Windermere – The Lakes District - 21 – 24 June

We got to Windermere, one of the largest towns in the Lake District, in mid afternoon.  It was a really lovely sunny day (or so we thought).  We found out that the Olympic torch was coming through that afternoon and there was also going to be a concert and a 3 day swim meet on the lake.   Suffice to say, there were a hell of a lot of people around.  We couldn’t believe our luck, the hotel we were in (really an upmarket B&B), was a really beautiful old building, had gotten some tripadvisor award for excellence etc.  They had the best breakfasts too, and the single malt on offer was as smooth as….

the entrance to our room

it looked so 'opulent' I had to add a picture so you would be jealous

The first night we went to a restaurant called 'Hooked' run by a guy from Brighton in Melbourne.  He based the restaurant on Claypot in St Kilda.  It was great seafood and he had plenty of Australian and NZ wines on offer.

However, our luck with good weather ran out.  It rained for 3 days.  Back in Australia you may have heard of the floods in the north of England, well, it was not a rumour.  Anyway, we went to the best restaurants whilst we were there and managed to see some of the countryside via a bus trip.  It started a bit late as supposedly the bus got stuck behind 2 cars stuck in water (one on each side of a flooded road).  The roads are so tiny around here.  If 2 buses meet on a country road one of the buses usually has to back up to find a wider part of the road so that they can pass.

Anyway, we got to see some of the countryside, patchwork fields, dry stone walls everywhere, cute cottages, skinny little winding roads, waterfalls, belted galloway cows (oreo cows as someone called them), a couple of Beatrix Potter’s 13 houses, William Worthsworth's house and lots of rain.

Yew Tree farm - one of beatrix potter's 13 properties - this one was used for filming the movie about her life and stood in for Hilltop (even though it is not Hilltop)

Hilltop. One of beatrix potter's 13 properties

Hilltop garden

the church and graveyard where Wordsworth is buried

Bowness - on- Windermere

Bowness

Skelwith force (waterfall)

Skelwith force (waterfall)

St Martin's church in Grasemere - dates back to 1600's I think

St Martin's church interior

gondolos on lake windermere

tarn something

a cottage in grasmere



Dove Cottage - the house where Wordsworth lived

 We also had a  bit of rain coming under the door of our room in the B&B and were offered another night for free, but unfortunately we had already booked our London accom.  We left Windermere somewhat reluctantly (despite the rain).  The train was pretty busy, it was a Sunday, school hols and the end of the swim meet, so everyone was going back to London, but we managed to get a seat.