The Lake District is nature’s lush green playground. Here, William Wordsworth’s poems still shiver in trees and ripple on ponds.
Nature rules this pristine land, and humanity keeps a wide-eyed but low profile. This is a place to relax, recharge, take a cruise or maybe a hike, and maybe even write a poem.
The Lake District is about 30 miles long and 30 miles wide. It is easy to explore by foot, bike, bus or car. The locals are fond of declaring that their mountains are older than the Himalayas and were once as tall, but have been worn down by the ages. The tallest peak in England – Scafell Pike, is only 3,206 feet).
There’s a walking-stick charm about the way nature and the culture mix here. Hiking along a windblown ridge or climbing over a rock fence to look into the eyes of a ragamuffin sheep (Jackie’s favorite pastime), even non-outdoor folks get a chance to feel – well – outdoorsy.
The tradition of staying close to the land remains true in the 21st century; restaurants serve organic food and you’ll see stickers in home windows advocating for environmental causes.
The Lake District has a North Lake District and South Lake District. We plan to spend most of our time in the unspoiled North Lake District. But to start our three nights, we will travel to the north by way of the south, making some stops on our way to our home-away-from-home, Keswick.
The South Lake District – which is slightly closer to London and thus a bit more popular – is known primarily for its sights related to Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter (remember Peter Rabbit fame), and gets the promotion, tour crowds, and tackiness that comes with them. While the slate-colored towns like our stop in this post Ambleside are cute, they’re also touristy – which means crowded and overpriced. We got here on a rainy morning, so we got lucky and had the waterfront pretty much to ourselves.
We grabbed some lunch at the YHA right on the water in Ambleside. Time for some Macaroni & Cheese and a salad. What else would you get at a classy Youth Hostel? 🙂
As the early afternoon wore on… our gloom was replaced by more sun than clouds – making
Windermere lake sparkle in the afternoon light.
