The Lake District is located
in
the county of Cumbria, in northwestern England. The lakes are
scattered
among what passes for mountains in this country, creating a highly
dramatic
landscape, frequently complete with atmospheric mist.
Ambleside, Lake Windermere
The Ambleside Youth Hostel is rated by some sources as the best youth hostel in England, and I wholeheartedly endorse that valuation. Not only were the rooms quite nice, it served great food as well.
And of course there's also the fact that the hostel is located right on the lake, and even has its own pier.
That is indeed the youth hostel on the left, behind the lights. My room was on the lake side, so I had a great view.
The lake in the photo above is
Lake
Windermere, one of the largest lakes in the Lake District. I
didn't
spend too much time there because Grasmere, with its literary
connections,
was my main reason for being in the area (Ambleside was simply the
nearest
open hostel convenient to both Grasmere and the Windermere rail
station),
but what little I saw of it was lovely.
Grasmere, Lake Grasmere
William Wordsworth lived for over fifty years near Lake Grasmere, and his two residences in the area are both open to the public. Unfortunately Rydal Mount was closed the day I was there, but I did get to see Dove Cottage, which ranks with the Brontë Parsonage and Jane Austen's House at Chawton in terms of well-preserved and well-presented literary shrines. The cottage itself is an Elizabethan building that was a pub for the first 200 years or so of its existence, until William and Dorothy Wordsworth moved in around 1800. Some of the original furniture has been returned to the building, which also contains such relics as Wordsworth's tiny travelling case (he believed that a man needed only an extra shirt, underwear, and socks) and elaborate passport, as well as the cuckoo clock he loved showing off to visitors. The Wordsworths' friends Sir Walter Scott, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Thomas De Quincey were frequent visitors, and the cottage also boasts De Quincey's opium scales. (Coleridge rented the cottage after the Wordsworths moved out.) When Wordsworth married his wife moved into the cottage, and their children's room was papered with newspaper. The originals have long since rotted away, but have been replaced with similar ones from the same era, and the classified ads are quite amusing -- everything from governesses advertising their qualifications to barouches for sale to businessmen anonymously exhorting their blackmailers to come forward with their terms.
Near the cottage is a museum containing many of Wordsworth's manuscripts, as well as the writings of his sister Dorothy (including her scathing reply to an aunt who thought it improper for her to walk about the countryside so much). The collection also includes samples of Wordsworth's clothing, including the suit he wore when he was made poet laureate (and which was also worn by Alfred, Lord Tennyson upon the same occasion many years later). I was also intrigued that the exhibit contained a recording of an Aeolian harp, an instrument beloved by the Victorians which emits creepy sounds when wind blows across its strings (and which makes a cryptic appearance in the poetry of Sofia Parnok).
Many of the Wordsworths are buried in the Grasmere churchyard, where they have their own fenced section, beneath yews planted by William. Just outside the Grasmere churchyard is Sarah Nelson's gingerbread shop, which has been located there for over a century, and produces quite wonderful gingerbread (I wish I had bought more).
A view of the mountains around Grasmere.
I climbed up the mountain on the right to a tiny lake called Alcock Tarn. Unfortunately it started pouring about halfway up, so I got drenched and had the view shrouded in fog, but it did clear up a bit on the way down. In the first week of my travels I got soaked three times, which fueled my addiction to a nice cuppa tea and made me understand the appeal of British cuisine rather better.
Dove Cottage is located somewhere in the cluster of buildings on the right.
Another view of Grasmere, with mountain.
Lake Grasmere is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful of the Lakes. This picture was taken from the front yard of an obliging hotel.
A slightly different view of the lake, after the weather had started to clear up.
Keswick, Derwent Water
Keswick is an amazing little town located on Derwent Water. Unlike certain other villages (namely those in the Cotswolds), it felt like a real community existing for reasons other than simply being a place for tourists to visit (it even has an impressive arts center).
The Keswick Youth Hostel occupies the dormitory of a former mill, and is located right on the mill creek with a park opposite.
A view of part of the town of Keswick, with sheep.
I took a long hike around the lake, beginning with a detour to Castlerigg Rock (it looks like just a clump of trees from the side of the road, but hidden within the grove is a rock over a steep cliff with marvelous views over the lake). You may need to scroll right to get the full effect. The town of Keswick is located at the far right.
A slightly different view of Derwent Water, from the same viewpoint.
The Castlerigg Stone Circle, thought to have been built between 3000 and 4000 years ago, was a meeting place for both ritual and commerce. Unlike Stonehenge, one is free to walk amidst the stones, and the path I took (through fields criss-crossed with stone fences) made it seem rather remote, until I realized there was a road with a parking lot just over the hill. Still, I was fortunate enough to be the only visitor at the time I was there, and other than the occasional plane overhead the place seems caught out of time.
Another view of the village of Keswick, with what I think is Bassenthwaite Lake in the background.
Ashness Bridge. It wasn't very interesting, but it was the ostensible destination of my hike, so I figured I should take a picture of it.
