Coniston Water in England's Beautiful Lake District

Continuing with our Silverdale break...

Having waved Sylvia off on Thursday morning, a ride up to Coniston Water was on that afternoon's agenda.

It was a bit of a blustery day.  One of those that blows the cobwebs off.   The building you can see up there is The Bluebird Cafe and that was where we ate lunch enjoying stunning views across the lake.

Taking a stroll by the lakeside the weather was definitely a bit fresh.  Exhilarating, even. Middle sister felt the need to rearrange big sister's coat for her.  Looking at this photo now reminds me of chimpanzees grooming each other.  :-)

This is the river which runs through the centre of Coniston town.  Picturesque for certain.

A close up of the house in the distance in the previous photo.  How idyllic is that?  How wonderful it must be to sit out on that deck with a good book and only the sounds of a babbling brook and birdsong for company.   Heaven.

Something had caught Jerry's eye in this shop.  This was the second time he had looked in this window.  He was on the lookout for souvenirs to take home.

Maureen left them to it and Jerry left whatever it was he'd had his eye on in the shop.  Only window shopping done this time.

Gorgeous scenery on the way back to the car.  I think an estate agent would describe this property as "a delightful cottage nestled in glorious countryside near the lake".  And as it happens, so would I.

This was one of several sunsets we were fortunate enough to feast our eyes on from the caravan park.  

"Sunsets are so beautiful that they almost seem as if we were looking through the gates of heaven".
John Lubbock

And so, our break in the Lake District was drawing to a close.

Friday was going home day.  On the way home we broke our journey in Kirkby Londsdale where we consumed a hearty late breakfast at The Old Bakery.  William and I love that little place and have never been disappointed with the food in there.

My birthday is in September and in her card to me Maureen had written "Our road trips together have been some of our best memories and the ones coming up will be nothing less". To that I want to add "my sentiments exactly".   As with every holiday we have ever spent together we had had a wonderfully, happy, fun time in Cornwall and, no surprise, more of the the same in Silverdale.  Silverdale had perhaps even been a bit more special adding Jean and Sylvia into the mix.

Come back soon, Maureen and Jerry, let's do it all over again!

Stunning Autumn Colours at Sizergh Castle

Moving onto Wednesday of our stay in Silverdale.

Every old village worth its salt in days of old had a set of stocks and Beetham still has its set sitting on the village green.  

Here I had asked Jerry to sit down and try them out for size so that I could take a picture. You can clearly tell from his face the answer was something like "You must be joking!"

Beetham village is a lovely little place and has its fair share of quaint cottages.

A post office and tea rooms both of which were closed on the day we visited. 

It also has a come-and-have-a-look-inside church. The beautiful St. Michael & All Angels church is a Grade 1 listed building, parts of which date back to the 11th and 12th centuries. It's a shame I had to cut the tower off in this picture but I couldn't get both all of Maureen and all of the tower so I went with all of Maureen. However, there's a much better picture of the church in this post.

Next up was a visit to Sizergh Castle.  William and I both love this place and have spent many happy hours here.  There are several marked walks to take from the car park, most of which we have done.

But on this day the focus was on the stunning autumn garden.

The colours were jaw droppingly gorgeous!

Just for the heck of it here is that same garden in March 2015.  The difference between spring and autumn. Incredible isn't it?

Our next port of call was  Low Sizergh Barn just a short spell down the road.  We made our way there and were just in time to see the cows squashed together in the barn queueing up for milking.  This poor cow was definitely one of the more squashed ones!

Thursday morning Sylvia made her farewell but not before we had a walk round the campsite...

... and snapped a couple of pictures...

..for posterity.