I guess my luck had to run out at sometime regarding the weather. The weather forecast for my three days in the Lakes District was heavy rain and strong winds - not the ideal weather for walking! As the days got closer, the forecast was looking more hopeful and here I am and it's drizzly rain, but there's still a strong winds on the hills, and I'm not really equipped for wet weather walking. I've hired a car though, so I've spent the day driving around, enjoying the sites and occasionally stopping for pictures. Given the wet summer it's not surprising the the lakes are full and the ground and roads are very damp. Most of the trees have lost their leaves so the ground is covered in leaves and moss; very pretty.
Many of the attractions close at the end of October, but I stopped in to see the Beatrix Potter attraction in Bowsness. (Her old farm Hill End is closed for the winter) I was entranced by the displays, recreations of the stories. It's hard to describe, but it is like wandering through a winding country lane with trees, hedges, fences and ponds and lovely watercolour backgrounds of the Lakes district, looking much less soggy. Each corner has one of the stories portrayed either as a single set piece or a series of them. A multitude of rabbits, squirrels and other characters are generally cavorting about. I'm sure a child would love it as they would be eye level with most of them, but I loved it too. Photos were allowed, but silly me forgot to take one of Beatrice with her cousins. Edit: I went back to take some and they kindly let me in on the same ticket.
Lunch was in the Old John Peel; a ploughman's lunch with mulled wine and a mince pie. Perfect for a drizzly day :)
Day 2 and the weather is no better. Perfect morning to spent at Dove Cottage, one of Wordsworth's homes and now run by the Wordsworth Trust. I was surprised by the size of the cottage; much bigger than I expected. This was because it had been an inn so the downstairs rooms were big and had quite high ceilings. Given that William, his wife Mary, sister Dorothy, Mary's sister and several young children lived there and they constantly had visitors, it was probably fortunate it was so large. Although it was very wet, and autumn, I could appreciate the beauty of the garden and the whole location.
The museum had detailed information about his life, writings, and the contributions made by Dorothy and Mary, who did virtually all the transcribing and copying and altering, of which there was much. It also gave detailed of many of the visiting poets. Because I was in no hurry to go anywhere else I could linger and absorb. The gallery had a series of watercolours and etchings of the lakes district by Joseph Farlington with journal entries from Thomas Gray, accompanied by photos by John Murray of the sites now. Some sites weren't accessible or visible from the exact site because of trees, but it was remarkable how many were virtually unchanged 250 years later. It even included OS map coordinates to go to the places.
I returned to Ambleside, visited a very sodden remains of a Roman Fort by the lake, bought a new umbrella to replace the golf umbrella which kept going backwards and finally snapped :( , then headed up a small road to Stockgyhll Force. With that name it could be anything, but is actually a beautiful waterfall. With all the rain, the stream was pumping so much that the water was completely white. The walk went through an oak woodland with trees and boulders covered in moss. The path was a hard surface but covered in a thick layer of oak leaves and totally sodden. For much of the time it was like walking through a shallow stream. There were two small bridges across the stream, one low down and the other above the waterfall so I could do a full circle. There were also several lookouts along the way. The waterfall isn't huge but the force of the water going over it was extraordinary.
The clouds cleared enough for me to take a short walk up the hill above the Hostel and I managed some lovely views of the lakes and even a sunset!
After dinner, I gathered in the lounge talking to some of the other travellers, and we had a wide ranging conversation until nearly midnight.
Many of the attractions close at the end of October, but I stopped in to see the Beatrix Potter attraction in Bowsness. (Her old farm Hill End is closed for the winter) I was entranced by the displays, recreations of the stories. It's hard to describe, but it is like wandering through a winding country lane with trees, hedges, fences and ponds and lovely watercolour backgrounds of the Lakes district, looking much less soggy. Each corner has one of the stories portrayed either as a single set piece or a series of them. A multitude of rabbits, squirrels and other characters are generally cavorting about. I'm sure a child would love it as they would be eye level with most of them, but I loved it too. Photos were allowed, but silly me forgot to take one of Beatrice with her cousins. Edit: I went back to take some and they kindly let me in on the same ticket.
Lunch was in the Old John Peel; a ploughman's lunch with mulled wine and a mince pie. Perfect for a drizzly day :)
Day 2 and the weather is no better. Perfect morning to spent at Dove Cottage, one of Wordsworth's homes and now run by the Wordsworth Trust. I was surprised by the size of the cottage; much bigger than I expected. This was because it had been an inn so the downstairs rooms were big and had quite high ceilings. Given that William, his wife Mary, sister Dorothy, Mary's sister and several young children lived there and they constantly had visitors, it was probably fortunate it was so large. Although it was very wet, and autumn, I could appreciate the beauty of the garden and the whole location.
The museum had detailed information about his life, writings, and the contributions made by Dorothy and Mary, who did virtually all the transcribing and copying and altering, of which there was much. It also gave detailed of many of the visiting poets. Because I was in no hurry to go anywhere else I could linger and absorb. The gallery had a series of watercolours and etchings of the lakes district by Joseph Farlington with journal entries from Thomas Gray, accompanied by photos by John Murray of the sites now. Some sites weren't accessible or visible from the exact site because of trees, but it was remarkable how many were virtually unchanged 250 years later. It even included OS map coordinates to go to the places.
I returned to Ambleside, visited a very sodden remains of a Roman Fort by the lake, bought a new umbrella to replace the golf umbrella which kept going backwards and finally snapped :( , then headed up a small road to Stockgyhll Force. With that name it could be anything, but is actually a beautiful waterfall. With all the rain, the stream was pumping so much that the water was completely white. The walk went through an oak woodland with trees and boulders covered in moss. The path was a hard surface but covered in a thick layer of oak leaves and totally sodden. For much of the time it was like walking through a shallow stream. There were two small bridges across the stream, one low down and the other above the waterfall so I could do a full circle. There were also several lookouts along the way. The waterfall isn't huge but the force of the water going over it was extraordinary.
The clouds cleared enough for me to take a short walk up the hill above the Hostel and I managed some lovely views of the lakes and even a sunset!
After dinner, I gathered in the lounge talking to some of the other travellers, and we had a wide ranging conversation until nearly midnight.
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