THE LAKE DISTRICT OF ENGLAND
Travels
to England are about the family. Spending time with the grandchildren as they
grow is extremely precious, so when Janet travels to England alone her time
there is largely centered around changing nappies and cleaning up projectile
vomit. Although, I must enviously report here that once Janet had the great
opportunity to attend the World Worm Charming Championship when she once
traveled to England without me. Lucky her to go from dirty diapers to dirty
worms!
Whenever
we travel to England together though, we try to plan a little side trip,
sometimes just the two us, sometimes with the kids. Of course, while in England
most of our time is spent with the kids and in-laws, so our side trips are quick
and brief, sometimes in one or two days.
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| Llandudno, Wales |
SERENDIPITY AND CHANCE
This
past trip Janet and I traveled to Lancaster, Lancashire. It was here while
studying abroad at Lancaster University that Janet’s daughter met her future
English husband. Janet had been there before and was so impressed with the city
that she has often talked about returning. So, for our little two-day side trip
during this most recent visit to England we decided to explore Lancaster, but
then we got side-tracked. When the in-laws spoke glowingly about the beautiful Lake
District, a large 900+ square mile park of mountains and lakes, we altered our
two-day trip with another side trip into this beautiful slice of the world.
Lancaster
It's a three-hour plus train ride from Crewe to Lancaster. There's a certain charmless, dated feel to the Crewe station, kind of mirroring the town itself, but the trains are clean and quiet. Our scheduled train was late in arriving (we reserved tickets for a particular time). We were told that in case of a delay that we were to keep track of the time and to put in for a refund through a program called Delay Repay. We got Janet's son-in-law involved and he got us a £15 refund.
THAT
would never happen on NJ Transit.
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| THE SUN HOTEL LANCASTER |
Lancaster
was hilly and sadly the downtown market area had its share of indigent types, but
we stayed at the Sun Hotel, a very lovely inn that had the Lancaster Castle
looming just up the street. Janet had been aglow over this old place since she
stayed there last; she had visited her daughter during her semester here; and
spoke often about wanting to show me this place, so we booked two nights here.
Breakfast was included. The room was small, but clean and to reach it we had to
climb stairs and walk down a few meandering hallways. All stone and weathered
wood, I can understand why Janet wanted to return to this charming place.
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| Ashton Memorial, Lancaster, UK |
Exploring
Lancaster is not easy because of the hills and we really had just the afternoon
because we were traveling to Lake Windermere in the Lake District the next day.
Despite the heat of the day, believe it or not in England it was unseasonably hot
and sunny, we decided to climb up to Williamson Park. We were sweating a bit
when we reached the pastoral 54-acre park after a mile and half climb to the
highest elevation point in Lancaster, but it was worth the visit. Entrance to
the cool leafy, woodland park dotted with ponds and fountains was free although
there is a small fee for entry to the Butterfly House and Mini-Zoo, but our
reason to make the climb was to reach the Ashton Memorial.
The
Taj Mahal of the North
The
Ashton Memorial is known as a “folly”, the official term for an ornamental
building that has no practical purpose. It was commissioned by a Lancaster
Industrialist in the early 1900’s to the memory of his wife. By the time the
memorial was completed in 1909 the industrialist had remarried. Known by many derisive
names, the Taj Mahal of the North fits the memorial the best.
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| the view from the Ashton Memorial |
Standing
150 feet at the acme of Williamson Park the Ashton Memorial, our destination on
this hot day, is a brilliant example of Edwardian Baroque architecture and it dominates
the Lancaster skyline. From its parapet, where telescopes are conveniently
located, one can see phenomenal views of the city and surrounding countryside.
Families lolled about on the grass enjoying the sun. It was a good destination
and after catching our breath we decided to reward ourselves with a stop for a
pint.
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| THE WHITE CROSS PUB, LANCASTER |
Down
the hill, along the canal we stopped at the White Cross Pub. It’s in a renovated
130-year old building that was once a cotton mill. Brilliant sunlight cascaded
in from the wall of windows that overlooked the canal.
They
offer a very wide assortment of beers here, from cask conditioned to craft
beers. We took our beer outside to the water’s edge and sat at one of the picnic
tables. It was a pleasant great stop.
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| MERCHANTS 1688 |
Merchants
1688
That
first night in Lancaster we had a meal at Merchants
1688. Set in a former wine cellar, it’s kind of difficult to find because it’s
underground just down the hill from the Lancaster Castle. Google directions had us directly over the place, but the entrance was further down. It was a bit confusing at first. We actually had to descend a few steps and then literally enter the hill. Great service, enchanting atmosphere, with curved stone ceilings for the dining rooms, we were able to take advantage of their Monday and Tuesday night special, where with the purchase of two entrees they give you a bottle of wine. We shared a wild mushroom and pecan risotto strudel. Janet had a Lancashire Hotpot and I had a Steak and Ale Pot Pie.
