Poetry and Pints. (Lake District)

Member Name: QueenElf

Product:	Lake District
Date:	12/10/05 (1038 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Breath-taking scenery, friendly people, lovely food.

Disadvantages: Only the weather.

I considered the wisdom of doing yet another travel so soon and yet I still felt one was missing, one which I need to write for a special reason. Throughout the years most of my UK holidays have been taken with my friend Ann whether or not we were in already in a relationship those yearly holidays were meant for us alone an affirmation of our long friendship and doing things together which we both enjoyed. Ann and I were born on the same day in the same ward of our local hospital; I’m the elder by one hour. We actually met in our early twenties and our relationship is closer than sisters, its still going strong 30 years later. So a lot of my review is going to be a personal experience rather than an in-depth review of places and sightseeing, indulge me for a while, this was a special holiday.


The planning would start around six months beforehand, sometimes longer and as our holiday drew near the sense of anticipation would have us both caught up in the grip of excitement. Our holidays had to be prepared right down to the last detail, as Ann’s health was always poor and sharing the driving our route would need to take in rest stops for us both. I was suffering then from stress myself and little did I know that this would be our penultimate proper holiday. So travel with me on a journey through the land of poets and artists, that glorious expanse of land called the Lake District.

Our Experiences
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Our two-week holiday was booked for the middle of September at a caravan site based at Grange-over-Sands on the lower edge of the Lake District. We stopped the night before at Liverpool with a relation of Ann’s, as the journey was very long for both of us. We arrived at our site a little before 1pm but were allowed to use our caravan straight away so after unpacking our clothes we set off to buy some basic food to see us through a day. After a very welcome cuppa we decided to drive into the nearest small village where we found a few decent shops and an off-licence. There wasn’t any beach to speak of but we did find beautifully landscaped gardens and an information centre on the front overlooking the sea. Stopping off for a quick drink we looked at the leaflets we had gathered, as usual we had two of everything! An early night seemed a good idea so we had a takeaway from the camp’s chip shop and planned our next day.

I don’t think either of us had realised what a large area we had chosen, the Lake District is the largest national park in Britain with 2,292 square kilometres of fells, lakes, villages, dales and some high mountain passes. Our tastes are very similar so we already had a list of things we just had to do and see but some of the places on our list were a fair way to drive so we worked out a system of alternating a long trip with a short one. Fortunately Windermere is very close to Grange-over-Sands so our first main trip was to Bowness-on-Windermere a quaint little village with narrow streets and some good local shops. It’s also the home of the Beatrix Potter exhibition well worth a visit. Our main stop was at Windermere to find out what boat trips were available and when they sailed we wanted to do an early evening trip and catch some of the sunset, finding ourselves with a few hours free we drove into Ambleside and had a late lunch in one of the many little cafes here.

What an experience it turned out to be, from the moment we set foot on one of the large steamers our cameras were clicking away capturing the scenery before settling down to enjoy the pleasure of gently being carried along the lake. A few small boats passed by with an adventurous water-skier rippling the water. As the sun began to set the surface of the lake turned from blue to red and gold and being the passenger that day I had a large glass of wine and enjoyed the whole experience so much we were to return later on to do the trip again. The drive back was eerie with only parts of the road lit up but it added to the atmosphere and for once the radio was silent in the car and our conversation muted.

So the days passed and the sun kept shining down on us while we explored as far away as Keswick driving through mountain passes to visit Castlerigg Stone Circle brooding high above the town. Other days we spent exploring Grizedale Forest home to Red squirrels, roe and red deer but never managed to catch a performance at the concert theatre in the heart of the forest. The visitor centre here was quite spectacular with wooden carvings peeking out between the trees surprising you when you came across them unexpectedly. Hill Top and Hawkshead were close and again both places have connections with Beatrix Potter, Ann was delighted as she collects the figurines. One of our favourite routes was to return via the small ferry at the narrow end of Windermere even though it was about £2.50 to cross each time it added that extra touch to each journey.

Choosing different places to visit proved harder than we thought knowing that we had long drives before us to reach some of the further places such as Penrith and Ullswater. We had already visited Keswick and wanted to return again to try our hand at sailing a dinghy but knew that it was the longest drive we could fit in and still have sufficient energy to make the long return back to our base so some compromises were called for. A railway trip was always part of any holiday so we chose the Ravenglass and Eskdale railway starting at the bottom of Ravenglass and reaching through the passes terminating at the unlikely named village of Boot, near to the notorious steep Hardknott pass. The beauty of this trip is in its flexibility you can choose to park at one end of the railway and buy a whole day pass allowing you to alight at any of the lovely stops on the way to walk, eat or just ramble. We chose to take the full trip to the top and after a picnic lunch went for a walk along a mountain road finding waterfalls and little streams on the way.

