Terry and Sooz's Travels: August 21, 2023 - Bolton, Appleby-in-Westmorland, England

Yesterday, we took it easy to recharge our batteries and watch the Women's World Cup Soccer match. England was competing against Spain and it was all over the news here. Unfortunately, England lost but held their heads high.

I also did some wet weather tweaking on the GS tank bag, phone holder and heated gear control. I was finding that the long periods of rain was getting into the phone cover I got to keep it dry, plus the mount broke. I used some bailing wire to patch it and make it securely mounted. I'm happy to say, it worked well during today's ride. The tank bag rain cover I have does not fit well and needed to be tightened up so it does not blow up into an inflated parachute when riding at speed. Sooz helped me use sealing tape to tighten it up and it worked well on our ride today. The final fix was to mount the heated gear control in an accessible place so I don't have to go hunting for it to adjust the heat levels on our gear when riding. It was too distracting. I used some velcro stripping to mount it in an easier place to access on the tank bag when the rain cover is on. It also worked well today.

Today, we rode to:

Brougham Hall - Brougham Hall is a hidden gem with a fascinating history. Built in the 14th-century, this beautiful building was the site of a fortified home, reaching its height between 1830 and the early 1900s. It was a nice visit walking around the old "hall". The onsite cafe was closed, probably due to the wet weather, but we survived to move on.
Castlerigg Stone Circle - This was another ancient historic site found in the middle of a field of grazing sheep. It's amazing how many historic sites, castles, forts, etc can be found just off the side of the road or in fields. We were able to walk up to the site for free, dodging sheep poo, with kids running around and climbing on the stone structures. Very accessible and casual. It's fun to see areas like this that are so easy to visit. It is not just its location that makes this one of the most important British stone circles. Thought to have been constructed about 3000 BC, it is potentially one of the earliest in the country. Taken into guardianship in 1883, it was also one of the first monuments in the country to be recommended for preservation by the state.
The nice little town of Keswick for lunch. Keswick is in the middle of the Lake District and is popular with the tourists. Even on cool, wet, windy day there were a lot of people walking around the downtown area. We had looked in this area for places to stay, but it was pretty much fully booked.
Penrith grocery store - we just needed a few things to make it through the next couple of days in our apartment.