We stayed near a cute tourist town called Ambleside at the Riverside B+B (finalist for friendliest landlady in England last year- I'm trying to imagine how they judge that contest?). Saturday morning we set off for a local waterfall before renting a skiff on Lake Windermere and rowing across to an old castle. During the hour-long row I got rained on and sunburned.
We then set off for the mountain behind our hotel, "Loughrigg." There is no tree cover so even though elevation was only -1000 ft you got spectacular views (and an amazing amount of goat crap). Its quite an interesting mix of people on the trails, old mountain goat couples and Scots drinking beer as they hike along. Everyone massively over-"geared" for hiking as is apparently typical of the English.
We stopped by a pub on the way back before walking a side trail back to the b+b. I took a dip in the beautiful rushing stream (marginally warmer than the East Pemi River). All the Brits thought I was mad but I liked it so much I went in again.
We then headed to the Drunken Duck- one of the most amazing restaurants I have ever visited. The 4 mile drive was classic narrow roaded English countryside. As the sun set over the green fields I couldn't help but think of the line from William Blake's poem "Jerusalem"
"And was the holy Lamb of God,
On Englands pleasant pastures seen"
It truly seemed a blessed piece of country.
The Duck was spectacular, home-brewed beer, venison, wood pigeon, cod cheeks, and sea bass. My friend has a wide knowledge of wine and picked a great bottle. We practically rolled out, only stopping to pet the snoozing boxer (dog) lying across the dining room doorway. The sensations from that evening, the light across the fields and hedges, the food and wine, the velvet of the night, will stay with me for a long time.
The next day we undertook a slightly more ambitious "walk" up "Underfell." It was bright and sunny with no cloud cover and magnificent views over lake windermere. I was most impressed by the amount of livestock and the intricacy of the stone falls that split much of the mountain. You'd have thought the farmers would have combined forces rather than build so many walls so high up. We observed a bull chasing a reluctant cow (at one point there were 3 cattle all mounting each other simultaneously) and got chased by some goats for a while.
We then spent the afternoon in Ambleside enjoying the best apple pie I have ever tasted and venturing into a truly local pub.
It started to rain just before we left and after one more dip in the river we headed back to the train station.
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