HORSE TRADING

This is a picture of the village of Ravenglass on the south west Cumbrian coast. On a clear day, you can see the Isle of Man to the west and very distantly, Scotland to the north west.
We visited the area in the campervan together with M&D and their four dogs in their own campervan. The weather was variable as it usually is in the Lake District but the views are outstanding. We had a great drive over and enjoyed Lake Bassenthwaite, the port of Whitehaven and a walk along the beach at Ravenglass at low tide. The next day was wet and the drive home views were spoiled by very low cloud (ground level!)

Last Sunday's gathering of gypsies was apparently to buy and sell horses. There were many horse boxes and horses were being ridden, driven and led around. This lad rode his cob up and down the street as the one in the horsebox looked longingly on.

This group came down the road from the club, with beer glasses in hand to inspect a horse parked in the box across the road. A lot of shouting was followed by a slapping of hands as a deal was reached.

The horse in the last picture was also ridden bareback down the road to show it off, but was unhappy to leave its foal and stubbornly refused to go more than a few yards. The foal was untethered and had to be held back by a few of the lads. I was very glad when the two were re-united and the foal stuck like glue to Mum for the rest of the time. Eventually they all moved on. There have been a few covered wagons on the road lately as if they are being taken off to winter somewhere. The horses plod along so patiently coping with all sorts of traffic and are lovely to watch.

Bought a SatNav today! I have always been proud of my map reading skills and have resisted using a gadget. But the prospect of touring France on the righthandside of the road, reading the signs, getting the kilometres right and coping with the new and unknown, has resulted in the purchase of a Tomtom.

So... more to come of the road less travelled.

Cheers Gillian