Windermere, Grasmere & Keswich (Lake District)

I was up early with thoughts of Zaboo in my head. I still can't believe he's gone and I just miss him so much and have certainly missed giving him lots of hugs and kisses every day these last  two months since I've been traveling. Although he often pretending he didn't like all the cuddles and love I know he really did but most of all he loved his mommy who I know is so, so sad and missing him more than words can say. The good thing is he lived a very happy 16 years in home that was full of love and always had his needs and desires, even when he was totally unreasonable, met to the best of our abilities. I just can't help but smile thinking of that little face and all his Zaboo peculiarities. And one more picture of my little Boo! This isn't his special friend he loved so much, I'm actually not sure where this bear came from or where it ended up but he clearly was enjoying himself.

It is good that I am in the Lake District and on this tour for the next few days because it keeps me so busy and my mind occupied on beautiful scenery and charming towns. The view from my window this morning was lovely and after the initial morning fog started to life I could see all the way to the lake from the hotel.

Breakfast was served in this charming room with large windows over looking the town and it was amazingly a fully served meal with lots of menu choices. I figured since I was up north and so close to Scotland I should have the Scottish smoked salmon and eggs with toast. So delicious and hearty and perfect for a long day out touring the hills and lakes of this region. The picture below is taken from the back window going up the stairs from the lobby of the hotel. I don't think the sheep belong to the hotel but who knows they are like having a bunch of little lawn mowers.

We left at 10am and traveled through Windermere to Grasmere where we spent an hour walking around the little town and in the tiny, unique shops and then I walked down to the lake for a stroll around passing the Dove Cottage where the poet William Wordsworth lived and wrote his famous poem "Daffodils." And several of the people on the tour said that in the spring this area is magnificent with fields of daffodils. A little info on Grasmere: "Grasmere is a charming village right in the heart of the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Grasmere lake lies to the south of the village, around which there are some gentle walks for those that prefer the lower ground. For those that prefer a greater challenge, in Grasmere you're centrally situated for taking on the craggy peaks of the Scafell Pikes, Helvellyn, Skiddaw and the Langdale Pikes. Grasmere was once the home of the famous poet William Wordsworth; today you can visit two of his former homes - Dove Cottage and Rydal Mount. Also in the centre of Grasmere is St. Oswalds Church, the churchyard of which contains the Wordsworth family graves."

Note: Some of the pictures were taken from the bus so they may be a bit blurry or have window reflection.

This area is also famous for being the sometime home of Beatrix Potter who lived in Wray Castle near Ambleside (a town we passed through but didn't stop in.)

Amazingly there were lots of people out and about and even three kayakers getting ready to put their boats in the water. It was admittedly a beautiful and unusually sunny day but still it could not have been more the 50 degrees so that water must have been really cold. I'm sure my mother wouldn't have even thought of going in as she sets the cut off for getting in the boat at an overall temperature of 60 degrees.  You can see the group through the trees in the picture with their brightly colored kayaks on the ground next to them.  We actually had seen them from the bus on our way into town as you can't park right next to the lake so they parked about 200 feet away and walked their boats and gear past the oncoming traffic and across the road to the lake. Our tour guide/bus driver John, made us laugh because as we passed he pointed out that the man (he called him the husband) was carrying two paddles while the women (he said wife) was about 50 feet in front carrying the kayak.  The majority of the couples on this tour are well into their 70's and have probably been married a great many years and they were hysterical at the comment.

In the tiny town I went it to St. Oswald's Church which was "...named after St Oswald, a 7th Century Christian King of Northumberland, who is said to have preached on this site. It is the parish church of Grasmere, Rydal and Langdale, and each township has its own separate gate into the churchyard.
The 13th century nave holds several memorials, including several to the Le Fleming family of Rydal Hall, but the one most people come to see is that of William Wordsworth. The North aisle, almost as big as the nave, was added in 1490 for the residents of Langdale."

I found it interesting to listen to their comments to John and vice versa, as we drive along because the tendency, and I'm not sure if this is just a British thing, is to find a complaint (although not nasty or even harsh, more observationally critical) about everything from the fact that certain trees, I think oaks, are practically extinct now in England and they aren't planting them any more to the notice of migrating birds from mainland Europe who have already begun to flee the cold there for the warmer British weather. The complaint in that observation was that those birds will eat all the food and the British birds will be left to starve. It's just funny to listen to these interesting culturally specific conversations and wonder what we American's would sound like on a tour of the States with foreigners listening in. I'd like to think we'd be less critical but we're all humans and pretty much we're all alike in the essentials so we probably sound exactly the same.

