Lake District was on my must visit list since I first heard about such a place in 2011. It had all the makings of a hill station with several big lakes and smaller tarns with gorgeous hills called fells. But it was the sort of place that one simply could not do justice to without the freedom of a car at one’s disposal. After a long wait and cumbersome process, when Lakshman finally got his UK driving license, this was the first place I suggested. The Rick Steve’s program about Lake District on YouTube gave us useful travel tips about where we should go and what we should do. The best advice was however not about the itinerary but about being prepared – there is no bad weather to holiday in UK, just inappropriate clothing, which of course meant shopping. Yay!
We were using the satellite navigation (satnav) system for directions and I must say this about the impressive satnav system right way. It managed to get to us the doorstep of wherever we needed to go, no matter how obscure. We were also able to select destinations by clicking on the map, that feature helped us reach Wastwater, one of the most beautiful lakes we visited on this trip, nested between the hills without a postcode. Whenever we missed a turn, the satnav immediately recalculated and suggested a new route. Every once in a while, it reassessed traffic situation and came up with alternate routes to avoid traffic, the periodic BBC traffic updates from the local radio also helped. If the satnav said – "Make a U-turn, if possible", it meant that we had really screwed up. It was really incredible and perceptive. Sure, that is what it is meant for, like a fridge is supposed to keep stuff cold. But that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a savvy technology that works well. Now that we are used to it, it would be impossibly difficult to drive around without it.
The satnav said that the journey time would be less than five hours, which seemed about right as Lake district was in Northwest England. But due to a late start and bank holiday rush on the motorway, it took us longer, so we decided to stop for the night at a hotel in Liverpool.
The Beech tree hotel in Liverpool was in a suburb, away from city centre but it came with parking facility which we had learnt by then was valuable. A delicious dinner at the hotel was what we needed to get us on a relaxing holiday mood after our long drive. Though “The Mummy” movie was not available on TV (a holiday classic for us), we managed to find something else to watch that night. We started early the next morning and ventured into the heart of Liverpool city. After walking around the Pierhead and Albert Docks looking for breakfast, we ended up making the easy choice of finding the local Wetherspoon. There was one on the High Street that served the very reliable vegetarian breakfast and we left Liverpool fully loaded with energy to get started on our Cumbrian holiday.
The drive to Keswick took another three hours and what amazed me was that we had reached a supposed hill station via flat terrain without having to drive up a few dozen hairpin bends to reach the top of the mountains. We headed straight to Derwent Water to catch a boat. Derwent water was a gorgeous lake with plentiful birdlife and lovely mountains surrounding it.
The two o’clock ferry got us from Keswick to a stop called Lodore. The usual path to get to the falls behind the Lodore hotel was closed but a helpful hotel employee guided us towards an alternate path from where we should be able to access the falls. We trekked a little to find the Lodore Falls. It was not a massive falls but the natural setting made up for it, giving us a feeling of being in the wilderness. The well positioned wooden bench installed by a nature loving comfort seeker put a smile on our faces as well.
After taking the return ferry to Keswick, we hung out by a meadow on the bank of Derwent water enjoying the panoramic views for a while. We had some more energy left in us, so we decided to visit the Castle Rigg Stone Circle, the Cumbrian reply to the popular Stone Henge. We managed to get to Castle Rigg town instead of the stone circle as the place does not exactly have a postcode, but a helpful hiker guided us with the route. While the reasons behind both stone formations are still a mystery, it was a lovely sight giving a glimpse of medieval times.
Finally after an exciting day, we went to our B&B in Thirlmere called Barn-Gill house. It was located sort of in the middle of nowhere with lovely views from our window. If I had to describe the accommodation in one word, it would be “embellished”. From the silk bed covers, hangers, to even the spare toilet roll holder, every surface was decorated with embroidered fabric or beads or lace. The desire of the owner lady not to leave anything plain was adorable but what I really liked was the attention to detail. Apart from the usual kettle and tea/coffee making supplies, there was a microwave and a small fridge that stored a cup of milk instead of artificial alternatives. There was even a box of galaxy hot chocolate drink mix for us to use, yum yum! After resting briefly, we drove to an inn near Grasmere for dinner and I got inducted into having just delicious soup for a meal. The potato and leek soup was wholesome and flavorful.
After a night of uninterrupted sleep, we had a light breakfast at Barn-Gill house. We then drove to Hawse end, the starting point for the Catbells Summit hike. While we were struggling to find a parking spot close to the foothills, as this was a popular hike among tourists, a gentleman, who was stretching nearby before starting his hike, kept looking at us. The way he was looking at the car was not friendly, it made me wonder if he might be annoyed about immigrants overcrowding his holiday destination. But then he walked towards us and guided us towards a path which there are usually a couple of parking spots available. We graciously thanked him and I mentally kicked myself for thinking bad of an obviously nice person. But my suspicious urban mind needed rewiring to accept kind favours that come without a price.
The hike started innocently enough but soon we were scaling rocks. It was steep and just as it appeared we reached the summit, we realised that it was not the top of the hill after all and we had to go further up. It was entertaining to watch the hikers around us, including many families and people of all age groups. Seeing an elderly couple (I am guessing in their seventies) on the path carrying a pair of walking poles each motivated us to keep going, we had no excuses to turn back. Taking many breaks, as if to take in the wonderful views surrounding us, we pushed our tired legs further and further up.
After a particularly difficult rock scaling stretch, we reached the top and the views were all around us and we were overwhelmed with a sense of achievement that is hard to put into words. Screaming “I feel like the king of the world” might not have been too far off at that point.
