Weather forecast not good for the day.
Good breakfast and off to tour around. First stop William Wordsworth best loved family home for the greater part of his life from 1813 until 1850 until his death at the age of 80.
We toured around his Rydal Mount House and gardens enjoying the ambiance and knowledge that he wrote much of his work here in the attic studio he had built. Strangely enough he never owned his house just rented it from a nearby resident. It was not brought back into the Wordsworth family until 1969 when it was purchased by Mary a great great grandchild and opened for the public to visit. The family still live in the house and private areas are cordoned off for them.
Drove on into Keswick via Thirlmere, to have some lunch and visit the Derwent pencil factory. Very hard to find parking so we drove out to the Boat landing area on the Derwentwater and walked back into town. Started to rain now and the temp down to 11 deg. Cold, and this is summer!
Managed to find a coffee shop in the central mall, just as the rain came pouring down.
When the rain eased we walked through the markets, everybody looking wet and aimlessly walking around. On to the Cumberland Pencil Museum for a look around and to buy a few pencils as souvenirs. The first ever pencils were produced in Keswick following the discovery of Cumberland Graphite, becoming famous in the Elizabethan era in 1558. However it was the Italians that first discovered the wooden holder.
Decided to get back to the car before the rain set in again.
Back tracked through Grassmere and Ambleside on to Coniston to visit John Ruskin’s museum and Donald Campbell’s story on his water speed breaking attempts and his eventual crash and death on Lake Coniston in 1967. The speedboat was recovered in 2001 from the lake bed and they are now collecting funds to reconstruct it for the new museum they are building. Here at Coniston Lake holidaymakers all lined up on the jetty waiting to board their Lake tour on the Steam Yacht Gondola. People having tea under umbrellas, eager to keep doing everything they can despite the weather.
Here also the Arthur Ransome story and where he acquired all his inspiration for his Swallows and Amazons stories, bringing them all so much more to life.
Time to head for home along narrow walled roads, past lakes, mountains with stonewalls snaking their way up and across the sides. Walkers seen everywhere, they must be in heaven in the Lake District. It’s a huge business with shops doing a roaring trade selling all the required gear; wet weather gear being the most sold I should think.
The rain really coming down now. Driving along we could see walkers being flushed out of the wooded areas on the sides of the roads very wet and probably eager to find their car, but also I should think feeling quite healthy and fulfilled with the walking.
Here also is Beatrix Potter country, her home and gardens, also Dove Cottage where Wordsworth spent his early years and Brantwood, John Ruskin’s home fro 1872-1900. All too much to visit in the time we have.
So it’s back to Virginia's B & B to have a wash and into town to find something to eat, which we did at Villa Positano for a spaghetti and other.
Spitting with rain so we dodged our way back and settled down for a bath, read and write up the blog.
So to bed.
Good breakfast and off to tour around. First stop William Wordsworth best loved family home for the greater part of his life from 1813 until 1850 until his death at the age of 80.
We toured around his Rydal Mount House and gardens enjoying the ambiance and knowledge that he wrote much of his work here in the attic studio he had built. Strangely enough he never owned his house just rented it from a nearby resident. It was not brought back into the Wordsworth family until 1969 when it was purchased by Mary a great great grandchild and opened for the public to visit. The family still live in the house and private areas are cordoned off for them.
Drove on into Keswick via Thirlmere, to have some lunch and visit the Derwent pencil factory. Very hard to find parking so we drove out to the Boat landing area on the Derwentwater and walked back into town. Started to rain now and the temp down to 11 deg. Cold, and this is summer!
Managed to find a coffee shop in the central mall, just as the rain came pouring down.
When the rain eased we walked through the markets, everybody looking wet and aimlessly walking around. On to the Cumberland Pencil Museum for a look around and to buy a few pencils as souvenirs. The first ever pencils were produced in Keswick following the discovery of Cumberland Graphite, becoming famous in the Elizabethan era in 1558. However it was the Italians that first discovered the wooden holder.
Decided to get back to the car before the rain set in again.
Back tracked through Grassmere and Ambleside on to Coniston to visit John Ruskin’s museum and Donald Campbell’s story on his water speed breaking attempts and his eventual crash and death on Lake Coniston in 1967. The speedboat was recovered in 2001 from the lake bed and they are now collecting funds to reconstruct it for the new museum they are building. Here at Coniston Lake holidaymakers all lined up on the jetty waiting to board their Lake tour on the Steam Yacht Gondola. People having tea under umbrellas, eager to keep doing everything they can despite the weather.
Here also the Arthur Ransome story and where he acquired all his inspiration for his Swallows and Amazons stories, bringing them all so much more to life.
Time to head for home along narrow walled roads, past lakes, mountains with stonewalls snaking their way up and across the sides. Walkers seen everywhere, they must be in heaven in the Lake District. It’s a huge business with shops doing a roaring trade selling all the required gear; wet weather gear being the most sold I should think.
The rain really coming down now. Driving along we could see walkers being flushed out of the wooded areas on the sides of the roads very wet and probably eager to find their car, but also I should think feeling quite healthy and fulfilled with the walking.
Here also is Beatrix Potter country, her home and gardens, also Dove Cottage where Wordsworth spent his early years and Brantwood, John Ruskin’s home fro 1872-1900. All too much to visit in the time we have.
So it’s back to Virginia's B & B to have a wash and into town to find something to eat, which we did at Villa Positano for a spaghetti and other.
Spitting with rain so we dodged our way back and settled down for a bath, read and write up the blog.
So to bed.
1 comment:
you should rename this blog "and so to bed" Its your catch phrase. You end nearly every post like this. You're like johnny young = "goodnight australia"
x
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