Exploring the Cumbria coast - Silloth , a walk around the town and I find some stitching (eventually)

 We had booked ourselves into a holiday park for three nights at Silloth, yep the full works, cafe, swimming pool, bar, entertainment etc although the only part that we really used was the cafe. The touring section was quiet and to be honest the facilities were a little dated but very clean. The confusing thing was that in the ladies section there were just two showers ( one with the light not working ), a disabled wet room then five bathrooms with baths !! We've seen the occasional family room with a bath on new campsites but this was an interesting set up given that most people would ( I assume ) opt for a shower these days.

The touring section, fortunately, wasn't busy so we didn't have to queue for a shower.

All the facilities in the entertainment block were modern and clean, the staff were amazingly friendly and we would go back again if we were in the area. It was just the bathrooms haha, reminded us of a campsite in Scotland where the sinks etc seemed to be from the 50's

As ever, campsite location is the important thing for us and on this trip there were eight campsite and seven of them were within an easy walk of the nearest town. The other was a walk in but a bus back which isn't so bad.

Silloth was developed from the 1850,s when the new docks and railway were built.  The Port of Silloth's main cargoes are wheat, fertiliser, molasses and general cargo so the air has a different fragrance as you walk by depending on which cargo is being unloaded.

The large building by the dockside is a Victorian flour mill built in 1887, Carr's flour mill supplies flour to many bakeries and confectioners including United Biscuits and Warburtons.

You can just see part of the original mill building now surrounded by more recent additions.

The town still retains the cobble streets (we could hear the HGV's heading to and from the port from our van) and buildings.

this was formerly the Majestic Cinema

There are a few cafes, the one in the Post office buildings was very good and this one pictured below was quirky, you had to ring a small 'fairy bell' at your table to order.

On the green at the sea front there was a solitary amusement arcade where we took time to waste a few small coins and watch the storm clouds gather over Scotland  which is on the other side of the estuary.

Also on the green were the millennium mosaic, fascinating to try and spot local buildings and businesses.

A sculpture of a Lockheed Hudson bomber stands on the green as a memorial to a number of these planes had sadly crashed into the bay during WW11 giving the bay the local name of Hudson Bay. The sculpture was erected in 2018 to celebrate the 100t birthday of the RAF and to remember the towns former airfield that was used for the training of air crews and the maintenance and repair of aircraft during the war.

Meanwhile, back in town, doorway mosaics catch my eye and the church appears to be open.

As I approached the church I realised that a service had just finished and was about to leave when the vicar spotted me and insisted that I join the congregation for coffee !

Finding it hard to hard to resist and I'm so glad that I did as the inside of the building was different to most of the churches that I pop into on my travels.

It almost reminds me of a railway station and I found stitching in the form of hassocks and cross stitch or tapestry.

I do recognise the style of some of these designs but many have been designed to show local buildings etc.

I also apologise for the poor quality of the photos due to reflections.

many thanks to the parishioners of Christ Church Silloth for making me feel so welcome.

 

Soed Idee Jubileum week twenty three and twenty four

I hadn't realised that I'd missed posting week twenty three so this is a bit of a catch up. I'm still hemming the next piece of fabric along with designing a couple of extra bands. The bobbin lace insertion to go between the two sections is almost complete and I hope to finish that on Sunday as part of International lace making day.

I'm getting close to the end of this strip, maybe two more bands depending on the height of them.

A busy spinning weekend including the great SPINNOTTS reunion

 Many years ago there was a group of spinners who would demonstrate at local events and generally spin in public whenever they got the chance. We disbanded about fourteen years ago as people moved out of the area, went away to uni or had family responsibilities. Some continued as Woolly Outlaws, others joined local guilds and some hung up their wheels.

Recently two of the ringleaders decided that it was time to hold a reunion and see if there is any interest in having social spinning get togethers.

And that is how I fond myself heading into town rather early on Saturday morning.

It was the first time that I had travelled by train for quite some time.

I took the opportunity to grab a coffee and knit a few rows before jumping on the train.

Not many more photos as I was too busy catching up with everyone but Pete (Pete's Fibre Studio ) had some amazing hand dyed fibres and yarns. I may have indulged haha

I did grab a shot of two of some of the wheels though I'm not sure how much spinning anyone managed.

The day was a great success and plans have been made for the next meeting, 

The very next day I was out and about with the local guild outreach group at Greens Windmill, not many visitors due to the fact that the mill is undergoing renovations at the moment but still not a bad way to spend the day.

Exploring the Cumbria coast - Silloth motorcycle museum

 Even though I don't have much to do with bikes these days I still love them so the chance to visit Silloth Motorcycle Museum was a bonus.

Owned by  racer Jim Snaith it contains his collection of race bikes, memorabilia and history of the local racetrack. Our visit was a very pleasent way to spend the morning, unfortunately I've forgotten the name of the person looking after the museum when we arrived but the conversation was bike, bikes, bikes from our era 70s onwards. Jim also popped in for a chat so the quick visit became a few hours.

The Museum is small but crammed full of interest and my photos don't really do it justice.

I couldn't get all the trophies in the same shot, so many ! if you read the photo above, they had been left unopened in the UK by an Austalian racer Casey Stoner in 2001

Tour de Fleece 2026 prep and chat

 I know that it is only June but its less than a month until the start of the 2026 TDF and I really don't have  a lot of fleece prepped at all !

I have some washed ready for combing, I have lots that needs a wash including this large bag that I found on my doorstep last week. Nearly 5 kilos of what I suspect ( from previous fleece from the same source) is going to be texel. I am waiting for a dry day to make a start on washing and maybe even dyeing it ready to spin. Seriously, its rained pretty much everyday since it turned up

My plans for TDF are the same as ever, work on spinning down the stash, make use of my wheels and maybe finish a couple of half spun projects before it starts.

I could just use the texel as my challenge but I may get bored spinning the same breed for three weeks. I do plan to take my wheel to as many local destinations as possible, we won't be going away as Ian will probably be doing his bike thing down south and the van will be back at the dealers for annual service, mot etc but I will be getting my bus pass halfway through so I might see where else I can get with it.

later

between showers today I popped 300gm or so of raw fleece into a net bag and started to wash it.

Surprisingly its really not that dirty and not looking to bad considering the fact that someone who knows absolutely nothing about fleece volunteered to grab me a bag full just after the sheep were sheared.

Once washed and rinsed I'm left with this which will go in the dye pot for a change.

It looks like I am going to busy over the next couple of weeks or so prepping ready for the big spin. Also I'm hoping to get out and about most days with a wheel of some kind or maybe even just a spindle.

Now out of the dye pot weighing in at 250gm