After reaching a sufficient height the views were glorious, autumn had turned the trees into a dazzling display of colour and sitting by a rowan tree covered in red berries we bathed our feet in an icy mountain stream. Hurrying back to catch the last train we found overselves in a misty landscape but kept on course by remembering the old Celtic cross we saw in a churchyard near to the village.
La’al Ratty (little narrow way) as its affectionately called by the locals took us safely back through the wonderful 7-mile journey passing under bridges where walkers & sight-seers waved enthusiastically to us, this was one of the best railway trips I have ever been on.

In between the longer journeys there was plenty to see and do around our base, Holker Hall, former home of the Dukes of Devonshire and built in the 17th century was a mere five minute drive away. Lovingly restored with informal gardens and no rope barriers to seal you off we wandered at leisure enjoying the local woodcarvings and visiting the deer park. Coniston was another lovely trip bounded on one side by Coniston Water and Grizedale forest on the other. The craggy Old Man of Coniston towering 2635 feet high dominates the village of grey-slate houses while a short walk leads to Ruskin Museum with many fine paintings, drawings and personal effects of this Victorian artist.

When people think of the Lake District they usually think of it as hiking, visiting lakes and as the home of the great poet Wordsworth so to miss out on a trip to Rydal Water a placid place of great beauty that inspired much of his poetry would be sacrilege to me. Dove cottage where he was born stands nearby in Grasmere but he actually lived most of his life at Rydal Mount stone farmhouse overlooking the water. We didn’t visit either of these places instead we were both content to take in the breathtaking view and wonder on the visions he must have seen to inspire his poetry.

The highlight of our trip was our second visit to Keswick and the sailing on Derwent water. Every holiday we planned to try a new activity and learning to sail a dinghy was our goal this time. Derwent water was ideal for this as most beginners try the larger lakes. For a while we thought we were lost as the turnoff to the centre we had chosen wasn’t very inviting but our booking had been made for two hours on the water so with more than a little trepidation we parked the car and went to find our instructor. To this day I wonder who was the most surprised, out twenty-something young instructor seemed far too young to us while he must have had wondered what two forty-plus women were doing trying sailing for the first time.

Duly clad with life preservers we stepped into the dinghy where our guide talked us very briefly through all the names of several types of equipment little of which I now remember apart from the “boom”. He made everything look so easy and soon we were out on the lake while our young man seemed to be showing off by deliberately showing us what could go wrong tacking against the wind and leaning us precariously near to the water. After an hour it was our turn to try and while our instructor lazed around we were kept busy trying to keep upright with no time to take the pictures we thought we could do to prove we had actually sailed a dinghy ourselves.
The little I remember is holding onto a rope while running some through my hands to keep the dinghy on course. This required constant checking to make sure the little flag at the top of the mast was flying in the right direction (experienced sailors please don’t laugh). One gust of wind was all it took for us to veer off course and dodging the boom kept us on our toes.

Just as we thought we had got it right and could steer towards the far end of the lake something went wrong and all was panic stations for a while, our instructor seemed totally at ease and not once lifted a finger to help us (lazy sod). Still, it was an exhilarating experience and I would recommend you try this (as long as you can swim). Seriously though, I am sure we were never at any risk but stepping onto the quay I know we both had wobbly legs for a while.

The rest of our holiday passed in a blur as we veered off the track and found places to walk by the lakes, gentle walks we could both make and stopping at tiny villages we found a little more of the natural way of life, something we both consider an essential part of any holiday.

Food & Drink
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Neither of us felt up to a lavish night out after driving, walking and doing some shopping so my memories of restaurants are very limited. I remember a very good pub in Grange-over-Sands, which served good inexpensive food mainly ordinary pub fare with some local dishes to choose from. There was also an unforgettable pub in Ambleside called “The Drunken Duck Inn” which had a superb restaurant and a real ambience with it’s wonderful candlelit dining area serving mouth-watering food. It also served some of the best local ales so the designated driver had to stick to a shandy and just drool. We had already tasted a local delicacy bought pre packed from a butchers’ shop in Keswick a large portion of grouse in a rich sauce, which we just microwaved and ate in our caravan so we tried this at The Drunken Duck and found it even more delicious
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There was a place in Keswick that I remember well, “the Courtyard Restaurant” served plain food in a relaxed atmosphere and we lunched here on two occasions.
Mostly we either cooked food bought from the butcher’s shops, which were far superior to many I have ever found, or ate on the caravan site, which did some good standard food.
Cumberland sausage (the proper round type) became a favourite meal for breakfast lunch or dinner served with half a local pig (thick bacon rashers) and grilled tomatoes.

