After Saturday's conquering of the dizzy heights of Binsey, followed by a drive out to Cockermouth to do battle with the maskless hordes in Aldi, we decided that a day at the seaside would be in order.
Maryport is an odd place, there's a clash between the old and the new, and it felt strangely familiar even though I'd never been there before. We went for a potter around the harbours and along the promenade. After that, we searched for a place to dine, which turned out to be harder than expected due to the change in the labour market - pubs with staff were rammed to the point where we didn't feel Covid-safe, pubs without staff were running a minimal service. We ended up sitting in the sunshine scoffing huge servings of fish & chips in the deserted beer-garden of the Captain Nelson Tavern. Sadly there was no beer, as there was nobody to run the bar, but the food was excellent and we had a pleasant chat with the owner who, by strange chance*, used to be a squaddie at the barracks near our home.
Anyway, here are some random pics taken that day:
Harbour
Posing Purple Paramo Person
Maryport Articulated Bridge (the first of its kind in the UK)
The view through the cottage window - Binsey (L) to Skiddaw (R)
* I have a habit of unexpectedly encountering people who I know, or who know me, or who think that they know me, in the most unlikely of places. This guy was at Gamecock Barracks in Bramcote back in the days when I used to go there with my uncle (ex Royal Artillery), so it's possible that we've met before.
Another odd encounter took place in the early 90s on Loft Crag in Great Langdale - after walking up to the summit, I looked over the edge and found myself literally face-to-face with a fellow former sixth-former who was topping-out after his solo free-climb of Gimmer Crag.
The most unlikely meeting (so far) was with a visiting professor who delivered an extra-curricular lecture when I was a Geological Sciences undergrad at The UoB; over a decade later he remembered seeing me in the audience. That encounter was at the Landmannalaugar campsite in Iceland in 1994.
It's a strange world.
