September Already!

Can you  believe September is upon us already?  Which means that summer is on its last legs!  Perish the thought.  I’m sticking with summer - for a little while longer at least!

So.  Having returned from our summer break up at Bay View a week ago Friday I thought I’d better get my finger out and put a blog post together.

Our little holiday home on wheels has got to be in one of the prettiest corners of England

A corner crammed full of quaint villages and olden timey towns like Grange over Sands.  I love these old shop fronts.  William checked out the hardware and I checked out the ladies ware store.

 

Many, many meandering rivers like this one, River Bela at Milnthorpe, where we walked one sunny afternoon.

Picturesque countryside under puffy white clouds.

A corner of England crammed with places to bring a picnic and take a walk.  That’s what we’ll do here on a future visit.  This is the Cove at Silverdale - we happened upon this little beauty spot by accident one day when William and I were out looking for somewhere else.

Fields dotted with cows, sheep, horses and even deer too.  I like cows.  I don’t know if it’s always the case but the black and white markings either side of this little Daisy were mirror images of each other. 

 And trees.  Let’s not forget the trees.  This corner of England has got so many trees of all colours, shapes and sizes.  A feast for my eyes for sure.

Canals to walk along.  Towpath on one side, a few houses…

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... and plenty of open fields on the other.  We combined this walk along the Lancaster Canal with…

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… the walk along the coastal path a couple of times.   We like to walk as much as we can when we’re away.

Churches around every corner.  There’s a beautiful old church in the centuries old village of Bolton le Sands. We took a walk around the lush green graveyard and garden. 

And of course this is a corner of England renowned for its lakes.  One day we took a trip to Windermere.  A beautiful place but very, very  busy.  Tourists from all over the world abound in droves. 

Yet just off the main thoroughfare little narrow windy side streets are quiet and quaint little pubs like this one can be found.  Built in 1612 the sign to the left of the main door proclaims Charles Dickens no less was once one of its regulars.  However the parking ticket was running out on the car so we had to wait until we got home…

…to enjoy a cold drink.  This one outside the cafe bar on the camp site.

Caroline, Trev and Charlie came up to Bay View on the second Thursday.  We had intended to go home that same day and let them have the van to themselves for the long Bank Holiday weekend break.  However, Charlie said he had missed us so much and he didn’t want us to go home.  With an invitation like that how could we not stay an extra night!  In the morning we all walked down to Archer’s Cafe for breakfast.  The pic above was taken on the way back, the caravan site can be seen in the distance.  It is such a pleasant walk, long enough to build up an appetite on the way there and burn off (who am I kidding?) the calories on the way back.

I think I can safely say that things are turning out well with our move from Devon in the southwest up to Bolton le Sands in the northwest.  Both are Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty so what’s not to love and being on the wide open west coast Bay View gets panoramic views of the sun setting in all its glory.   That’s a big plus in my book.  I love a sunset!

Last Weekend in The Lakes.

Well, where to start on the subject of Last Weekend in the Lakes?  For a kick off, it didn’t really happen.  What should have been a Weekend in the Lakes in the event turned out to be only one day!

This was the plan.  On Saturday morning William and I along with our sweet friends John and Lesley were going to drive up to the spectacularly beautiful Lake District.  Two double rooms had been booked well in advance in a quaint country pub in Askham, a pretty village near Ullswater.  We had an itinerary worked out which included amongst other things visits to Windermere, Hawkshead and Buttermere returning home Monday evening tired and weary from a full weekend in one of the most picturesque corners of England.

This is what actually happened.  We did drive up to the Lakes.  The journey being the longest one ever due to not one but two closures on and two long detours off the motorway due to serious accidents.  

Once at our destination we had planned to spend the afternoon in Whinlatter Mountain Forest and this we did and had a lovely time.  That’s where the above three photos were taken. 

After this we headed to our accommodation in Askham arriving there at around 6 p.m. and that’s where things went hurtling downhill.  The village of Askham is still as pretty as ever but the pub, The Queen’s Head, we had booked into was to put it politely a dump!  It was such a disappointment.  William and I had been to the pub a few times over the years.  Then it had been a smashing little village pub serving excellent food but not anymore.  Goodness knows what had happened in the intervening years but it was nothing good. 

