Kirkby What?

Kirkby Lonsdale-Another Batty Landmark!

 One way...nope, a two way street!

We had asked James of The Afton if he knew of any little quaint places we could visit on our way to Scotland. Right away he mentioned Kirkby Lonsdale. He talked up the place and said a lot of people enjoy this rest stop that's off the beaten path. By this time we had trusted James' opinion on just about anything so we packed up and headed off on another adventure! Although it wasn't on our GPS and I felt a little intimidated, he gave us perfect directions. Plus Deb, my chief navigator, was instrumental in remembering where we had to go and pointed us in the right direction.

Sure enough within about an hour's worth of driving, we were parked, walking into little boutique shops, smiling with all the English shop owners, and taking loads of pictures. Near the end of the main drive we stumbled into the courtyard of a very old church and graveyard. Of course, Edie wanted to investigate and it's a good thing she did because there were Battys buried all over the place! It's like she was following some inner scent all over England!

Edie, Deb and Sue couldn't get enough of this church. Unfortunately, I was distracted (what a surprise!) and went out seeking some food in the little shops. Once I had my cut of salami, cheese and bread, I couldn't find my fellow Battys:(. I looked all over that stupid graveyard, tried to open the church door, but it wouldn't open and felt like this is where I would erect my own gravesite! For a moment, I wondered if the area needed an American English teacher because without my family, I was lost!

I quickly retraced our steps back to the town center hoping to find them, but they were nowhere! Thinking they might have gone back to the car (unlikely), I started the mile long hike back to the parking lot. Of course, on the way I had to go to the bathroom and stopped at a nasty public toilet that was more like a small tomb complete with an electronic metal door that had sealed in the putrid smell. After a minor claustrophobic attack, I escaped gasping for fresh air and sat on the rock wall dejected. Surely, if they wanted to get rid of their driver they could have just asked...

William Batty

After what seemed like hours, we finally reconnected. THEY claimed I had ditched them, but it was they who ditched me. Like the ever devoted mom, Edie reassured me that she was in the church the whole time and had even climbed up and down 86 steps to the river to see if I was taking pictures. Apparently, I had tried pulling the door open on the church, but the door had to be pushed open. Who knew?

Taking notes and recording our heritage