Lake District Part 2

Windermere with distant Cumbrian hills

ON THE WATER - MONDAY

Well you can't seriously "do" the Lake District without a boat trip on Windermere can you?

We made the short drive into Ambleside from Grasmere (about 10-15 minutes) parking at Waterhead at the northern end of Windermere. We paid for our tickets at a little booth by the pier, taking the "red" offer (a round trip to Bowness-on-Windermere) where we could hop off and then get any red ticketed boat back to Waterhead. 

The views across windermere were fabulous. Less fabulous was the evident scum and algae on the water at the pier. If you weren't aware there is real and valid concern that Windermere's water quality due to sewage means the lake is in danger of dying. Just Google it and you'll be inundated, but here's just one example.  Out in the middle of the lake, this was less evident, but you can't help but see it up close to the shoreline.

Anyway, once out on the water we took the gentle ride on the diesel electric boat Swift down to Bowness - about 5 miles along the 10.5 mile length of Windermere. Boats aplenty adorned the lake along with paddle boarders, kayakers and various wildfowl.

Disembarking at Bowness the sun was doing it's best to roast us, and we headed off to find a cooling iced coffee, which wasn't too hard as the place is festooned with cafes and coffee houses. In all honestly, it was so hot, and so busy we decided not to stay too long, and caught the boat back to Waterhead and Ambleside fairly quickly. The views coming back were even better. 

Tourist boat with the Langdale Pikes behind

Approaching Waterhead with the Fairfield Horseshoe behind

We caught a shuttle (looked and felt like a converted milk float, £2.50pp one way) into Ambleside where we found a spot for lunch at the Giggling Goose cafe. We then walked a few yards and found the rather quirky Bridge house - basically a one up, one down house on a small bridge! We wandered around Ambleside for a bit (lots of outdoor shops and cafes) before calling it a day, walking the mile or so back to Waterhead and picking up the car.

The quirky Bridge House, Ambleside

That evening we'd booked a meal at the Traveller's Rest, a pub about a 20 minute walk along the road from Grasmere. We had a gentle stroll arriving about 30 minutes early for our booking, expecting to have to have a drink before being seated, but were ushered into the small restaurant straight away. It was fairly rustic (think church like pew seats and all used wooden tables), but the food was excellent, the beer exceptional and the service friendly and efficient. The sort of place you'd definitely go back to.

MORE LAKES - TUESDAY

Tuesday dawned like all the days before it. Hot and sunny. We drove towards Coniston before turning off down an increasingly narrow road towards a place called Tarn Hows (why Tarn comes first for once and not Hows Tarn I don't know). Parking at an already filling up National Trust car park, we walked down to the lake. It's an easy walk around on a gravelled and sometimes stony path, and as you come around the far side you get absolutely stunning views of the lake with the fells of the Old Man of Coniston and Wetherlam behind. It took me a good while before I could walk away from such stunning views.

Tarn Hows with the fells of 
The Old Man of Coniston and
Wetherlam behind

We then drove down to a place called Brantwood down more very narrow lanes on the eastern side of Coniston Water, primarily on the recommendation of a few people for it's great cafe, although it's also a house and gardens and the place where poet, artist and writer John Ruskin once lived. We only stopped for the cafe though, and the fruit scones with cream and jam were majestic. From there it was on to Coniston itself, and a walk down to the boating centre on an increasingly hot day. Anne availed herself of the chance to get her feet into the water whilst I took yet more photos of the Old Man of Coniston.

Cooling off in Coniston

After our Coniston visit it was back home, a cool off before nipping out for some drinks - we'd now homes in on Tweedies Bar and Lodge as our "local", not least as it had an enormous beer garden. It did a pretty fabulous range of beers too I might say. A very popular place tools a result.

After dinner we wandered a little more around Grasmere and nipped to St Oswald's Church where William Wordsworth is buried. This is the heart of Wordsworth country and there are at least three places within a mile or two where he lived at various times. 

The grave of William Wordsworth
in Grasmere

So far it's fair to say that we were loving our time in this part of the world. The scenery was of course marvellous, but with the added bonus that you could actually see it, as we'd barely seen a cloud in the sky since we'd arrived.

With my knee feeling rather chipper, (although I was still on the anti-inflammatories and having half an hour icings on it each evening), I'd decided that I was going to attempt to get up a bit (only a little higher), and for Wednesday's excursion I'd set my sights on Helm Crag, a rocky promontory just outside Grasmere, standing at around 405m. Anne had sensibly declined the chance to do this, and was going to wander around Grasmere and do some window shopping and perhaps visit some of the Wordsworth oriented cultural places in the village.

But you're going to have to wait until Part 3 for that...

