Mosaic Monday #55: An Autumn Amble

Derwent Water

A trip to the UK is not complete until we have visited the Lake District.  Also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, it is a mountainous region in Northwest England.  A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests and mountains, and its associations with William Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter.  The Lake District National Park was established in 1951 and covers an area of 2,362 square kilometers.  It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017.  You can read other posts about the Lakes here, here and here.

Ladies' Wellingtons ("wellies")

This time, our day out commenced with a stop at the Mainsgill Farm Shop, a scant 30 minutes from my in-laws' house.  The number of farm shops in the UK has exploded since the mid-1970s, when farms began to expand from a simple stall at the farm gate to a formal shop on site.  It is estimated there are 3,500 farm shops nationwide, up from 1,200 a dozen years ago.  Many of these operations have become tourist attractions in their own right, with play barns, petting zoos and full-service cafes.  While on-site family attractions can be a significant draw, the core principle of quality home-produced food remains the key to success for these farms.

"We are a livestock farm producing our own meats and bakery produce"

Left and middle - so many beautiful tins

Upper right - kids' wellies      Lower right - chocolate Santa!

Top - look closely at the 'sausage mummies' and the 'spooky beef pumpkins'

Middle - we might not be in Montana, but the ski lodge followed us here

Bottom - I resisted the urge to buy the hedgehog notebook and the mead!

If you'd like to learn more, this link is an excellent article about the evolution of farm shops in the UK.

We parked near Ashness Bridge, one of the most photographed bridges in the Lake District, with a plan to walk to Watendlath.  This small hamlet nestles against Watendlath Tarn and offers a lovely tea shop to break up the walk.

Click to enlarge if you want to read the fine print

Quickly, we reached a view point overlooking Derwent Water, and it brought back memories of the hike to Cat Bells with my sister and her husband in the summer of 2017.  Cat Bells is the summit that you see through this frame of trees - how fun to think that 15 months ago we were on the hillside on the other side of this lake!

After climbing a bit more through the wood, the path emerges next to a stream, crossed by this lovely wooden bridge.  From that point, the stream was always on our left, and the land stretched away into farm fields until it abruptly rose to dramatic craggy outcroppings.  The photo opportunities were endless, but I will restrain myself and give you just the best of the views that day.

A waterfall marks the transition from the path to the hamlet of Watendlath, and you traverse another packhorse bridge to reach the tea shop.  The weather was kind enough to permit outdoor seating, and birds flitted among the tables, cleaning up the wayward crumbs.

After our break, we utilized the free (!) public restrooms.  A sign on the outside wall contained some deeply surprising information - Watendlath used to be owned by the monks of Fountains Abbey!  One of the largest and best preserved Cistercian monasteries in England, Fountains Abbey is another one of our treasured spots, and I wrote about our last visit there in June 2017.  So I was charmed to find that the two are connected, especially considering that Watendlath is 100 miles from the Abbey.  The monks of that day had a long reach!

As we left the hamlet to walk back to the car, I paused to capture the packhorse bridge, and just then a couple passed over it.  With typical British humor, the male half of the couple posed for a picture.  What a character!

Near the car park, the Bark House stands with a fine view of Ashness Bridge and Derwent Water beyond.  In 1989, Spousal Unit stayed here with his scout group.  Can you imagine 19 young men in this small hut?

It is called the Bark House because it was used to store bark for the leather industry

The sun was drifting toward the horizon as we motored to the nearest village, Keswick.  Fortune was in our favor - market day in the village had brought scores of vendors to the marketplace in the center of town.  I was delighted to spy a representative of the Bird of Prey Centre, with a feathered companion.  We gladly paid the fee to get my picture taken with Fuzz, a southern white-faced owl that was bred in captivity and serves as an adorable ambassador for his fellow raptors.

We made the most of the remaining light to stroll through the park to Derwent Water.  We have passed this way many times, from our dating days to summer holidays with the kids to our last visit in the summer of 2017 with my sister and her husband.  It brought back such pleasant memories of putt-putt golf, and feeding the ducks and geese.  The gardens were past their prime, but I still managed to compose some colorful shots.

In a fitting end to the day, we had dinner at the George and Dragon pub.

Given our visit to Wainwright country, it was entirely appropriate (although perhaps a coincidence) that the men were drinking Wainwright golden ale served in a Wainwright glass.  I wholeheartedly endorse the advice printed on the glass - "Find Your Mountain".

Due to travel, I may be late in commenting on your blog posts, but I will be on-line this week.  Hope you can join in!

Mosaic Monday

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