We took off for Scotland in our people carrier (AKA minivan). We toddled along the roads through Wales, past Liverpool, up to the border and into the lowlands of Scotland. Our first stop was to be Ayr. We had gone through the guidebooks that the Scotland folks had sent us. In the end, we found a place through the Alistair Sawdays Special Places site. We would have used this site more if we hadn’t found out about only the night before we took off on our adventure. It is a truly special site. But, more on that later.
The reason that we were going to Ayr was because, aside from its beauty, it’s were Marian’s mum was from. It turned out to be a highlight of the trip. On the way there we made a little side trip to Headlam Hall. This was a place where Marian lived when she was a very wee girl. The Hall itself has been turned into a hotel and spa. The cottage where Marian and her family lived looks as if it’s privately owned now.
While the Hall has been expanded, it’s been done in a way that blends right into the design of the Hall. It looks as if a lot of weddings take place there. Later on Marian saw a none too flattering review of Headlam Hall, but on that day when we went in to check it out, it looked really nice. Well, aside from the paint on the Tudor paneling, but that’s another story.
While Grams and Marian wandered around the Hall I went out to the garden and admired the grounds. 
It was a lovely pause in our journey and a nice trip back in time for Marian. There were tears of remembrance and smiles for the memories. Marian especially remembered the old lady who lived down the lane and kept geese. Every time Marian and her brother and sister would walk up to the Hall to
fetch their dad for supper, the old lady would urge her geese onto the lane and they would chase after the children. Ah, the good old days: terrorized by a flock of geese.
A dopo e Moochas Smoochas,
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