Blackpool and back to London

Week 14 May to 20 May
Blackpool proved to be a rest break in what had been something of an intense time of travelling and activity. Some emails were responded to, and overdue communication with family and friends.

On the Blackpool boardwalk

We did, however, take the opportunity to go and visit the beautiful Lake District of Cumbria.

We had heard that it was wet up here

A little ray of sunshine!

We spent some time around the Windermere area of Beatrix Potter fame.

Outside Windermere Hotel

Beatrix Potter Museum

It was not only the lakes that were picturesque, we had some wonderful sights of the countryside.

We then journeyed further north into the barren highlands of Shap, to a place called Shap Abbey.

Shap Abbey remains

The extensiveness of the original building

This was an area of ruins on farmland where tour buses cannot get to because the roads are so narrow and windy, so has not been commercialised. In fact we were the only ones there over the time of our visit. This monastery had been originally built around 1200 AD, but was later decommissioned by Henry VIII following his clampdown on all monastery activity around 1540 AD. As a result some of the abbey was dismantled, with materials being re-used in other buildings. 

The crack in the wall

Rod beside the entrance to get the size into perspective

The latter part of the week saw us returning to the north of London to attend another conference which was put on by Catch the Fire London, with speaker Isabel Allum. We had ministry from Isabel when in Toronto where she took us in a prophetic school. This time her focus was on intimacy with God. She shared amazing testimonies of her relationship with Him, and was a great inspiration.
On leaving our hotel in Maidenhead, we journeyed the 200 plus miles to Devon to stay with some of Karen’s relatives, Paul and Caroline. We had met them a couple of weeks before. They live in a place called Westward Ho!, the only place in the UK which ends with an exclamation mark!