Grasmere, Rydal, and Ambleside...and there-abouts

OK, so apparently Eliza did a crappy job on the photography. We don't have much in the way of photos from Days 4 and 5 (we're really not sure what happened there, because we remember taking lots of photos...). On Day 4, we took the bus up from Windermere to Dove Cottage (Wordsworth's former home) outside of Grasmere, and hiked up to the Alcock Tarn, which was a relatively short, somewhat steep climb up to a lovely view west over Grasmere, south across Rydal and down towards Windermere. (Not that you'd know it due to the darth of photos...) We had grand ambitions of climbing back up and continuing on to Great Rigg, further north, but our legs didn't cooperate (literally--right leg kept collapsing). So we opted for a stroll around Grasmere village, and then continued on around Grasmere and down around Rydal Water.



So the next day we took the bus up to Ambleside and trekked up to Trout Beck. The cows were a bonus:


To our great disappointment, we didn't see a single one. (where were they?!)

But it was a pretty hike up:



And a nice view down to the valley:





We walked through some lovely farms on the way down, passing a couple of wells like this:



Here's our hotel in Windermere, the very lovely (inside and out) Applegarth Hotel (we recommend it):

Day 3, going to Windermere

On day 3, we were tired. A couple from the hotel (Eliza stupidly didn't get photos...) graciously dropped us in Windermere where we were to stay for the next 3 nights. We opted for a lake cruise and lazy day. It was overcast and threatening but never rained.



We sailed to the north end of the lake and had lunch at a lakeside pub before catching the boat back. We enjoyed the scenery. A swan:



Ah yes, such graceful creatures.

And a cowboy family:



Pink cowboy hats and butterfly nets? Must be an English thing.

Walking through Windermere, we passed the local Italian restaurant. Too bad we were going to miss Frank Sinatra night, I was really disappointed:



Windermere boasts its own cross stitch and Christmas shop (ye old shoppe, I should say).



We walked out of the hotel to find dinner on the first night and stumbled upon a spectacle in the square. We had to run back to the hotel for the camera but managed to capture the last few minutes of what, it turns out, was a group of Morris (sp?)dancers. With pipe and squeeze organ and fiddle and...lots of bells...





But the juxtaposition of the Morris dancers with the Disaffected Youth was priceless:

The Lake District: Coniston

Eliza and I took the train up to the Lake District, staying the first 3 days at a country house hotel by Lake Coniston. Monk Coniston turns out to be a National Trust property let and managed by a vacation company that organizes group holidays around different activities. We arrived on a Friday afternoon as the odd chicks out amidst the ballroom dancers, the digital scrapbookers, and the afficionados of the Scenic Railways of the Lake District (yes, apparently there are multiple railways, and yes, many are tres scenic). It proved to be a colorful weekend.

Here are the grounds:



And looking out towards the lake:



We went to the Lake District to hike and researched the Ordinance Survey maps to select hikes. Eliza and I decided to do a challenging hike first: the Old Man of Coniston, an 800-meter climb above Lake Coniston, with 360-degree views around the lakes, south to Morecambe Bay. Like several of the days in the lakes, it began sunny and then gradually clouded over. We hiked up through farms:



Up where the real climb started, we encountered a small group of school kids on some sort of outing (on a Saturday). About a dozen 11-12 year olds, a teacher, and a professional guide. The teacher and guide were clearly Very Brave Men. And it turns out Eliza has the stamina of a 12-year-old--which is either a very good thing or a very bad thing. It was a Slow Climb. But we made it:



At the top, we asked one of the students for a photo--she wasn't too thrilled, but she complied:



Here's the valley below:



And another:



This is one of many abandoned slate quarries in the area. We couldn't figure out what the tunnel/cave was for:



And then we stumbled down the mountain. A good first day: dramatic scenery, good weather, no falls!