The Kendal mint cake was sold everywhere we went but we bought ours locally at a much more reasonable price than that of the tourist centres. Rich in sugar this has been used for many years as a source of warmth and energy for climbers and walkers. In Bowness-on-Windermere and also Ambleside many of the shops sold local confectionary and sticky puddings which I couldn’t eat due to my milk allergy but Ann sampled them all and pronounced them Deeeeeeeeelicious”!
The local beers really packed a punch so we tended to stick to wine just occasionally allowing ourselves some real indulgence.

Disabled facilities
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You may think that such a hilly area would be lacking in disabled facilities but in many of the larger tourist centres you can hire wheelchairs and even an electric scooter, I have no idea of the charges but there are many good Internet sites which will provide information and telephone numbers to ring. Our own caravan site provided disabled access and with Ann having a disabled badge in her car we could park outside our caravan.

Accommodation
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From large hotels to camping sites, B&B’s to Caravan sites, cottages to Youth Hostels there are everything here to suit any type of budget. We went in September and got a very deal on our caravan costing about £250 for the two weeks per unit. Checking the Internet for an idea of current prices I found a wide range of hotels offering special deals on two or three nights for the price of one ranging from £50 to £100 per person, per stay. September prices are reasonable and with our recent Indian summers the chances of getting good weather are increasing.

My thoughts
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Looking back over our holiday photos I was amazed at the number of places we visited both on the tourist route and just by letting the road carry us on to where it would lead. Every photo told a story and brought back such happy memories I knew I wanted to share them. Maybe some people prefer to have a set itinerary but for Ann and me it’s the little places and the experiences that stay in our minds. We always seemed to be lucky with the weather, the sun shone for 10 whole days of our trip to the Lake District, allowing us to fully appreciate the beauty of this place. We had been prepared for the wet weather and both of us have good, stout walking boots, along with proper socks and wet-weather anoraks. Living in South Wales, near to the mountains, we knew enough to be prepared for all conditions. I cannot stress enough the importance of being prepared, even if you are only undertaking short walks. On one of our trips we came upon two walkers, obviously in great pain, both were wearing ordinary trainers and had huge blisters on their feet. I think they were both surprised that we had a proper first-aid kit and having treated them both we dropped them off near to their guesthouse.

Our one really rainy day came when we visited Castlerigg Stone Circle and spent an hour waiting for the rain to ease off to take some photos. Finding a brief lull in the rain we walked around soaking up the ancient feeling of the stones. I leaned against one hoping to feel something of their mystery and was startled by another man doing the same thing. It turned out he was an American on a walking tour and the poor chap was soaked through so we gave him a lift into Keswick and swapped experiences over a pub lunch. Little things like this, friendships made briefly make holidays all the more special.

Our holiday was wonderful we embraced the peace of the landscape found places other people rarely see and had a few adventures along the way. Maybe our health will never be good enough to revisit this special place but going through our photos gave us both a determination to fight our illnesses and once more find a way back to share those magic moments when the earth seems to stand still and we alone are left breathing in the air that compelled so many poets to write about this part of our green and pleasant land.

I’m no Wordsworth but thinking of my many trips a poem was born an ode to the British countryside, which is so undervalued nowadays with cheap holidays abroad.

I’ve travelled through our countryside, mountain, sea and shore
Enraptured by the wondrous sights but always seeking more
Sometimes the beauty became so much I can only stop and stare
My consciousness grew to a point when all the land stood bare
And I alone felt humble a tiny speck of life,
My many cares were washed away, the trouble and the strife
And my heart sang.

I sought the freedom of the sea the tumultuous rolling wave
Swamped my footprints in the sand a lonely life to save
Battered, windswept, full of joy the cliff-tops called to me
Surrender now your spirit and let your soul be free
But I was still in love with the gentle rolling land
The sunrise and the sunset moved by God’s own hand
And my heart sang.

I wandered through the forest deep and saw the trees aware
Of every living creature that sheltered in there care
Seasons turned, colours changed, the forest then was still
But come the spring the flowers bloomed a carpet then to fill
Each grassy bank and babbling brook spoke a single word
Only in peace and solitude will your voice be heard
And my heart sang.

Upon the lakes the sun arose and cast a magic spell
Sky and water merged in twain and everything was well
I walked the fells and mountains, gazed upon the dale
Breath was trapped within my chest my vision began to fail
But far above a lonely bird trilled it’s joyful song
And once again I felt it, a place where I could belong
And my heart sang.

© Lisa Fuller 2005.

Summary: England DOES have something great to offer.