THE LAKE DISTRICT
Despite
our many trips to England in recent years we have yet to see all of its beauty.
That’s why these little side trips are good for us. Our original intent was to only
visit Lancaster, but when the in-laws spoke glowingly about the Lake District
and its natural beauty, it was an easy choice to alter our plans to explore
Lake Windermere. Besides, Windermere was
just a 45-minute train ride from Lancaster.
This
900+ square mile mountainous region in Cumbria is England’s largest park and is
protected by law from over-development. There’s a lot to do here. With ten
mountains at least 2,900 in elevation within the park, the Lake District is popular
with serious hikers, but there are ample trails for easier walking. The
official Lake District website has a list of trails and walks.
Off-roading
adventures in rented Range Rover Defenders are available through Kankku (a
bucket list item for me, though very expensive).
Beatrix
Potter, the woman who wrote Peter Rabbit had her house in this area that is now
maintained by the National Trust and open to the public, as well as a nearby
“theme” park called the World of Beatrix Potter.
All
were viable pursuits, but we were drawn to the area because of Lake Windermere
and we only had the day!
Lake
Windermere
The
train ended in the town of Windermere a mile and a half from the lake. There
was a whimsical enchanting feel to this little town, like it was the end of the
world and beyond her yellow brick road gateway to the Lake District was an
enchanting adventure patiently awaiting our arrival. There was a rustic feel when
we first left the small train station, and when we descended into the town all
the storefronts and cafes blossomed with flowers. Everything was gaily
decorated and festive, not surprisingly because the entire area is geared
toward tourism. Even the tourist office was bedecked with Peter Rabbit
decorations and we were aided with such aplomb in getting our tickets for our
eventual cruise that we knew all was right in the world. Cafes, pubs, stores
were so inviting that if we weren’t drawn by the allure of the lake we may have
been sidetracked.
The
town of Windermere definitely felt different than anything we had previously
experienced in our English travels.
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| A CAFE IN WINDERMERE |
The
mile plus walk to the lake was a gradual downhill slope and easy. The sun was
brilliant and the day warm, but with a breeze so we were never too hot. There is
a bus service from the train to the lake for a nominal fee and early on we
decided to take it back up the hill.
As
charming as the town of Windermere was, the town right on the lake, Bowness-on-Windermere
seemed especially crammed and busy. With the lake imploring us to hurry we
scooted along the busy streets and sidewalks brimming with people as quickly as
possible to make the lakeside dock to take a cruise. Lake Windermere is
England’s longest lake at 10.5 miles, and there are several ways to enjoy the open
expanse of idyllic nature. One can hire a paddleboard or rowboat, canoe or
kayak, and private hires of motor boats are available. Windermere is great for
sailing and fishing too, but we decided to take a cruise with the aptly named
Windermere Lake Cruises and just enjoy the brilliant mid-May sunshine and the
countryside.
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| LAKE WINDERMERE RENTALS |
Windermere
Lake Cruises offers several excursions that are extremely popular and
relatively inexpensive. We took their Red Cruise from Bowness-on-Windermere
centrally located on Lake Windermere to Ambleside, the north end of the lake,
for a round trip that was an easy, pleasant 75 minutes. Tickets were just £ 11.80. There was a slight discount when purchased beforehand at the tourist office located near the Windermere train station. Like us, many passengers decided to break up the trip into separate legs and got off in Waterside to explore the nearby town of Ambleside. There too was a bus into the town, but we walked. It was an easy level stroll and we got ice cream at a street vendor before we returned.
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| MV TEAL |
Many
of the boats of Windermere Lake Cruises are listed on England’s National
Historic Fleet. Traveling to Ambleside we were aboard the steamer Teal, built
in 1936 and braved the blistering sun on her forward deck as we listened to the
Captain point out different views from the lake. On our return leg we sat in
the bow of the Tern, a mostly wooden steam powered yacht built in 1891 that was
converted to diesel in 1956. Both beautiful vessels. There were a lot of
English tourists aboard both legs enjoying the trip and surprisingly a large
number of stern-faced Japanese tourists, many wearing protective medical masks
for some odd reason.
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| MV TERN |
Unwind by the water
Well,
we had no such angst. The day spent on Lake Windermere deserved a return visit.
The air was clear, the sky azure and the water placid and inviting. The whole
day was relaxed but before our return trip we lingered over drinks at the
Waterside Inn admiring our sense of adventure and reveling in our pursuit of
happiness.
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| COCKTAILS AT THE WATEREDGE INN |
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