On Wednesday morning, we started by tracking down the the Battisby family tombstone in the Kirkcudbright cemetery . That's Janet's father's mother's mother's parents and some of their children. The we hit the road for England, where we pointed out and explained the significance of Lockerbie amd Gretna Green to the children. Unfortunately, Coco decided to have the day off and refused to turn on, so that made the journey quite interesting!
We wanted to get to Lowther Castle to visit the Brocklebank tombstone (that's Peter's mother's father's father's father's parents!) All we knew, without any sort of map at all, was that we should leave the motorway south of Penrith, then head back north a bit to the town of Hackthorpe. Well, there were no useful signs, but plenty of helpful locals! We eventually found the castle and its graveyard, and then drove round Hackthorpe looking for an old house with "Brocklebank" written on the gate. When that didn't work, we found an "old-timer" who said, "oh, yes, that's the Brocklebank house over there, the one with the red window frames. I remember Mrs Brocklebank!" That was pretty cool, considering she died in 1946!
Over the next two evenings, we stayed with offspring of Janet's half-cousin, Jean McCallister. Jean's grandfather, Robert McCallister, left his family in Blackburn to seek his fortune in New Zealand. He never returned, and he soon stopped communicating with them, especially after marrying Janet's grandmother!
So we met lots of descendants from Robert's first marriage, including some teenage boys (much to Jamie and Natasha's joy!), and saw the sights of Lytham, St. Annes, Blackpool, Macclesfield and Congleton. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming, and they went out of their way to make us feel right at home, even if we had a bit of trouble with each other's accents at times!
Friday, we travelled in the rain down the M6 and M5 through the industrial north-west. When we got to Herefordshire, though, the weather started to improve. By this time, Coco had undergone a some minor surgery, and was happy to take us wherever we wanted to go. This was just as well really, because we were entering a part of the country consisting of 3-metre wide lanes with 3-metre high hedges on both sides! This is where Janet's mother's
cousin's daughter Ruth lives with her husband Gordon on a farm where they grow organic potatoes. But not only that, they also run gorgeous self-catered farm accommodation! (www.holtfarmholidays.com).
So we have spent the last day-and-a-half relaxing in lovely rural comfort, meeting the local animals and preparing for what will no doubt be a busy time in London on the last leg of our European odyssey.