But just when we were feeling good about ourselves, we saw this family come up the last rocky stretch. The father was carrying a massive backpack on his front and an infant on his back. We were amazed at the family's interest to go out and do things despite having a small baby who could not have been over three months old. I have heard of families back home being unable to travel with a one year old as it might be difficult to manage the baby and its dietary needs and here I saw a three month old on the back of a father scaling rocks on a hike. Talk about determined holiday makers!
Climbing down from the hike was almost too easy. We took another path that was grassy and led straight to where our car was parked. The only challenge was dodging the sheep shit on the ground, which was plentiful!
After having a hearty lunch at the Wetherspoon in Keswick town centre and buying some Roly’s crumbly fudge to go, we drove towards our next stop. The previous night, we found a reference online to a hilly driving route called Honister Pass that was supposed to be scenic, south of Keswick. We drove on that route and it was well worth risking the treacherous terrain with sharp U-turns and steep slopes. There was no particular view point, wherever we saw there was nothing but views. No photos could do justice to it, I should have shot a 360 degree video! The bare land had an untouched beauty to it and we made a photo stop at the bank of a stream on our way to enjoy the place.
Our next stop was a lovely spot by Buttermere Lake with view of a small waterfall on the hill across the lake. Lake District was William Wordsworth’s homeland and it was the inspiration behind his poem Daffodils and at that moment, walking by Buttermere lake being surrounded by such serenity, I understood his words – "I wander as lonely as a cloud". There were a few hikers passing by the bank, but mostly it was just us.
Lakshman did something really cool then. He filled our water bottle with water from the lake and took a swig. It was a good call; the water was chill and tasted very fresh. I know water is supposed to be tasteless but I swear this water was almost sweet! After filling our lungs with fresh oxygen on the lakeside, we drove south towards the town Bowness on Windermere where we were staying the next two nights. We stopped by another lake on the way which reflected the scene around it beautifully.
The below picture has been flipped, with the reflection on top and the real scene on the bottom! I know, Lakshman and his mad photography skills... :-)
The Hydro hotel had a grand entrance with views of Lake Windermere from the outdoor seating but the room itself was small and only passable. After sitting by the Windermere Lake Pier for a while, we bought take away food and watched a random movie on TV just because Cersei Lannister (Lena Headley) was in it.
The next day, after a fantastic breakfast at the hotel’s grand dining room which included my favourite strawberry yogurt, we headed north towards Ullswater and Pooley Bridge. We stopped at a quiet spot by the Ullswater Lake and took in the amazing views.
We came back to Windermere and had lunch at a Hylton restaurant (pun intended I suppose). The delicious tomato and mozzarella Panini was perhaps the best meal I had on the trip. We had a seat by the window and it was most entertaining to people watch on the busy high street as we enjoyed our meal.
We then decided to go West to ensure we have covered all directions of Lake District. From Windermere, we drove towards Coniston Pass and had a wonderful surprise on our way. We had come so far that we got a glimpse of the ocean and the coast.
We stopped by at a lovely pub/inn near Gosforth for a coffee break, which apparently also had accommodation. The place was so secluded and enchanting that we regretted having booked accommodation in town centre, as staying at a quaint little place like this would have been more enjoyable, a lesson for the next road trip. At the pub, there was a sign packed with typical British humour. For a moment they had the customers almost believe that the beer was free, nope just the wifi. The beer was just great. ;-)
We then drove through Coniston Pass which turned out to be another hilly stretch that was very tough to drive in due to the steep slopes, sharp turns and no room for error. But the views totally made up for it.
Having found the Wast water lake on the satnav system, we made a beeline for it. This was apparently an over-deepened lake with its bottom fifty feet below the Sea Level. On one side it was like any other beautiful lake with green hills around it including Scafell Pike – England’s highest mountain. But on the other side, there was an imposing monolith that reminded us of a mine quarry. We spent a while there clicking photos and I ventured into the lake barefoot for a cold natural soak. It was again one of the least crowded places, perhaps because it was thirty miles away from Windermere.
It took us over an hour to get back and we crashed into the room once again with the take away food.
Lake District had definitely exceeded our expectations with its stunning natural beauty and impressive landscapes. We made several random stops throughout our vacation where the lakes or the views, we did not know the names of, simply beckoned us!
And after another great breakfast that marked the end of our vacation amongst the lakes, we started our drive back to London.
I thought this trip was about getting back to nature and getting our fill of clean mountain air, but it turned out to be so much more. Wherever we went, there were hikers and walkers of all age groups no matter what the terrain. Older couples walking on and on in their shorts with their walking poles, reaping the rewards of having led a fit life in earlier years or families teaching their young the joys of being in harmony with nature. There was a lesson there about not letting anything hold one back from one’s passion and to keep moving without making excuses.
The other lesson was about common courtesy which unfortunately has become uncommon in daily life. Whether it was one of many strangers who helped us with directions when we were on foot or the kind drivers on Honister Pass/Coniston Pass who stopped half a mile away in nooks in order to let the other vehicle pass them in the dangerously narrow road or the simple wave acknowledging our courtesy when we did the same for them or the drivers on the motorway who never rudely cut lanes or used sudden breaks but drove consistently and considerately, it was hard to tell. The services along the motorways were really well managed too, with several high street chains selling food and the provision of clean toilet facilities. I was pleased to notice that basic courtesy still existed in some form restoring my faith in humanity a little. This was Wordsworth’s homeland I visited after all, it would of course inspire the writer in me. And a lot of the time, "I too enjoy wandering as lonely as a cloud". :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment