Day 7 - The Lake and Day 8 - Rain

July 8:  The weather started out dubiously so we opted for boat rides and a couple of short walks on Lake Windermere.  We started late but walked to the pier at Waterhead to catch the first of 3 lake steamers or cruiser rides on the lake.  The first destination was Wray's Castle, which was a private home built in the shape of a castle in the late 1900s by an eccentric husband for his wife .  It is now owned by the National Trust and can be toured inside for a price that was too high for us to visit a fake castle.

We next walked south along the forested west side of the lake to about the midpoint, a distance of 4 miles.  The trees were impressively tall - oaks predominate, with birches, elms, rowans, etc., sprinkled in.  This was an area where charcoal was made in prior times and trees were routinely coppiced to provide wood.  Piles were built on large flat stones, covered with leaves and then soil, and then lit.  The piles burned for up to 2 days, producing charcoal.

At the halfway point down the lake and opposite Belle Island, we caught the second boat for a ride across to Bowness.  This is a tourist town that has pretty much merged with Windermere.  It has lots of shops, restaurants, pubs and hotels/guest houses.  We stopped for afternoon tea, with scones, clotted cream and jam.

We next walked up to a viewpoint overlooking the town in search of the official end of the Dales Way, an 81-mile long walking path.  We got chatting with a friendly man wearing a South Lakes District Council shirt who was out walking his dog.  We ended up walking with him up to Brant's Fell with an  impressive 360 degree view down the lake, to Morecombe Bay on the coast, and toward fells in every other direction.  The man was quite talkative and we only had to listen.  He told us of his favorite spots in the Lakes District, the best pubs and local beer (Collywobbles), and other local tidbits.  His daughter was married a year ago on the lake shore, and he is anticipating a trip to Las Vegas for his son's wedding in 2 years.  He was something of character, joking with us that some cows we were passing were first looking at us and then were fixing to charge us.  They obviously didn't.  We thanked him for all the information; he was off to the pub to drink with someone (aged 86) that "could drink him under the table."  He did this every Friday evening.

We made it back to the Pier, caught a larger boat that took us back to Waterhead by way of Brockhole.  We ambled up the back streets to our cottage and crashed.  We ate in and then watched a DVD - Dirty, Rotten Scoundrels, starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin, as con men on the Riviera, who get conned by a woman.

July 9:  It rained and rained.  The clouds remained low all day.  We hunkered down, though we went out for coffee and to mailed a package to the US midday.  Late in the afternoon, we took ourselves out to the local moviehouse to see Now You See Me, about a team of magicians who use illusions to combat bad guys.  The cast was mostly young Americans but included Michael Caine and Daniel Ratcliffe as the bad guys.  It was an entertaining bit of fluff.  We followed the movie with a nice dinner at a Thai restaurant.  Good food but a bit spicy.

Day 5 - Yoga and a Force and Day 6 - Another Fell-Pike

July 6:  We slept in, but Betsy needed a yoga fix.  She spotted a yoga class near us at a convenient time and trotted down in the morning to see how it worked.  For 8 pounds, she got to stretch and bend, and tells me she is now sore but got what she needed.  Meanwhile, I planned a 3-day excursion to the NW Lakes District for Sunday through Tuesday.

About noon, expecting rain later, we walked up our back street to the entrance of Stock Ghyll Park, a small city-managed park to see Stock Ghyll Force.  It is a handsome dual waterfall of about 50 feet with numerous additional cascades below.  We walked up one bank and down the other side.  There is what I call a "cleaver" of rock that splits the water at the head of the falls, thus making two roughly equal halves.

Stock Ghyll Force

We then walked up around the edge of town on some one-lane roads and a bridle path, reentering the town near another pub named the Golden Rule.  We had to stop for a break.  The pub was quiet and quintessentially British.  There were black timbers on the ceiling, which was under 7 feet high, horse brasses nailed to the timbers, and pictures and other doodads covering the entire wall spaces.  There were also little round stools, bankettes and iron-legged, round tables, exactly what a traditional pub has.  I thought this decor would work great in our basement back in Portland, though Betsy wasn't too keen.

We finished up our afternoon stroll by visiting a very large garden center on the south end of town.  It has a full array of plants, bushes and trees, outdoor furniture, green house kits, grills with all of the accessories, fire pits, garden pots and ornaments, fountains, water plants, and all manner of implements and tools.  It was so large that it had two cafes and is quite a local attraction.  We strolled home and relaxed.  We ate in and I watched some of the Euro Soccer Championship - Wales got beaten by Portugal.

July 7:  Today was another hiking day.  We completed a 7.1 mile circuit east and uphill of Ambleside.  After leaving the cottage, we went straight up (in the traditional English route engineering) to nearly 1,600 ft to the top of Wansfell Pike.  The path was completely lined with rock slabs sunk partway into the ground, creating a series of ramp-like steps that made for easy if energetic walking.

Going up Wansfell Pike, Ambleside in the background

We reached the summit in an hour and took in the view for quite awhile.  We could see: four parallel ridges or fells running north of us (we were standing on the end of one of them), Ambleside, all of Lake Windermere to the south,  Morecambe Bay on the coast further south, and a variety of fells, pikes, crags, etc. to the west.  The highest fells were in the clouds.  Scafell, the highest mountain in England, is in this direction.

Lake Windermere and westward

Ambleside and more westward views

Kirkstone Pass and Red Scree to the left, looking northward

After leaving the top we had a gentler descent through sheep pastures into the village of Troutbeck.  There is a pub here called the Mortal Man, but we went to the tea shop in the old Post Office, instead.  After coffee and a treat, we went of in search of a National Trust property - a traditional home lived in by a prosperous farming family for 400 years.  We found it, but it was closed for repairs.  "Wet rot" was found in the main beams of the house which are being replaced.

Troutbeck Old Post Office - now a tea shop

Prosperous Farm House, under renovation

The rest of the hike was a traverse around the south end of the ridge through "woods" and by pastures with sheep and a few cows.  The rock walls that divide the grazing areas are massive and run all the way up the fell sides.  We crossed lots of becks (aka. streams) and arrived home mid-afternoon.  No rain, midges, mosquitos, or flies, and cool temperatures - a perfect day for walking.

View from Troutbeck

A massive stone wall

A 'beck' with a gnarly tree

Day 3 - Rain and Day 4 - Two Crags and a Fell

July 4:  It rained.  We hung around the cottage but stirred mid afternoon for a walk down to Waterhead and a look at Galava, a Roman fort.  It rained particularly hard on the walk to the historic site.  It was excavated in the 1920s and shows the foundation outlines of several entry gates and three buildings.  We walked back in lighter rain along the River Rothay looking for otters, which are at the top of the food chain here.  We didn't see any, but Betsy spotted a 5 inch long crawfish in the water.  The water is crystal clear.

What the Main Gate was thought to look like

The foundation for an officer's quarters

July 5:  It didn't rain and we hiked up Todd Crag, followed by Ivy Crag, and then reached the high point of Loughrigg Fell.  This was followed by a well-earned beer at the Britannia Pub in the small town of Elterwater.

The hike was 9.25 miles long and 1,600 feet in elevation gain.  The hiking was marvelous, my feet are behaving, though duct tape is helping with the hot spots, and the views impressive.  We climbed immediately out of Ambleside to the west, reaching the rolling plateau of the Loughrigg Fell.  There were numerous crags, which are rocky outcrops or high points that have at least one side that is cliff-like (i.e., vertical faces of rocks).  There were several tarns in the low spots and some boggy areas and rivulets.  The landscape in not totally natural, but a result of hundreds of years of grazing and tramping by Herdwick sheep.  There is also lots of bracken on the upper slopes.

Ambleside - Waterhead - Lake Windermere

There were many other folks out walking and enjoying the good weather.  After reaching the second crag, we decided to push on to the highest point of the fell and easily conquered it.  It is only 335 meters high or 1,099 feet.  We sat at the top and got talking with a guy who was hiking solo and was a local, with local knowledge.  He explained the differences between a crag and a fell.  By the way, a fell in the entire land mass of a single mountain and can have lots of crags on it.  He didn't know where the term 'rigg' came from but guessed it was Norwegian.  It was a good guess, but Wikipedia says "Rigg" comes from the Scottish word for "ridge" or "furrow."  Many of the tallest fells are named "Something Rigg."  The local guy also identified a pair of soaring birds for us as  'buzzards.'  

