Last day in the Lakes 5/7/13

Today has been our last full day in the Lake District. We have absolutely loved it! Except for the roads we've had to drive on. Narrow, you wouldn't believe how narrow! Mostly one car wide but they laughingly put white lines down the middle to pretend that there is room for cars to pass each other. A lot of time is spent sitting in small passing bays to allow other cars, buses (like the Mountain Goat), vans, tractors, cyclists, pedestrians and sometimes (most scarily, tour coaches)! Reverse is a gear frequently utilised in these parts. Small cars are a necessity! Some roads, of course, are so narrow that even line marking wouldn't fit.

Yesterday we went to one of the other lakes, Coniston Water. This is the lake Malcolm and later Donald Campbell used to break the speed record. Unfortunately Donald Campbell was killed here in 1967. We went for a cruise on a beautiful steam yacht called The Gondola. It was built in the 1860's and restored by the National Trust in the 1980's. it's a lovely boat and a most enjoyable cruise. Coniston Water is where Arthur Ransome wrote the Swallows and Amazons books.

We had lunch at the Bluebird Cafe, named after the Campbells boats. It was very nice. Coniston Water is a very dog friendly place. There were lots of dogs in the cafe, the water, on boats, on the beach areas and even on the little tourist train. In Coniston they even have an Honest Shop - no shopkeeper or till, just a book where you write down what you bought and a money box to put in your money! Amazing!

 

Today we went for a walk across the fields between us and the lake. The grass was far longer than expected and very, very wet. It looks beautiful but is very hard to walk through. We walked back and changed our shoes then went went for a walk along the roads and the little footpaths around Near Sawrey and Far Sawrey. We walked for an hour or so then came back for the car and drove on more scary roads to Ambleside. We spent a pleasant afternoon in Ambleside and then visited Hawkshead before coming back to the apartment to pack and get organised to leave tomorrow.

Off to Blackpool tomorrow....

 

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Hill Top Farm, Near Sawrey

We walked down the road (about 400 metres) to the car park and National Trust ticket office for Hill Top Farm. This is the placevBeatrix Potter owned and where she wrote many of her stories. The farm is about another 300 metres past the ticket office. The farm house is just how it would have been when she lived there. She made it a condition of her will that the National Trust (who she left everything to in her will) maintained it as her home and a working farm. Of course, you MAY NOT take photos inside the house!

The gardens of the farm house are beautiful and there are sheep in the fields all around. Many of her later stories were written in Hill Top Farm and in the area around Near Sawrey. You can see the features in the house and surroundings that she used in her books. She wrote The Tale of Mr Jeremy Fisher, The tale of Tom Kitten, The Tale Of Jemima Puddleduck, The Tale of Samuel Whiskers, The Tale of Ginger and Pickles, The tale of Mr Tod and The Tale of Pigling Bland at Hill Top Farm. There was even a bunny family in the field.

As you walk to Hill Top Farm you walk past some of the scenes that she used in her books. There is even a scarecrow-type figure of Mr McGregor that you can sit with and have your photo taken.

The apartment where we are staying is next door to the house Beatrix Potter's family first stayed in when they first came to the Near Sawrey from London on their holidays. The house was called Lakefield and is a very large country house. Where we are staying was obviously built on land sold off at a later stage as there is a small stone potting shed outside which supposedly was the inspiration for Mr McGregor in The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Well it's a nice story and I'd like it to be true.

We are staying at Little Ees Wyke and Lakefield is now called Ees Wyke. They both overlook Esthwaite Water. It is beautiful! The views just go on and on.

 

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Lake District

We left York on Monday and drove towards Cumbria. The weather got worse and worse as we drove from east to west. We drove to Keighley and 'Bronte' country. We stopped at Haworth and visited the church of St Michael and All Angels, which was where Patrick Bronte was the minister. It has the memorial stone for all the Bronte children.

We then visited the parsonage itself. It is a tremendous museum containing an enormous number of artefacts from all the members of the Bronte family. There are books, letters, clothing, furniture, drawings, paintings, needlcraft, etc. The family was a very tragic one. Mr Patrick Bronte outlived all 6 of his children and his wife by many years. Charlotte was the longest lived and she was dead at 39! He died at the age of 84. Of course you may Not take photos inside the parsonage!

We did, however, meet a couple of very nice cats who were wandering around the parsonage, church and village.

The village itself is a very steep Yorkshire village with cobbled streets, little parking, lots of tearooms and souvenir shops and magnificent views. Very beautiful.

We left Haworth and began the long drive to the Lake District. The scenery was stunningly beautiful! The Yorkshire Dales look just as you imagine them. Hills and valleys, great amounts of fields, farms, sheep, grass and sky.

We drove for another couple of hours and arrived in Near Sawrey at about 4.00pm. The last 12 Kms of the trip were the most hair-raising as the GPS (or Simon as he is commonly called), chose to direct us down a single lane road which was being resurfaced into the bargain!! White knuckle driving, indeed.

We did arrive safely and found our beautiful apartment. It overlooks Esthwaite Waters and is next door to the house where Beatrix Potter spent her holidays. It is also only 400 metres or so from her home at Hill Top Farm.

 

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