Anyway to cut a long story short we now had the task of finding somewhere to stay for two nights.  It was an impossible task!  We must have tried well over 20 hotels and guest houses with no luck.  (I don’t know about the economy being in a bad way. It’s certainly alive and well in the Lake District!)  We drove up, down and around some very dark and scary country lanes too.  So instead of arriving home tired and weary from a full weekend we arrived home just plain old tired and weary some time past midnight.  It had been one looong day!

Oh, and did I mention the trip was a special one to celebrate our ruby wedding anniversary?  And that I love the Lake District and was really looking forward to going?  We all were.  We all four had talked about it such a lot.

Looking on the bright side of things William and I couldn’t have spent the day in better company.  We managed to laugh and joke about the situation.  What would’ve been the use of the four of us crying?  As it turned out the weekend wasn’t lost.  We still had a great time - walking in the countryside, eating an excellent pub lunch at the Stubbing Wharf, enjoying a glass of wine or two -  it just happened to be spent closer to home that’s all!

Kathleen.

 

Buttermere

Before my sister in law and her husband moved to Wales they lived in the spectacularly beautiful Lake District.  We were fortunate to be able to visit and stay with them lots of times.

This particular weekend, it was October 2007, we drove over to Buttermere via the Honister Pass.  We had to stop and take photos. The scenery was just  breathtaking!

Here we are at Buttermere.  It was a glorious autumn day.  Perfect for a walk round the lake.  Before setting off on this walk there's a little shop/cafe and it sells the best ice cream.  I had a Turkish Delight flavour one and it was the best I've ever tasted. 

St. James Chapel in the hamlet of Buttermere.  More info and pictures of the chapel here.

 

Not surprisingly, small as Buttermere is there are a couple of pubs to quench your thirst in.  We had a good hot meal and a drink in one of them but I can't remember what it was called now. 

Three happy wanderers, my husband, his sister and brother in law having a picnic in the autumn sunshine.

Just looking back over the many photos I have of the Lakes fills me with longing to go back.  Honestly there are days when I yearn for the place!  The Lake District has got to be one of the most beautiful parts of England's green and pleasant lands.

Happy memories.

TTFN,

Kathleen.

 

I Won't be Seeing...

this scenery for quite some time. My sister-in-law and her husband have lived in the Lake District for the last seven years and we have been lucky enough to go and stay with them lots of times and enjoy their company and the beautiful countryside up there. Now though they are moving to Wales.  There's nothing wrong with Wales but it's just not the Lake District is it? However, the move to Wales is making them very happy and that's what counts.

Ullswater.  We visited this weekend for the last time before the move to Wales and as you can see the weather wasn't very good but these hills are glorious no matter what the weather is like.

We enjoyed a visit to an Antiques and Collector's Fair at the Rheged Centre. It was full of lots and lots of beautiful china (Mo, you would have loved it).

To finish, a picture of Charlie playing with the Fisher Price school his mummy and aunty used to play with when they were his age.

Kathleen.

More Gap Filling

Every couple of months or so Billy and I go up to the Lake District to visit his sister  and her husband.  We always have a good time with them and the fact that they live in one of the most beautiful parts of England makes going to see them extra special.

Here they are in Whinlatter Mountain Forest Park.  I shouted to them to turn round and wave.  It looks like Billy didn't quite understand what I said!  Arthur makes him worse,  he laughs at everything he does. 11/09/09.

Keswick

Ullswater on a very calm and mild day, the water was like a millpond.

Two Little Treasures watching the telly.  It was probably Fireman Sam, Peppa Pig or Mickey Mouse, they don't watch anything else. 15/09/09

Saltburn by the Sea.  On 20th September we all drove up to the east coast for a day at the beach.  It was a beautiful day for late September.  We took a picnic which we ate on the beach and the boys had a great time. The next time our American relatives come over for a holiday this place is on the list to take them.