem and the story goes that it is because the rock is shaped like an elephant, which I had never believed. So I was pretty surprised to discover that it really does resemble an elephant when viewed from a particular part of the road near Langbank.

Unfortunately we couldn’t stop the car then, so you will just have to take my word for it.

Even if your legs won’t stand the strain of all those steps, it’s worthwhile going just to have a look at the river and the surrounding hills, which can be viewed from the small park at the bottom of The Rock. Imagine what it was like to stand there and see the QE2 go past when she was launched just up the river at Clydebank. Those were the days.

The Lighthouse Stevensons by Bella Bathurst

Book cover

Book cover

If you are at all interested in lighthouses then you should certainly read this book.I always quite fancied myself as a lighthouse keeper, it seemed such a quiet way of life, apart from the howling gales.

However, I had never really given much thought to the logistics and difficulties of building them in such remote and inhospitable locations, as they inevitably are.

The Stevenson family is indeed that of the famous Robert Louis, who was an engineer himself before becoming a successful author. The Northern Lighthouse Trust was established in 1786 and this book tells of the difficulties encounterd in the construction of lighthouses and the techniques employed to overcome them.

With plenty of Scottish history thrown in to the mix it all makes for a very interesting read.

Earlier in the summer we took ourselves over to the west coast of Scotland for a desperately needed change of atmosphere, (it’s very different from the east coast) and for once we went over to the opposite side of the Clyde to Greenock, Gourock and then on to Largs.

Greenock was a huge surprise to me as everyone is always ‘bad-mouthing’ the place but the bits that I saw looked really great. The esplanade is fantastic compared to what I have been used to in the way of esplanades.There are really lovely houses with just the most beautiful scenery to look out at.

View from Greenock across the Clyde to Helensburgh

View from Greenock across the Clyde to Helensburgh

This was the first flashing buoy to be put on the river Clyde to aid navigation – by the Northern Lighthouse Trust. It now sits on the esplanade at Greenock.

buoy

Plaque below buoy

Plaque below buoy

Haworth Parsonage

The next stop on our road trip was Haworth, which I have always wanted to visit since I read Jane Eyre when I was about 12. I have to admit that my first reading of it was 38 years ago – I can hardly believe it.

I wasn’t disappointed. We arrived in Haworth quite late at night and so we had the chance to see the parsonage when it was beginning to get dark and there was nobody else about and that was a really good start to the Haworth experience.

We left the B&B around 9.30 the next morning as we knew that the parsonage didn’t open until 10 o’clock and we wanted to have a bit of a walk around Haworth before then. So again we just about had the place to ourselves as things seem to start very slowly there and most of the shops don’t open until 11 o’clock.

Looking around the place my first impression was much better than I had imagined it would be. The countryside is really lovely and the parsonage is set at the top of a very steep hill where you would think there would be plenty of fresh air to keep you healthy. However, if you go on the guided tour you will discover that the graveyard just outside the parsonage garden was absolutely stuffed with bodies as the mortality rate was the highest in the whole country. We visited the graveyard before going into the parsonage and tombstone wise it is the busiest I have seen by far, and I’ve seen quite a lot of graveyards in my day as I like going around them – there’s no accounting for it really. And when you think that most of the bodies would have been tucked underground in nothing but a shroud, as a coffin would be too expensive and a gravestone just out of the question, you get the idea that Haworth was not a great place to be. However, even I was shocked to discover that there were 42,000 bodies buried there before it was closed down. So many that they couldn’t decompose properly.

Haworth Parsonage

Haworth Parsonage

Anyway, onward to the parsonage which as you can see looks lovely. Apart from the view of that graveyard a stone’s throw from the front door. I was quite amazed that so much of the furniture had actually belonged to the Brontes. Often, museums just have furniture which is of the correct period in them so it is really lovely to see the real things, including the sofa on which Emily died.

So many personal belongings are on show. Letters and tiny books, art work, dresses, shoes, jewellery, hair, sewing boxes and even dog collars. The house is beautifully decorated and set out and I would recommend visiting it if you are at all interested in the Brontes.

The one thing that surprised me was the size of the place. I had always imagined the parsonage to be really big as it does look very imposing in photographs. In reality it is much smaller than I had thought it to be and it must have been quite a squeeze to fit 6 children, mum and dad and a servant into it. Parsonages and manses are usually huge, so I think Haworth must have been a very poor parish. I wonder if Reverend Bronte ever tried to move elsewhere.

