Valley End

I do like driving around Cumbria. There are the breathtaking views of the hills, valleys, and lakes, of course, but there are also lots of beautiful old stone buildings, and then there is the bleakness and strange desolation on parts of the west coast. 

Today I was up near Whitehaven, which was a long way to go for a ten minute presentation followed by ten minutes of questions, but the pleasant weather and drive around the county more than compensated. I went there up the M6 and across the A66 and then, afterwards, back down by the A595, which took me through some towns that seemed little more than a single street, set exposed in the flattened landscape.

There's been talk for a long time about building a bridge from Morecambe to Barrow, which would rejuvenate this part of England. It would be exciting and wonderful to watch the transformation of the west coast if it was suddenly commutable from Lancaster and even Preston. Until then, though, it seems remote and disconnected from the rest of the country. And that in itself makes it an interesting place to visit.