The best of our Lakes Photo Album (Flickr)

Twitter: @Statto1927 

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Lake District - a new favourite place: Part 1

Tarn Hows with the
Old Man of Coniston (l) and Wetherlam (r) behind

GETTING THERE - FRIDAY

I'm not yet sure how many parts this blog post will run to, but it's likely to be more than 1! There's a lot to catch up on from our week away in Grasmere in mid June, so without further ado...

I've never been to the Lake District. Well, strictly speaking that's not true. We passed through with an overnight stop at Penruddock near Ullswater in about 1971 on our way to Scotland on a touring holiday the first year my parents bought a small caravan. Them, three kids and and two dogs in a small tin can. Anyway, all I saw of the Lakes was a dusky Ullswater for an hour or two before we set off for Scotland the following day. 

Anne has been, but it was a long time ago.

We've talked about going for a few years, but one thing and another - oh, and Covid. Anyway, I overcame my procrastination earlier this year, bugging my younger (but still old) brother about the best places as he's been a regular visitor over the years. He recommended his favourite place, Grasmere. After searching his recommended holiday cottage links we duly found a small cottage, for a reasonable price, slap bang in the middle of the village for a week in the middle of June, hoping for decent weather, although being the lakes, that could still mean snow, rain, gales and flash flooding at any time!

Suitably packed for all eventualities we set off, but as it's a long way, made a slight detour to break the journey overnight at my sister in-law's in Solihull. We met them on the Friday afternoon at Coughton Court National Trust and spent a pleasant afternoon wandering the grounds, and walking along the river. 

Coughton Court, near Redditch

STILL GETTING THERE - SATURDAY

After an early(ish) breakfast we pointed the car north (or rather east) before heading north up the M6 toll and thence to the M6. It was pretty much M6 all the way then until the final 30 mins or so. Again we broke our trip up just after turning off the M6 to visit Sizurgh Castle, another National Trust place. More gentle wanderings, and wa walk up a smallish hill to see a vista of the distant Cumbrian hills that were our eventual destination. 

Sizurgh Castle, near Kendal

Driving up past Windermere and through Ambleside, the traffic was heavy - turns out there was a Lak District Ultra Event going on the Saturday for fitness lunatics - 114km run anyone? Those of a less inclined nature could stick to any one of 14km, 25km or 50km events or some vast open water swimming and cycling craziness. 

Arriving about 30 minutes before our allotted check in time, we found the place ready and waiting. It was lovely. Comfortable, well furnished.....but sadly lacking any outside space to sit. Partly I guess we were to blame for not reading the online info correctly (although it does mention an "outside courtyard" (ie parking area), and it was a shame given the continued outrageously hot forecast. Still the village green was about 20 seconds stroll away.

A view from near the centre of Grasmere

Dumped the bags, had a quick wander around the small (but busy) village - it seems everywhere is busy in the Lakes, and pooped into the nearest hostelry for a thirst quencher (or two).

SUNDAY

We had a sort of plan of the places we wanted to go during our week, but it wasn't fixed in stone. I was recovering from some sort of injury to me knee the week before when it had swollen to almost twice it's normal size after a round of golf to climbing Helvellyn and Scafell wasn't going to happen, although stronger than usual anti-inflammatories had worked their magic.

Anne's not one for steep hills (or any hills for that matter), so gentler ambles were more on our radar. You'll see how that went out of the window in a later post....

With another glorious day in the making, we set off for Easdale Tarn, a relatively short walk on paper, and described in some guides as an easy walk, and in others "not pushchair friendly with some steeper sections). It's basically a follow the path route. Soon out of Grasmere we found the path and followed it for a while before it started ascending. As we rose the views impressed but in the heat the steeper sections meant several stops, and for those used to fairly flat walks, it was a bit of slog (Anne might want to call it something else!). Anyway, we made it. It's clearly a popular place as there were lots of people around. Some swimming, some picnicing , some walking through. We found a quiet spot, had our picnic and took our shoes off and dangles our feet in the wonderfully cool water, whereupon our feet were instantly set upon by myriads of small fish giving us an instant, and free pedicure.. The view up there were spectacular, even though we weren't that high at around 300m. 

Easdale Tarn Panorama

View from Easdale Tarn

Easdale Tarn Fish Pedicure

Luckily the walk back down was MUCH easier than the walk up, although by mid afternoon, very hot indeed and we were glad to get back to the cottage to get refreshed and find some shade. It was a pretty impressive start to our week, and although a good work out, very much worth the effort.

I think that'll do for this first post. Part 2 takes in Windermere, Tarn Hows, Coniston  and some eat and drink recommendations.

The best of our Lakes Photo Album (Flickr)

Twitter: @Statto1927 

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/people/simon_hiscocks/ 

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