Lancaster

Lancaster is quite different from Newcastle. The university is much more isolated in its locale and more limited in resources than Newcastle. I work out of my backpack and to get online I must go to campus and compete with the students who are getting ready for end of year exams and completing major projects; this is not easy. Without an office, I find it difficult to have the resources I need at any one time to do my work; there is nowhere to store things so I am always limited to what I can carry, so my productivity is lessened.

The larger problems here are not with the uni, however, but with the bank, telephone company, postal service, and rail lines--most of the major things needed to get by. I won't bore you with details, but the time spent dealing with these folks is the real time drain.

On the other hand, it takes only a five minute walk from our flat to be in the countryside. Here are few pictures of our situation here:
The front and back of our flat-
(Ours is the black door.)

Our flat is attached to a "main house" built in 1691 (you can see it jutting out in the background). I suppose in those days these digs were posh!


Some other sights:

The skyline is dominated by the Castle Keep and Priory which is common here. The Keep is in fact still a functioning prison! All tours are guided tours for that reason. I'd think it would be a great motivator to stay out of jail.


The River Lune runs through town. It appears here to be quite low, but it just low tide.
Here's a more interesting image of the tidal effects at Morcambe Bay, just about 15 minutes away by bus.

The Golden Lion Pub dates to 1612 and was the last stop for prisoners headed to their execustions. A story exists that a teetotaler refused to stop and just moments after his death, a notice of pardon arrived. (There is a lesson for all us here.)


More to come...