The summit climb

The Peak

We descended rather abruptly, almost to the southern edge of Grasmere Lake, but turned south over a low pass toward the village of Elterwater.  We passed a nice looking Youth Hostel, called High Close, and walked down a twisting road to Elterwater.  We beelined to the very traditional Britannia Pub, since it was a suggested stop in one of the hiking books in our cottage, aptly named "Good Walk, Good Pub, 20 circular walks with a good pub in the middle."  We stopped for a local beer (me), cider (Betsy) and a warm tomato and mozzarella sandwich.

The view looking west

Britannia Pub

After our break, we left Elterwater and walked along a short portion of the well-graded Cumbria Way following the River Brathay, passing a 3-lake combination known as Elter Water, the Skelwith Force (a waterfall), the bedroom hamlets of Skelwith Bridge, Skelwith Fold and Clappersgate, and then along Bog Lane.  We also passed some "hows," "coppices," and "woods."  We arrived back in Ambleside after crossing the River Rothay.  

We had take-away fish and chips for dinner.

Day 2 - Hike 1

July 3:  The first hike in the Lakes District was to be a low-level, easy one.  It turned out to be closer to 'moderate.'  We covered 10.2 miles and climbed 1,000 feet.  We walked out of Ambleside, passing the skinniest house , a tiny stone structure now used as an information center.  The house was built over the river in the 18th century to avoid land taxes.  Tax dodges have been around for a long time.

Skinniest House, over the River

We walked northwest along the main roadway toward Rydal for a while, but diverted off onto a bridle path, past sheep pastures and a 'hydro scheme,' a small hydroelectric plant with a "twin jet Pelton turbine"  and less than 1 MW of output.  We came into the hamlet of Rydal, first encountering Rydal Hall, the classical home of Le Fleming family, but now a church retreat/conference center whose grounds were open for exploring.  The formal garden in front was particularly nice.  We had elevenses at the tea shop next to Rydal Beck, a burbling and pretty creek.

Garden at Rydal Hall

'Elevenses'

Sitting in the Rydal Hall Garden

Our next stop was Rydal Mount, the last residence of William Wordsworth.  It is here that he composed his famous poem Daffodils.  He lived out his life here (moving in 1813; dying at age 80 in 1850) and planted/designed much of the garden in a glorious romantic style.  After his daughter Dora died, being sickly most of her life, he bought a neighboring field and planted it in daffodils.  It was downhill from the house next to the river or Rydal Water outlet.  We didn't go down to this field, now known as Dora's Field, but toured the house and gardens.  Although Wordsworth was a tenant when he lived there, the house was purchased by later generations and is still in the family.  It is owned by Susan Wordsworth Andrew, a great, great granddaughter.  Many of the rooms were open to the public, with lots of memorabilia - photos, original letters and furniture, even though the house is still used as a residence.  The house, of white stucco, was comfortable and appealing, with many windows looking out to the gardens and the surrounding fells, woods, and lakeland.

Rydal Mount

Wordsworth's Famous Poem

We next walked toward Grasmere, up from the edge of Rydal Water, following the 'Coffin' road.  This track was the route used to haul coffins from Ambleside to Grasmere for burial before Ambleside got a church.  It would have been hard toiling carrying a coffin over the rocks and tree roots.  The route is also just below Nab Scar, a rocky face on the northside fell.

We reached the outskirts of Grasmere, passing by stony Dove Cottage, Wordsworth's earlier residence.  We went on into center of town, stopping at ancient St. Oswald's Church, where Wordsworth and his family are buried.  The inside of the church is unique in that it was originally built as two churches that shared a common wall.  There were two roofs and separate entrances.  Later, arches were cut into the common wall and a single, oak, timber-framed roof replaced the two roofs.

St. Oswald's Church

We walked out of town and around the west and south side of Grasmere Water.  We reached a 'terrace' with a grand view back over the water, the town of Grasmere and the mountain formation of Helm Crag.  We walked past this crag 3 years ago when on the Coast to Coast Trail.  It is also known as the 'Lion and the Lamb.'  We continued back toward Ambleside walking by a cave, which is really a disused quarry.  It has a huge entrance with a lake covering the floor.

We descended to the lane that ran along the river flowing out of Rydal Water and into Lake Windermere (River Rothay).  We arrived at Ambleside at Rothay Park (the town park) and walked across town to our cottage.

