ON THE ROCKS - Sepia Saturday

This week's Sepia Saturday prompt photographer (see end of this post)  features two lads atop of a rock. 

 

So  join me on my journey into rocky memories, as we visit India,  New England,  the  Scottish Borders, Isles of Mull & Iona, the Lake District,  Brimham Rocks in Yorkshire, and Marsden Rock at South Shields, County Durham.

INDIA

Not two lads, but many! My husband's uncle Matty (Matthew Iley White) of South Shields, County Durham is among this group of soldiers perched on a rock in India.   Matty  served in the  Durham Light Infantry in India 1933-1937, as listed in his service book below. 

NEW ENGLAND

Boulder Rock near Waterville Valley, New England, in 1998.  We had visions of getting lost on a walk  in the woods here, relying on the signposting rather than a map. Fortunately we made it back to our hotel.

LAKE DISTRIC

 

This is  the earliest photograph I have of my parents together, taken by the river at Kirby Lonsdale in Cumbria where they got engaged in 1937.  My mother looks very elegant, but how on earth did she negotiate those stepping stones?   

 

Kirby Lonsdale  on the edge of the Lake District is a fascinating small town  with   a mix of  18th-century buildings and stone cottages huddled around quaint cobbled courtyards and narrow alleyways with names such as Salt Pie Lane and Jingling Lane.  The town is noted for the its three span Devil's Bridge, first built across the River Lune c.1370. You catch a glimpse of it here.

 

 

A large rock in the Lake District - near Keswick c.1988  I don't know how I was adventurous  enough to climb to the top - I could not do it now. 

BRIMHAM ROCKS IN YORKSHIRE

To North Yorkshire  - and the Brimham Rocks, huge balancing rock formations  with spectacular views over the Niddersdale Moors. With a labyrinth of paths and plenty of hiding places, be warned,  this is a great place to lose children who can hunt for rocks with weird names such as  Dancing Bear, The Eagle and The Gorilla, The Smartie Tube and balance on the Rocking Stones.  In the care of the National Trust. 

HAWICK IN THE SCOTTISH BORDERS

Little  daughter  on a little rock surveying the land above  Hawick in the  Scottish Borders, c.1976.  It must have been a good summer as the  countryside  looks unusually  dry.  
  

ISLE OF IONA  

A windy day as daughter, now a lot older, is perching again on a rock on the Isle  of Iona,  

One lost sheep - perched high  on the Isle of Mul

MARSDEN ROCK OFF SOUTH SHIELDS, COUNTY DURHAM

A journey  to South Shields at  the  mouth of the River Tyne - home of my husband's mariner ancestor

Marsden Rock is a 100 foot sea stack which lies 100 yards off the cliff face.  Believed to be once  a smugglers' haunt,  it is now the home of seabird colonies.   In 1803 a flight of steps was constructed up the side of the rock. In 1903 several choirs climbed onto the rock to perform a choral service.  

 

 My husband spent his childhood here, with the beach a favourite playground. In a way this is an historic photograph, as in 1996 the arch collapsed, splitting the rock into two stacks. The smaller stack was decreed unsafe and demolished.  

 

Among the cliff face rocks at Marsden  c. 1983 

 

 Daughter (left) with her cousin and dog Cindy - with matching hairstyles!  c.1983 

 

 

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Sepia Saturday gives an opportunity for genealogy bloggers 

       to share their family history through photographs.

 

 

 

 

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