Scotland and the Lakes. Holiday 2011. part the last

Last blog:

  Sunday came with a bright start .So I rose early and stole out to catch the early morning light and explore the photo opportunities .

I was not disappointed I knew from our previous sojourn where the possible vantage points might be .

  And felt well rewarded .


 
Later in the morning we went for a drive around the Lakes heading towards Coniston . On the way [down a narrow lane ] we passed this little jem,it is exactly the kind of house we are looking for on the dendrochronology project albeit in stone  .

 It certainly looks like a Tudor hall house. The gable end appears somewhat weakened by the intrusion of a doorway through the fire place, Notice the blocking of a window . A nice feature is the use of slate 'eyebrows' to help keep the rain from the windows.

The adjacent out buildings appear contemporary and the later farm house shows the continuity of occupation and all very nicely kept.

And so on to our destination, Brantwood the Lakeland home of John Ruskin the Victorian polymath, John Ruskin was born in London on 8 February 1819. He was one of the greatest figures of the Victorian age, poet, artist, critic, social revolutionary and conservationist.

We had a tour of the house and some of the pictures are taken through the windows that Ruskin would have looked out of.

We went to the coffee shop for our elevenses it was here that I espied an intersing looking flan.  What is that I inquired .Why that sir, said she in a Lakeland accent ,is pear and almond . Jean would like that, something unusual. Two slices then, I say . It's quite expensive says the wench £4.50 a slice . What ! Well it does take three days to make the pastry, qhoth she.
I blanche as the thought strikes me .Good job I did not order the 'thousand year old eggs' in the Chinese yesterday then .

Any way I bought a slice , and do you know what, it tasted  just...like three day old pastry.

It was nice to see the old steam boat still plying its trade on the lake and the contrast with the sail boats made an interesting scene.

Moving on . we had a little tour around some more of the Lakes and returned to our base. we were so full of pear &almond flan that we decided to forgo dinner and made do a snack instead. courtesy of a Tesco's meal deal .

Later we went for a an evening stroll and encountered a bevy of brides . whether this was the 'Brides of the Lakes Convention' or Hen Party was uncertain .What was certain was that they were laddettes ,very drunk and very silly . but they were having fun  . I am not sure which one was the 'Lady of the Lake ' but I can see why he kept the sword !

Home tomorrow!

Scotland and the Lakes. Holiday 2011. part IX

Saturday 2:
The town of Boweness is very 'bijou' and clings to the steep hill sides .
Its centre is a sort of cross roads where all of the many restaurants, eating houses, take-away, pubs and clubs coalesce interspersed with b&;b's and hotels of varying sizes.
We  passed through Penrith on our way to Bowness- in- Windermere where we are staying for the weekend. So it seems is the  world his wife and kids ! Shock .Horror.Gasp. There were so many people it was like a swarm of bees clinging to the lakeside. There were bodies all over the verges ,pathways  and any open space that could be found .


It was of course the last days of the half term holiday and was suitably very bright sunny and warm.

People had come to enjoy the Lake and rides on the boats .It was like Dunkirk with lines of people all queued up for their respective trips.

There should be some pictures to illustrate this but it was so crowded it was impossible to stop and take pictures until we had parked the car

Our Accommodation, Laurel cottage it was the old Georgian Grammar School

 and this meant driving around [ no easy task] the highways and byways of Bowness back and forth until It was through this morass of people and narrow streets that we eventually found our hotel and the last parking space in the Lake district.


We were to weary to go out and explore .

It looked like we were in for a very noisy night .

After an enjoyable and pleasant dinner in the restaurant close to the hotel, we went for an eveing stroll. What a contrast  gone were the crowds and only the detritus remained .

There was much activity in the pubs etc but it was all good humoured and lively . By late evening the noise and people seem to have melted away and we had a quiet night.

 Some peaceful scenes on the lake


Tomorrow is another day, as they say, more anon

Scotland and the Lakes. Holiday 2011. part VIII

Saturday and the time to return. we are returning back to the Lake district  for a  short weekend break.

As we  had left early we caught the light of the rising sun and stopped at Connel to take a last panoramic view of  the isle of Mull across the Firth of Lorn.

There were more treats in stores as we approached Glen Coe .Passing along Loch Etive the light and reflections were crying out for a pictures and how could we resist.

On to Glen Coe a better prospect weather wise that the previous week but we would not liked to have to live in this Croft no matter what the weather.

A long and winding road [oh i think there's a song in there somewhere]

We stopped at Dochart Falls again to partake of a wholesome breakfast . Then of to Stirling and the road to the lakes. on the outskirts of Stirling we ran into the ubiquitous road works which lasted for 10 miles and unfortunately due a combination of poor signage and eyesight we failed to take the exit we needed which meant we went into and through Glasgow which were trying to avoid . So we decided to continue or journey through the lowlands of Strathclyde were not sure how we got to pass Moscow but...

We did pass the Burns Monument and alms houses at Mauchline Ayrshire the National Burns Memorial . It was first opened in 1898 to commemorate the centenary of Burns' passing.

 We also were close to Hollywood and went through Lockerbie and Gretna Green before we got to Penrith.

Scotland and the Lakes. Holiday 2011. part VII

Friday and the weather has turned for the better, we awoke to bright sunshine and birds song. After breakfast we decided to go to the Ben Nevis center which is above and behind where we are staying, we could walk but it is long slog but only 5 mins by road .

When we arrived we discovered that they were having the a world class mountain bike event and the world had indeed arrived. We had to park outside the of the centre and get the shuttle bus in . We could have walked, but then we might as well have walked from home in the first place.

When we arrived last weekend the weather was so bad that the ski centre was closed and this weekend could not be more of a contrast .

The Down hill mountain race looks extremely hazardous and thrilling . It was good to see so many youngsters having a go leaping and turning over the rough and rugged track. they get down in about four minutes !.
Just think all this started with  kids on a 'Chopper' and jumping off the kerbs !

We ventured up to the summit [ well nearly] in the gondola .What stunning views to be had from here, because of the Lochs that are in the valleys below it gives the edge to Snowdonia with which we are so familiar

The awesome track down which they race viewed from the gondola

This shows the track from the start point  down the first section





They're Off !

We went for a walk to the view point and it was  worth the walk

Fort William from Ben Nevis