Ambleside

Downtown Ambleside

Day 1 - Ambleside

July 2: Our first full day in Ambleside, Cumbria with blustery weather and lots of rain showers.  It is okay since we had routine things to accomplish today.  We started a load of laundry, each had haircuts, I had my beard trimmed, did some more grocery shopping for dinner supplies , and I went looking for new boots.  We also watched the town's annual "Rushbearing" festivities, a parade through the town to commemorate the annual replacement of rushes used to cover the dirt floor in the local church.  Children are the primary bearers, carrying clusters of substantial reeds (like those used for thatched roofs) bound and decorated with flowers,  and they are rewarded at the end with treats.  The parade was accompanied by a good brass band.  There is even a hymn that remembers the event of the past.  We followed along  at the end of the parade line, but it started raining again, so we ducked into The Unicorn, our second pub, for a pint.

Ambleside is at the north end of Windermere Lake, the largest lake in England (10 miles long, 1 mile wide), and is the heart of the Lakes District.  It is a popular tourist destination and a mecca for walking, hiking, and biking.  The town has tourist shops, numerous hiking and camping stores (some quite large), and multiple restaurants.  After researching plantar fasciitis causes, cures, and best footwear for it, I went in search for a new, lightweight, waterproof and stiff pair of hiking boots.  After visiting most of the stores in town, I bought a pair of Salomon's with special ortho insoles that feel great.  With luck, my sore feet will soon recover.

London to the Lakes District

July 1: We were up and ready to move by 8:45 am after a "full English breakfast" at the Mentone.  We walked ourselves to the Euston Train Station with our four suitcases.  We parked in front of the big train board, waiting for the platform information to come up.  Twenty minutes before departure, the platform number came up - number 13, an potentially ominous sign.  We hustled off to try to find the unreserved cars.  There were no appropriate labels and after hauling and stowing our stuff onto the last car, Betsy asked the dining car attendants where the unreserved seats were.   The signs on the cars only gave us two choices - first class and "standard."  It turned out that the first two cars in standard were unreserved and the rest of "standard" was reserved.  So, we hustled back through the cars to find seats in an appropriate car.  We dropped our packs and ran back outside to the previous car, retrieved our luggage, carried it back to our new car, and stowed it.  By this time, we were sweating profusely but we had two seats together.  The train departed moments later.

The ride to Oxenholme, on the south east edge of  the Lakes District, was uneventful.  We passed through Birmingham and Manchester, and several smaller cities before reaching Oxenholme.  We quickly disembarked and just as quickly jumped on a train on the opposite of the platform.  It was the 'express' train to Windermere.and we had only a short wait before this train departed.  Note, Oxenholme is just south of the larger city of Kendall for those looking at a map.  The ride to Windermere was a 'local,' with several intermediate stops, and we arrived without difficulty.

Once in Windermere, I went to retrieve the two packages of hiking gear we had mailed from Fort William after the West Highland Way hike.  The mailman complained to me that we shouldn't have mailed parcels to them, since they were a small office and "if we allowed everyone to do this, then there would be no room for us to work."  Interestingly, he pointed out in a brochure that for the time they held the packages, I owed them 13 pounds.  I didn't argue, paid the money, and walked back to the train station.  Betsy had snagged a very friendly taxi driver, who was helpful and talkative, to drive us to Ambleside.  The trip took a while although it was only 5 miles.  There was road construction and a continuous flow of tourist traffic on a Friday afternoon.  The driver gave us a brochure on the local bus system and pointed out a number of sights along the way.  He drove us right to the door and while I opened our home for the next 28 days, he carried all of the luggage and boxes down to the front entry.

Our new accommodation, 1 Loughrigg View, Low Gale, Ambleside, Cumbria, United Kingdom, LA22 0BB (the address) or "Walkers Retreat," is a ground floor flat with a utility room (washer/dryer), kitchen, and living/dining room with a view of Ambleside roofs and Loughrigg Fell.  The bathroom is behind the kitchen and, six steps up are two opposing bedrooms.  The amenities look good, it is clean, and it appears to be well equipped for cooking.  We unpacked, which felt satisfying.  The flat is just above a main street in Ambleside which we can reach by a private footpath.  Although we can hear traffic, it is screened from view by banks of shrubbery.

