Last day in the Lake District - Bus Tour!

Today we were woken up to the early morning sounds of the city’s street, and we soon made our way down for breakfast. We were there in time, but the service was slow and the bus arrived about the same time as our food. So, we packed it up and hopped onto the bus for another fun adventure in the lake district!

We met our tour guide, Gregory, who has lived in Windemere for years. He was a friendly fellow and a wonderful tour guide. The first place we stopped was one of the Tarn Hows. “Tarn” meaning a small lake in the mountains, and “hows” meaning a look-out place the vikings used to use. We parked the bus and walked out to an overlook of the lake and the mountains that back-dropped it. All along the tour we passed various farmland that Beatrix Potter owned, and most of the tour was in land the National Trust inherited from her. He said she enjoyed walking and would often walk to the various farms (quite a hike!). Speaking of hiking and walking, the whole area seems to be fond of it. There are several outdoor sports shops and we’ve spotted several generations of people going for hikes. Every inch of this place is scenic!!.. I think I would join in the fun too if I lived here! =)

Next we traveled over to the area of Coniston, and parked at Coniston Water (a lake). There were ducks everywhere, boats for rent, and people preparing in their wetsuits to go for a swim. Most of the farms we passed were herding Herdwick sheep. They are “lambing” at this time of year, so are gathered off the mountaintops and grazing in their owner’s fields. Once they are done, they will all be branded with this wax paint (patches of their fur remind me of funfetti!) and sent back to the mountains. When it’s time for sheering, the farmers will sort them back out again! Isn’t that fun? The lambs are adorable and a dark shade of black. As they are sheered, their fur becomes greyer. So.. as they age, their hair become very light shades of grey. Beatrix is also known to be one of the best at herding these sheep. We were also driving through a few places where cattle was raised, some of them being these belted galloways. The belted galloways are a type of cattle that are black with this huge white stripe that rings around their back and belly. They were really quite odd looking. One was in the middle of the road and our bus had to wait for it to move.

Next we went to the Yew Tree farm which was a farm owned by Beatrix and the location they did the filming at for the Miss Potter film. That too is now owned by the National Trust of course. We then made our way into the town of Grasmere where we stopped at Dove Cottage, a building that William Wordsworth owned and lived in. We walked around the little area and stopped at the museum gift shop. We walked across town and visited a little Gingerbread shop called Sarah Nelson’s. I could smell the gingerbread from outside of the little shop (and for those of you that know my notoriously week sense of smell, it was quite a feat). I tried a piece, but it was quite different from what I had expected. I decided not to purchase any, but we spent our time walking by Saint Oswald’s church and visiting the grave sight of Wordsowrth, and I walked through the Daffodil garden on my way back to the bus. This is the first verse from one of his most famous poems and it was on several souvenirs, none of which I decided to purchase. I did love the poem though!..

I wandered lonely as a cloud
that floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
a host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
-Wordsworth,

After Grasmere, we headed for Ashness Bridge. A small, picturesque rock bridge with a stream flowing beneath it. Afterwards, we drove by Filmere Valley Lake, a fresh water reservoir and then made our way to Surprise view. The tour guide gave us quite the warning about the drop, always nervous about keeping his record of falls at zero. We all took pictures of the mountains, overlooking the Derwent water, also known as the ‘jewel of the lake,’ and returned to the bus safely much to Gregory’s pleasure.

We went to Keswick for lunch and I enjoyed another round of fish and chips. I sipped on a mochacinno for a bit of energy and enjoyment. I’m becoming quite fond of them! While we were there, I purchased a violet fleece to help keep me warm since I packed a few too many tank-tops.

Last we went to Castlerigg where there was a ‘mini stonehenge’ if you will called ‘stone circle.’ The tour guide said If you run around it 5x clockwise, you will marry a millionaire! I’m not sure if he was just pulling our leg, but Sarah and Peggy took off. They didn’t quite finish their laps though, so I’m hoping for them it’s a fraction of a million rather than bad luck! ;o) The view from up top their was perhaps the best one of the day! There were some terrific views of the mountains! On our way home, we drove through more sheep farms in St. Johns in the Vale and a by Rydall Water which was a small lake but we were told it was Wordsworth’s favorite.

Once we made it back to the hotel, we dropped our stuff off and walked around to some of the local shops. I purchased a couple more souvenirs of teas, chocolates, and toffees. Now we are resting, napping, and of course blogging, before we head out for dinner.


**after dinner update**

We went to Lucy’s for dinner and it was delicious! Probably the best meal I’ve had on the trip. I ate Halibut for dinner over stir fried vegetables, with some toffee pudding for dessert.

Resting up for a day on the trains tomorrow and then we will be touring the Seven Stories Children Museum in New Castle.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!
xoxo, Bethany

Pictures from my Day in the Lake District!

Just ask if you have any questions about the pictures! I have trouble captioning them!

Ps. If you want a postcard... I bought some, but I am lacking in addresses! =)