Fond memories of the Lake District

Most of my time in the Lake District was rainy, windy, and cold. Because of the very bad weather, some folks cut their vacations short and just went home. The wind was so bad one day that most of the outside areas of the Lake Windermere Visitors Center were closed.

Most of the time I was gone, it rained in a lot of other places too. With that in mind, how could I resist taking a photo of this sign? Remember this the next time you're complaining about the day.

I thought I'd share just a few more photos of the beautiful scenery. 

We like to visit places named "Chester" if they are convenient. Although we rarely go more than an hour out of our way, we've visited quite a few "Chesters" over the years. I could probably write a book about our experiences visiting some of these places.

Friends had told me that while in Ambleside we must visit Chesters By The River, a cafe and shop on the Brathay River.

 

I understand there used to be samplers on the wall, but sadly they are no longer there.  Instead this is what we found of an artistic nature.



Tom likes to photograph unusual or interesting meals. Before digital photography, Tom would even set up his tripod to take the photos. Of course, this would embarrass our children tremendously.

Now the children are grown, and Tom no longer uses his tripod for his "food" photos, but he's still taking them. Here are a few he took on the trip.
 

As you have probably gathered from my previous posts, there were sheep everywhere in the Lake District.  I've never seen so many sheep nor knew there were so many varieties.  Here is a Herdwick sheep.  I really like the "unusual" coloring.

I love this little Bridge House in Ambleside.  Wouldn't it make a great needlework studio?

Driving was quite an adventure, and I was only the passenger, and not the driver.  Driving on the left didn't bother me, but the very narrow roads with stone walls on both sides and not enough room for two cars to pass certainly did. Thankfully, we didn't attempt Hardknott Pass, which is definitely not recommended for anyone who gets motion sick or is afraid of heights like I am.

We had an unexpected driving adventure our first night in Ambleside. We had driven about a half mile to a restaurant—we would have walked but it was raining. After a lovely dinner, we headed back to the inn where we were staying. However, "thanks" to the one-way streets and one wrong turn, our GPS routed us on a narrow and windy mountain road which also had lots of fog. What we thought would be a 5-minute drive turned into a 40-minute one, and we saw more sheep than cars on the road! Tom later told me he was thankful it was so foggy that I couldn't see very the steep drops. I've decided the next time we're in such a situation, I'll walk regardless of how hard it is raining or how windy it is!

And of course, what would a trip to England be without enjoying some tea? I discovered Lady Grey, which is lighter than Earl Grey and also has some orange and lemon flavors. Wonderful! You can bet I'll be looking for some here.

Several people asked about the very large flowering tree I was standing under in one of the photos from Muncaster Castle. It was a very, very large rhododendron. We were told that at one time Muncaster Castle had the largest collection of rhododendrons in the world.