We went off to town, going downhill by way of the path, to one of about 3 main parallel streets.  We found the largest (it is rather small) grocery place (Tesco's) and bought breakfast supplies.  We also found an interesting "early 1, 2 or 3-course early dinner option" at The Lily and returned there to eat after stowing our groceries.  It turns out Lily's is one of about 7 pubs in the town.  Dinner was fine and we walked a bit around town before calling it a night.

Paris to London

June 30:  We were up and out for about 4 hours in Paris before tubing to the Paris Nord Train Station and catching the Eurostar train to London.  We started with breakfast at a typical corner shop with red checked tablecloths and chairs (like you have seen in photographs).  We then walked around central Paris, roughly following a route laid out by Rick Steves.  I listened to some of his commentary on his app.  We had experienced in prior trips most of the highlights that he described and which we re-saw - Notre Dame, St, Chapelle, Pont Neuf ("new bridge although it is the oldest bridge across the river), Rive Gache, Shakespeare and Co., Sorbonne, Ile d' St. Louis, Deportation Monument, and gelato shops.

We walked back through the Marais and its several open air markets.  We picked up some cherries for the train rides.  We retrived our luggage, walked back to Gare Lyon to catch the underground to Nord Station, after a false starts to find the correct track, and arrived at Nord about an hour before the Eurostar departed.  The fun began.  And, I am doing something I don't generally do in any travel blog I write - I am complaining and recounting a bad part of our trip.

After finding the departure area for the Eurostar Train, no small feat, we began a four-part gauntlet.  Step one, go upstairs with luggage, fill out a "landing card" which was easy and get in a queue to check-in.  Step two, we passed through French Passport Control - the agent stamped our passport with no questions - also easy except for the wait.  Step three, we waited a long time after getting directed into the slowest possible line imaginable, and we ran smack into English "Border Force."  We could see the agent serving our line was spending lots of quality time with passengers in front of us.  We finally made it up to her and fortunately Betsy got an equal amount of quality time;  I would have lost it.  The agent wanted to know when we arrived in the UK, how long we had been in the Schengen Area ??, when we were leaving the UK and whether we had investigated the regulations on long-term visits to Europe and the U.K.  After listening to her tell us we needed to research these regulations and be prepared to adjust our plans, she let us pass.  Step four, we passed through security - empty your pockets, but otherwise okay.  Though we had to left our luggage up onto the conveyor belt.  We managed to complete these steps in about 45 minutes and flowed into a waiting area with few seats and lots of passengers.  There were no information signs on where to go.  We flowed with others after some mumbled annoucement, having to carry our luggage back downstairs to board the train. Fortunately, there was a moving ramp.

After we arrived in London, I investigated long-term visit regulations and the Schengen Area.  It turns out that US citizens can visit the UK for up to 180 days and can visit the Schengen Area (a collection of 23 countries that make up most of Europe) for 90 cumulative days over a 180-day period.  One can come and leave the Schengen Area as often as you want accumulating up to 90 days.  The 180-day period begins on the first day of the trip.  I sat down and calculated the statistics for our personal trip.  Total length is 156 days, 116 in the UK and the rest in Italy, Greece, Switerzland, France and Iceland.  So now, we can answer all of the Border Force's questions.  Immigration has become a big issue in Europe.

Our Eurostar train ride was uneventful passing through Lille, France, Calais and into Folkstone, England, after going through the Chunnel.  The Chunnel passing was surprising quick, without any slowing or pauses.  I enjoy cruising along at 180 mph - the foreground is blurry and can get to you but the long view is fine.  The countryside changes quickly.  Trains passing in the other direction are a momentary whoosh and are nearly invisible.

We arrived to St. Pancreas Station in London, walked to the Mentone Hotel and checked in.  The luggage we left at the hotel in mid-May was there.  We retrieved it, did some computer work (Schengen research) and went out to investigate train routes to Windermere, Lakes District.  We bought 'flexible' tickets for 9:43 am, which meant we did not have reserved seats - a source of some concern for tomorrow given we had no idea how many other tickets they might sell and that we now had 6 pieces of luggage (four suitcases and two backpacks).

We then went to dinner at Diwana, a vegetarian Indian place we ate at 3 years ago, before walking the Coast to Coast Trail.  Dinner was good and a good value for the money.  We retired and mentally prepared for the next day, the last travel day for a while.