TUESDAY 29th MAY 2012

THE LAKES DISTRICT

Wowser! What a day today turned out to be!
We filled the car at a Sainsburys outlet next to the Premier Inn, had tea and toast in the cafe there and then set out for Lake Windermere and the Lakes District.
On the map it looked like a lengthy drive but we jumped on the M6 Motorway and setting the cruise control at the 70mph speed limit we covered the distance in no time! Passed by Liverpool, Manchester, Bolton,Wigan, Balckpool and a whole host of towns along the six lane motorway, once again enjoying the lush farming countryside and reaching Fell Foot Park at the southernmost tip of Lake Windermere at about midday and just in time to have a pot of tea with a scone, jam and clotted Cornish cream! All this sitting in a quaint little cafe right on the waterfront!
From there the drive up to Bowness-on-Windermere along the edge of the lake was just enthralling! Picture postcard scenes at every turn, our photos will not really do it justice! Lots of little stone houses along the waterfront, boats etc dotted on the water and beautiful hills on each side! Just a magnificent sight and with the weather being absolutely perfect, we reckon this was the best day of the trip so far!
We drove on through Windermere town and on to a little village called Ambleside where we checked into the Best Western Hotel. This magnificent old place was the perfect stop for this area - plushly decorated, with large rooms and luxury fittings - and although it was a bit over our usual price we had no hesitation of taking two rooms! We unloaded the cases to our rooms - I chucked a sad when my suitcase handle (the flimsy retractable thing!) got bent as I dragged up some stairs and then wouldn't retract! But it was quickly fixed and we then drove off to find the home of Beatrix Potter!
Hill Top Cottage was on the other side of the lake and we drove down the narrowest, winding roads for about ten kilometres to get there, so narrow in parts that when we passed another car our wing mirrors hit the greenery growing on the rock walls!!!!
All the little farms had rock walls instead of the usual hedges or fences and they were so carefully made with pieces of shale - presumably taken from the steep mountain slopes that ringed the valley!
The cottage is part of a little village set in a lovely valley and we bought our tickets and explored the tiny house, much to my Sue's delight as this was her top of the list of things to see! Bought some little bits and pieces at the little shop, and then wound our way back to Ambleside where we caught a bus down to Windamere and had a look about, pausing for the now obligatory pint or two, before getting the bus back to our hotel! After a shower and change of clothes we had the BEST EVER Thai meal at a restaurant opposite the hotel! It was simply superb dining and the perfect way to cap a remarkable day!