It was all too much for me to take in really, so I will have to go back again when we aren’t so pushed for time. I would like to take a walk on the moor over to High Withens.

The staff are very friendly and you can use your entry ticket for a whole year, which is brilliant if you live nearby. Unfortunately it was a 5 hour drive for us.

If you do get the chance to go, make sure that you find time to attend the very interesting talk and the tour of the churchyard.

Imperial War Museum North

Imperial War Museum

Imperial War Museum North

We went for a bit of a road trip around some of the north-west of England and as the war museum had been recommended to us as a great place to visit we made our way there.

What a fantastic place, I couldn’t fault anything at all. Make sure that you wear really comfortable shoes, though, if you do go, because it took us about four hours to get around it all and I was pretty nearly exhausted by the end of it.

I had never been to the Imperial War Museum in London before as it was actually shut on the day that I was in London. It was about thirty years ago and at that time most of the museums were not open the whole week. I don’t really know why but I suspect it was all the fault of the ghastly Maggie Thatcher, I’m blaming her anyway.

Consequently, I had no real idea of what would be on show. Well they had just about everything. Unfortunately, you aren’t allowed to take any photographs, so you will just have to take my word for it that they had a Harrier jump-jet hanging from the ceiling and various different vehicles which my husband could recognise from a vast distance, it must be a bloke thing.

But there were also lots of more personal things. People’s letters and cards, photographs and clothes. The most moving exhibit to me was a massive pile of suitcases which had been piled up on top of each other making the shape of a huge doorway. Representing just some of the people whose lives had been ripped apart by war.

The only thing that I think it lacked was an actual Anderson shelter, which you could go into and sit for a bit to imagine what it must have been like, maybe they could rig up the sound of bombs dropping outside as well. I’m quite willing to admit that this could just be me being a bit strange and that nobody else would find that interesting at all. As a 5 year old I suffered from Anderson shelter envy. I could only gaze over the garden fence at the next door neighbour’s shelter and I always wanted one to play at ‘house’ in.

The Daniel Libeskind building, which came in for a lot of flak at the time it was built, is actually really great and perfect for the purpose.

You should make time to take the tour of the building which is provided every hour. We had a lovely, enthusiastic young woman called Jenny as our guide and she explained all the thinking which went into the structure and design of the space.

And it was all free, which I think is a good idea because I always feel the urge to be really generous with donations when I’m not actually forced to pay an entrance fee. I think I might be quite unusual in that way though as I didn’t see much evidence of hard cash in the donations box, apart from mine. There did seem to be a lot of 5 pences and coppers. Such meanies.

A highly recommended day out.

Pasta with bacon and mushrooms

Pasta bacon and mushroom

Pasta bacon and mushroom

230g dry pasta
one medium sized onion
5 or 6 medium sized mushrooms
oil for frying
grated nutmeg
220g bacon or one packet
150g cheddar cheese
1 large tin of evaporated milk (410g)

Cook the dry pasta as normal.

While the pasta is being cooked, heat the oil in a large frying pan and then add the finely sliced onion. Fry for about 5 minutes and then add the sliced mushrooms. Stir it all together, then grate some nutmeg into the pan before stirring again.

Cut the bacon into bite sized pieces. The easiest way to do this is to use kitchen scissors, trimming off any excess fat as you go. Add the bacon to the frying pan piece by piece then stir into the mixture.

When you are sure that the bacon is cooked add the evaporated milk into the mixture and bring it almost to the boil. Turn the heat down and add the grated cheese, stirring until it has melted and it is all well combined.

Add the well drained cooked pasta to the mixture and serve with more grated cheese.

If desired you can use half a tin of evaporated milk and make up the volume with ordinary (or semi-skimmed) milk.

This should serve 4 people.

I’d be the first to admit it doesn’t look too appetising in the picture but it is lovely.

I’ve been cooking this dish since before my children were born and they are both very grown up now. As is the way with families – one of my boys has always hated mushrooms but it is easy to pick out the mushrooms if you don’t slice them too small.

My oldest ‘boy’ who sometimes goes by the name of doctorvee requested that this recipe should be added to my blog.

Apparently it should be preserved for posterity as it is one of his favourites.

I look forward to him cooking it for me some time in the future.