Our Lake district Mini Break :: Part Three

Hello Lovelies,

after another good night's sleep I awoke at 6am. We had not closed the curtains in our room and I could see there was some blue sky. I got out of bed and went straight over to see how "My hill" was looking...oh wow. A beautiful mist hung over the lake and, nearly obscured, Todd Crag.........

I sat in the window looking at it for a while then hubby suggested I go for a walk. Of course I should.

I quietly got dressed and left the hostel. The hills along the western side of the lake were shrouded in mist as well.......

Sparrows were hopping about by the waters edge......

I wandered past the Princess of the Lake........

along the smart little promenade........

where more feathered friends were enjoying the early morning quiet......

I zoomed in on the yachts moored out in the lake. A thin mist hung just above the water......

Such a tranquil scene.........

The ducks by the waters edge made me smile...I love the way they were sleeping on one leg.......

Oh those reflections.....

Photo overload again...I could not resist, sorry :0)

I love the perfect mirror image here.......

There were a couple of other photographers about. They had big cameras and one had a tripod. He just seemed to be waiting for the perfect moment...where as I wandered around snapping as much as I could. Wanting to capture as much of the beauty and the atmosphere as possible.

I walked out along the public jetty and loved the sun rays and the glassy reflections........

small details........

and mirrored trees.........

Here's a map of Lake Windermere and some interesting information. You should be able to read if you enlarge it by clicking on the photo........

After a while I wandered back along the prom......

past the tea shop........

and smiled when I noticed the milkman had been........

It felt such a luxury to have this normally busy spot almost to myself........

and still the mist hung on the water.......

I decided the family would not be awake yet and that I could squeeze in a little walk up the footpath we had explored the previous evening.......

It starts off as an uninspiring concrete path between modern houses. But soon turns into this.....

wonderful boulders and ferns......

and higher still the "steps" are made out of tree roots.......

How I loved the delicate grasses and the tall foxgloves........

and the view down onto the misty lake........

I sat on top of the wall for a few minutes and enjoyed the peace in this beautiful spot.......

Then carefully picked my way back down those higgeldy stone steps........

Back past the still closed pier.......

and the still misty lake.......

Back in the hostel we enjoyed a tasty breakfast ( all you can eat buffet style) and I snapped a couple of photos of the very pleasant dining room. I loved this bold poster of Tarn Hows.......

and was amused by this "London Underground " style map of the lakes......

After breakfast we checked out of our room as sadly it was our last day.
We didn't have to go straight home though. There was time for one last visit. It was a short journey to Near Sawrey, where we parked and went into the ticket office......

Can you guess were we were headed? 

It was the home of much loved children's author Beatrix Potter.

This is such a popular tourist destination you need a timed ticket. We arrived at 10am and were allotted a 10.20 time slot......

The ticket opened out to show a cute map of the route through the village, with points of interest on the way........



Features around the village which Beatrix Potter included in  her children's classics were higlighted....

And of course the views were beautiful...despite the drizzle........

I loved this white gate and stone wall, which must have once been the main entrance to Hill Top.....

We were a little early for out timed slot, but you could look around the gardens while you waited. And how lovely they were. With Alchemilla spilling out onto the very path that Beatrix had built.....

and sweet peas growing up a pretty wigwam.......

I just loved the cottage garden planting........

Yellow and purple always look well together.......

and Astrantia are a new favourite of mine.......

of course Roses are an old favourite :0)........

Here we are in the vegetable garden at Hill Top. It's a view that will be familiar to all Beatrix Potter fans

Here it is in my own childhood copy of Jemima Puddle duck.......

All the details were still the same, from the beautiful gate, to the bee hive in the wall, to the rhubarb patch.......

and even the succulents growing out of the wall.......

 I loved having the opportunity for a good look round......

How wonderful must the old house look when the Wisteria is in bloom.......

The old windows and the pretty Geraniums caught my eye......

Here's another one of Beatrix's charming illustrations with a similar scene......

Then it was our turn to tour the house. It belongs to the National Trust and I thought it such a lovely touch that they had lots of copies of the "little books" you could carry around and spot where Beatrix had used the rooms as settings for her stories.........



It was very dark indoors. To be true to the way it would have been when Beatrix was alive. It did make photography tricky.......

She never had electricity installed

I loved this cosy corner and was surprised by the grand looking fireplace.......

It was a bit lighter in the kitchen.......

And natural light flooded the stairs even on a rainy day.......

Here you can see the stairs as Beatrix painted them........

I loved this view across the rooftops from an upstairs window......

and this copy of a story letter which Beatrix then developed into The Tale of Peter Rabbit.....

The wood panelled rooms and the deep window seats were beautiful........

Here you can see this window in the story "The Tale of Tom Kitten".......

All around were little excerpts from letters Beatrix wrote to various friends, they really gave a sense of her character.

I have seen this passage before, but reading it in Hill Top, I will admit it brought a tear to my eye..........

This lady had such a strong affection for the lake district and did so much to preserve it for posterity by buying hill farms and land which she managed and then donated to the National Trust. It's a wonderful legacy.

After our visit to this special place the rain really set in and we decided to head home. 

I couldn't resist spending the last of my birthday money in Hill Top's gift shop before I left :0)

Thank you for reading these long posts lovelies. They are rather self indulgent. I wanted to record as much as possible so that I can look back on my "Big Birthday" celebrations in years to come.
Hope hope you enjoyed sharing our mini break in the Lake District. I really hope it won't be too long till we can return.
Jacquie x