The Winders of Lancashire

We stayed the night before at the Redwell Country Inn near Carnforth, Lancashire. We drove down the M6 right on the edge of The Lake District, but it was so foggy we could not see anything! (A special note for Bev Christensen: we looked into driving over to Hawkshead for Beatrix Potter, but the timing just didn’t work!) The Redwell Country Inn was a real find - a great spot (remodeled old pub) and terrific food. We had a lot of fun visiting with the staff both evening and morning, and came away with some of their smoked meats and salmon to bring with us to Beck Hole.

We stayed in this place because it was near Warton, which is where I had noted my 6-great grandfather lived. However, as I looked more closely at the details before we set out, I saw that there are two Wartons rather close to each other! The Warton we wanted was the other one. (This one would have been interesting, as George Washington’s family came from there.) So we set out to drive another 20 miles or so near Lancaster. On the way we took a picture of a street called Winder Garth. I decided that if we saw anything “Winder” we’d take a picture and make a note.

We actually did not go to the second Warton, which is actually the place where my g-g-g-g-g-g grandfather got married. But we did find the village where he was born - Forton - and the church where he was baptized - St. Michael and All Angels in Cockerham. Very cool all around.

St. Michael and All Angels, Cockerham, Lancaster, Lancashire

On our way to North Yorkshire we angled across the Yorkshire Dales National Park. We stopped in the town of Sedbergh because it was in the shadow of a mountain named Winder! The woman in the tourist information was very interested in the whole thing, took me up to their history room to look at place names, and called a friend who knew a lot. It appears that Winder, among other meanings, is a place sheltered from the wind. (My best findings for my ancestors have to do with the wool trade - the "wynder," the person winding the wool around the spool.) The woman on the phone indicated Viking origins for the name, which matches my own research. The woman in the tourist info was named Elspeth and totally looked the part.

Mt. Winder

We had a beautiful drive through the Dales - amazing country. This is James Herriott country, and it looks just like the old TV shows! 

We headed north out of Lancashire to their white rose arch enemies in Yorkshire. We have the blessing of the Lightfoot Honeysuckle Cottage in Beck Hole in the North York Moor National Park for the next five days. It is a wonderful place where we have been before, and we’re looking forward to being in one place for five nights!

Honeysuckle Cottage