Mark Rowlinson's Non-Golf Tour of North West England

[Ran Morrissett]

Mark Rowlinson, our resident Renaissance man, delivers part II of his non-golf tour around England & Wales. It is found in the Best of Golf section under - you guessed it -  Best of Non-Golf.

The focus this time is the North West of England, home to Peter the Rabbit and gorgeous Derwentwater in the Lake District. My girlfriend met Mark at MacKenzie’s Reddish Vale GC and four days later was at Derwentwater where she noted amidst its splendor that ‘… apparently some golf trips are less painful than others.’ 

Hard not to be jealous of Mark when reading this instalment as he happens to live in this phenomenally diverse area.  More importantly, his zestful interest in all things great and small directly leads to an appreciation of life’s riches.  You can just picture him, tearing about the region, poking his head in everywhere from cheese shops to country estates, always learning, always having fun. Most of us inadvertently become myopic as we grow older. Our focus becomes smaller, more confined and we miss out on the bigger picture. Not Mark.

England’s North West makes for one of very finest - though rarely done - golf trips. For starters, it houses a cluster of three Open courses. The sparkle then comes from playing Fowler’s stylish country course at Delamere Forest before heading north to Silloth-on-Solway while tackling MacKenzie’s works like Cavendish along the way.  Mark’s non-golf tour illustrates how to layer in magnificent attractions between rounds. Take in the awe-inspiring Chester Cathedral  with its towering ceilings before Delamere Forest for example. You end up with a trip of a lifetime, rather than some hazy blur of eight courses in five days where you retain nothing other than the ability to bore people back home. 

Mark’s next installment goes across Hadrian's Wall into the North East and George Gently country – look for it in September.
 
Best,

[Clyde Johnson]

Mark,

That was pretty in-depth...an interesting read, thanks!

Did you ever play the 9-hole moorland course at Crosby Garrett (Westmorland)? I think 'Foot-and-Mouth' sadly brought the end, although the stone yardage markers are still hiding out there I think. Perhaps the most primitive course I have ever played, with fond memories of the drop-shot finisher - perched/benched precariously above a stream, the green can't have been much bigger than 10 square-meters!!!
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[Duncan Cheslett]

As one fortunate enough to have inhabited this very region all my life I can only congratulate Mark on a fine piece of work. Even I am left salivating at the prospect of exploring the many attractions Mark details which I have never visited. Some I have never heard of!

Well done, Mark!

[BCrosby]

Mark is a very fine writer. His talents are on display here. Well done.

I often travel with my wife on my golf trips. While I am golfing, she is off with the car taking in the local sights. She has a keen interest in gardening, for example. Mark's "Non-Golf Tour" is an ideal guide for her. I hope Mark expands this to other parts of the UK.

Bob

[jeffwarne]

wow,
While I'm sure Mark doesn't always drink beer, I'm confident that when he does...
he prefers Dos Equis.


Great stuff.

[Mark Bourgeois]

For me, the best travel writing makes me want to book a flight. Mark's list driven-approach with hyperlinks is compulsively readable.

Has anyone visited the Lawnmower Museum? This looks like my kind of cultural experience.

And Mark I look forward to periodic revisions when I expect to read reviews of Manchester nightclubs and where we might find acts like Circa Waves in Liverpool. 

[Colin Macqueen]

Mark,


"A life devoted to Golf is a life well spent" Luke 2:36-38


Your descriptions here ensure a fuller life very well spent.  Excellent writing and just what the distaff side appreciates.


Thanks very much,  Colin.

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Mark B. I have led a very sheltered life and have no experience of nightclubs, nor even the brothel that Sir Edward Heath may have come across (if the latest Revelations [more Bible] in the press are to be believed). You'll just have to visit the region in person to write the true expose.


M.