We left Grasmere and moved on past some of the most spectacular views of the day. The rugged mountains, some with waterfalls and babbling brooks, on both sides of us and sheep everywhere. There had also been a small rain storm while we were at Grasmere. It didn't last but a few minutes and left very little water on the ground but it magically produced a gorgeous wide-spanning rainbow. The whole bus was thrilled and I got a few good pictures. I do love rainbows and this one we passed directly under and through the middle of the arch and it's the first one I remember seeing the very starting point of it on the rocks very near us.

Oh yes, and just a bit more about the Grasmere sheep of which there are many in almost every field and pasture. As I walked along the Grasmere lake I saw a white sheep pretty close to the fence so I called out and he, or she snapped it's head up to look at me or rater glare at me. They do tend to look at me with something a kin to disgust but that could be my imagination and really they're just annoyed I got their attention and wasn't prepared to give them food. I mean look at him in this picture can't you just see his disgust with me. Or now that I look at it he kind of looks rather confused more than annoyed. Either way he is kind of cute.

We arrived in the next lake town, Keswich within 20 minutes or so and we spent two and half hours exploring the area. The town is famous for the invention of the pencil as we know it. A little history "The raw material for Keswick's major industry, pencil making, was purportedly discovered by a shepherd in Seathwaite in the Borrowdale Valley in 1550. The substance, known as black lead or graphite was initially used to brand sheep, leading to Borrowdale's claims to have made the first pencils in the world. In the 18th and early 19th C the mines were at their most productive. The description of pencil maker begins to appear in the Crosthwaite Parish Registers in the early 1800?s in the form of cottage industries and by the 19th and early 20thC there were several companies with pencil factories in Keswick. A wide range of pencils are still made in Keswick today. The Cumberland Pencil Museum tells the history of pencil making from early origins through to present day."

Our bus let us off at the Pencil Museum which does in fact have an exhibit on the origins of the pencil and it's importance to the local economy.  I walked into the main town area and found lots of shops and a small but interesting outdoor market with everything from local foods to arts wares.  It's not a huge town but they have a few rivers and parks and as well as a well-know theatre by the lake where they hold many productions through out the year.  I went into St. John's church on the hill where outside I met a women who lived across the path and she told me how to get to the lake which was about 5 minutes walk down the path so off I headed and found hoards of people heading there as well. And understandable why everyone came to visit, the lake is so beautiful with the mountains encircling it. There were lots of seagulls, ducks and geese clamoring around the entrance as tourist came with lots of goodies to feed them.  You can even buy duck food at the cafe across the way. I left the feedings to the masses and walked along the river for a bit enjoying the natural beauty.

Time flew and I headed back to the bus around 2pm so I had time to stop and get a sandwich for lunch as dinner wasn't going to be until 7pm.

So the trip back to Windermere was as exquisite as the one going and maybe more so because the sun was shining so brightly by then. There were lots of hikers out and about on trails and even some men near the lakes fishing but with their tents pitched I guess so they could sleep and get up early for the best catch.

It's a beautiful area and we have a few more places to visit tomorrow which I'm sure will be equally as impressive and inspiring in it's natural beauty.

A little history on the Lake District: The county of Cumbria is formed from the older counties of Cumberland, Westmorland, and parts of North Lancashire, and North Yorkshire. It contains The Lake District National Park, the largest national park in Britain, established in 1951 and covering 2,292 sq km (885 sq mi). It is an area of glaciated mountains - including Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England at 978 m (3,209 ft).It also contains a small part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.The northern ranges of the Lake District consist of Ordovician slate, about 500 million years old; the central ranges of younger volcanic rock; and a southern range of limestone and other Silurian rock about 440 million years old. These highlands are dissected by U-shaped valleys, known as dales, containing the lakes, some of which are artificial and all but one of which do not have the word “lake” in their names, being known instead as “meres” (Windermere, Grasmere, Thirlmere) or “waters” (Ullswater, Wastwater, Coniston Water); the exception is Bassenthwaite Lake. The animal life of the Lake District includes three unique species of fish: the schelly, the vendace, and the char; and a number of golden eagles.