Spent the whole day in Carlisle – a really nice city.

In the castle saw these three fledgling Swifts being fed on the wing by their parent.

Finally this is a view of Bassenthwaite Lake taken on my journey home.

Stunning walk at Aira Force by Ullswater – best kind with a pub at the half-way point.

Finished the day with a visit to Brougham Castle near Penrith.

Took a trip into the unknown today and visited two towns on the eastern coast. Last time I was that way, I visited Whitehaven and wasn’t too impressed.

Workington – Avoid unless you want to do some shopping. They have closed the Tourist Information Office, which says it all.

Maryport – This picture says it all:

Finally, Cockermouth

It’s still too soon after the flood of last November and most of the shops are still closed. It looks like it was a very nice little town.

The house owned by Wordsworth survived pretty well and was worth the visit.

After all the driving yesterday, kept it fairly local today and headed into Keswick.

After a light pub lunch, took a boat trip on Derwent Water

Time to leave Wales and head north to The Lakes.

On the way stopped off at Quarry Bank Mill, owned by the National Trust.

It was well worth the visit, but I didn’t have enough time allowed to do it justice so I will have to plan a return visit.

This was my third visit to Bodnant, and finally they have completed the renovation of the mausoleum.

In the afternoon I revisited Penryhn Caste and as with previous visits it rained a lot so I was limited in what I could see.

Beaumaris was a return visit, but nice to see the town on a sunny day for a change. Had a great lunch in Red Wharf bay before heading off to the aquarium.

I had imagined that Rhyl wold be fairly seedy, but nothing prepared me for the reality. Endless caravan sites, followed by derelict shops, followed by nasty amusement arcades. I didn’t stop the car, instead I headed inland and made an unscheduled stop in Denbigh

By the end of the day the it was bright and sunny so walked into Caernarfon to get some dinner.

To break the journey, stopped off at Erddig (National Trust).

It’s a very accessible house & gardens

Arrive at the cottage late afternoon. It’s located on the banks of the Menai Straits looking over to Anglesey and within 10 minutes walk of Caernarfon.

I flew over late Wednesday arriving in Milan around 09:30 – about an hour late. Despite Hertz saying they would hold my car for at least an hour after my flight landed – they hadn’t and I had to settle for a lesser vehicle. Not a good start.

Late night was not the best time to be introduced to Milan’s crazy roads and to be driving on the wrong side of the road. No lane markings, and traffic lights at every intersection (approx. 200 metres apart). Anyway, as I was working I didn’t get to see anything more of Milan than the appalling traffic and I was glad to leave.

Next week I am working in Turin so I stayed in Italy over the weekend. Thankfully I planned to move to Turin on Saturday rather than stay in Milan. Turin still has crazy roads, but it is a far more pleasant place.

I’m staying in Le Meridien Lingotto which is located in the former Fiat factory – very nice with unique rooms and there is even a large shopping centre situated in the same building.

I spent today exploring the city on foot and also on the sightseeing bus. Turin is an incredible place with stunning architecture – there are also many attractions and museums. I decided that the must see place was “The Mole Antonelliana” – built originally to be a Synagogue but now home to the cinema museum. The added attraction is the glass elevator that takes you to the viewing platform high above the city. I hadn’t done much research, but the idea of the elevator and view seemed worth the hour long wait they were estimating and so I queued in the direct midday sun, for at least an hour at 35 degrees. Once through the door I queued for another 30 minutes but it was well worth it. The building is hollow – imaging inside the dome of St Paul’s, but twice as high. The museum is housed on several galleries inside the dome, leave most of the central space empty.

You catch the glass lift in the crypt level so you have no idea what you are in for. As the lift rises through the ground floor you are taken the entire heght of the dome, suspended in mid air with no lift shaft until eventually you pierce a tiny hole in the top on the dome and arrive on the observation deck in the tower.

The observation deck is not crowded and you are left with as much time as you need to enjoy the view over Turin.

Back inside, the museum is outstanding – there is so much there you could easily spend a whole day.

The sunny weather continues throughout the morning until there is a brief shower at lunchtime. Pretty soon this stops and I head off for Trelissck Gardens for the final afternoon of my holiday.

The day ends, as it started, clear skies.