Saturday 2 July 2016

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

29 comments:

  1. jacquie, I am so glad that you did get to visit the Lakes for your important birthday, and that the visit included both time with your family, and some time to yourself as well.

    Back in the 1980s and 90s, I was a member of the Beatrix Potter Society, having joined up after seeing a wonderful Potter exhibit at the Tate. Not Just the storybooks, but also her love of conservation and ecology were the subjects of the exhibit.

    I never got to any of the Society's London meetings, and have yet to visit Hilltop, but have felt very connected to BP, for ages. This meant that I was so interested to find these excellent posts from you.

    I'm wondering if you have ever been a member of the Society?

    Best wishes to you Jacquie. xo

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  2. Lovely post, as usual.
    Thank you.
    L.x.

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  3. Gorgeous! We had an Easter holiday to the Lakes District when we were living in Europe, I have travelled the world and it is still my most favourite holiday!

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  4. Thank you for sharing your trip and early morning walk. I absolutely love the Lakes and on countdown to our family holiday in approx 20 days, not that I am counting or anything lol :)

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  5. I have enjoyed reading about your birthday weekend ( mine is next year, ouch! ) in the Lake District. We have visited many times and more often than not have had similar weather to you.

    I absolutely love Hill Top and your beautiful photos really show how wonderful the garden is.

    Thanks for sharing your weekend.

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  6. Thank you for your excellent post. I really enjoyed reading it and looking at the lovely photo's. I've never been to the Lakes , probably never will now, so it was nice to see it through your eyes. You are a very good photographer.

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  7. A wonderful way to celebrate your birthday! Here's to ma-ny more! Love the wooden boats, and my favorite time is early morning explorations when it's quite and still. So wonderful to see Beatrix Potter's stories come to life and that it's well taken care of still. My girls favorite childhood stories (mine too).I really enjoyed seeing it, thank you for sharing.x

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  8. I have stayed at that hostel, it's in a beautiful place. Your photo's are lovely, I like the mirrored trees best.

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  9. Wow, what a spectacular morning, perfectly photogenic, glad you managed to make the most of it. I'd love to visit Beatrix Potter's farm one day. I've been past it but never had a look round. The vegetable garden looks particularly lovely. Sounds like a wonderful birthday treat break. CJ xx

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  10. I loved each and every photo and your story too. Thank you so much for taking us along. I will probably never get there myself, and I love BP so much. *H*A*P*P*Y* * *B*I*R*T*H*D*A*Y*!*!*!* -- ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  11. Thought you might like to hear a little Beatrix Potter story as apparently she was quite a scarey lady in person! I used to live in Ambleside and knew a man called "Chicken George" (a story in itself as the main carpark in Ambleside used to be allotments and he kept chickens there…!) When George was a boy he arranged to meet a friend at Sawrey to go to scouts or boys brigade or something but when he got to the hall BP was at the gate and looking him up and down declared "you're not from here" rapped him over the knuckles with her stick and wouldnt let him in!

    I lived in one of the cottages on the road-side of the hostel and still love visiting the area even though we are only half an hour away it still feels like going on holiday!

    DD x

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  12. Thank you for sharing and taking us on your Birthday mini break. I enjoyed every moment and your wonderful photos. Love the early morning mist on the lake and the reflections.

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  13. Thank you for sharing your holliday .I specially love the visit of BƩatrix Potter's House .Ʈm so fond of her drawings.y.s

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  14. Hi Jacquie, you took me right back to my childhood as I haven't been to Hill Top for many, many years and it's still as magical and beautifulas I remember! I love your photos of the mist over the lake as well. Thank you for sharing. Susie x

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  15. Wonderful pictures there is nothing like being out first thing in the morning to capture the beauty and stillness before everyone else is up! Hilltop looks wonderful too, we must visit the Lakes too. Sarah x

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  16. I have really enjoyed seeing your pictures and to see Hilltop again which I adore was wonderful too. Mostly though I am so glad for you that you had such a great time!!

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  17. Perfectly wonderful to the end.! Thanks for letting us in on your special celebration, Jacquie. I treasure your viewpoint...your artist's eye of the world, that helps me appreciate the beauty around us. xx

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  18. This is a great post!!! In our house we all love the works of Beatrix Potter. Thank you for the tour! Absolutely beautiful.

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  20. How wonderful! Your "self indulgent" post is as self indulgent for me as it was for you. I, most likely, will never get to actually visit Hilltop but you have made it probably as close to being there as I ever will. A beautiful visit and a belated happy birthday. Just had mine the other day too!

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  21. It looks like you had a smashing trip. I had a big birthday this year too (the same as yours) and just before the big day, had a few days walking with my eldest. We walked from home in Silverdale to Keswick and stayed in hostels including the one in Ambleside - it was the first time I'd stayed there and I was impressed, apart from the fact that it was so hot in our room. Your early morning photos are really captivating! I've never been to Hilltop, but Townend, near Troutbeck and also National Trust is a similar old farmhouse which retains lots of very old furniture and carved wooden fittings - it is also well worth a visit.

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  22. I really enjoyed sharing your lake district break. I loved the photos, especially the ones of Windermere. It brings back lovely memories... once when our small children were staying with my parents, my husband and I set off for a mystery drive. we live in Dorset and in the early hours, we ended up in the Lake District! it was pitch black, and we woke to find this beautiful view of the lake and mountains in front of us which was like waking up in fairyland, especially when a deer walked in front of the car and wandered off!

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  23. Hi Jackie! What a wonderful post! I adore the Lake District and Beatrix Potter! I've been to the Hill Top twice and cannot wait to go again. Love the photos from your early morning walk around Windermere. So looking forward to reading the other two post on your mini break xx

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  24. What an absolutely stunning post Jacquie. I loved every word, every photo and to go around with you at Hill Top was such a treat. I have been a bit absent recently but will start reading back through your posts to catch up with your lovely life xxxx

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  25. What a lovely sight to wake up to! Sounds like you are really enjoy your mini-breaks. The photos are stunning!

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  26. What lovely photos, thanks for sharing. I truly loved scrolling through them.

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  27. Muy bonitas las fotos.la casa de Beatriz Porter y los alrededores me ha encantado.

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  28. I enjoyed your post. I came over from Denise's blog. What a beautiful early morning walk along the Lake. I so enjoyed your photos of your visit to Hilltop! I do hope to return to the Lake District some day and make sure to visit. I love all things Beatrix Potter. I have a post up today in honor of her, too. Have a nice weekend! https://happywonderer.com/

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