Askham, Cumbria: Day 1

We are again swapping houses with our friends Helen and Joe.  This will be our third stay in their whitewashed 'cottage' in Askham, Cumbria and their first visit to our house in Southwold.

We went down to Southwold to get the house ready.  Helen and Joe arrived at about 4.00 and after the obligatory cup of tea, showed them the delights of the high street.   They were very excited by some of the shops, particularly CraftCo, the artist's collective, the cheese shop and the hardware store!   Askham, where they live, has one  village store, so the idea of strolling out of their front door and finding interesting shops at their fingertips seemed great.    We had a meal together at the Crown (a little disappointing as all of us found our main course very salty).

Clumber Park Walled Garden

In the morning we left Southwold early and went  back home to load the car with all the things we had packed and left in the hall.   We set off just after 9.30 am and drove via the A47, the A17, the A1 and the A66 to Askham, just south of Penrith.  We had a great lunch stop at Clumber Park (Helen and Joe's excellent recommendation)  and were sorry that we only had time to eat and make the briefest of visits to the walled garden.

We arrived at Askham and settled in.  Their house is very comfortable, full of books and beautiful pottery and the garden is lovely.  We enjoy coming here. 

Joe and Helen's house in Askham