Day 7: Ullswater and the Howtown Hotel

On Ullswater

A very sedate day today...we drove to Pooley Bridge and parked the car and walked to the Ullswater Steamer dock.  The Victorian boats that ply up and down the lake used to be steamers and despite the fact that they were converted to diesel in the 30s, the name has stuck.   It was a dullish sort of day and as we set off we realised that there was a marked distinction between the dress of the younger and older passengers with the older passengers, us amongst them, wearing layers and coats and the younger ones in shorts and t-shirts!  There were a few goose pimples!  But not ours!

At Howtown we disembarked (!) and walked the short distance to the hotel.  Peter had phoned to book a table in the morning.  Can we have lunch at about 12.45?  No, we serve lunch at 1.00.  We should have remembered.  This is the oddest hotel.  We went there for lunch with Eliot and Nancy when Abe was a few months old.  We were the only people asking for lunch then and they made a polite fuss about not knowing if they had any food.  In the end they produced soup and cold meat and salad and some kind of pudding.  It was eerily quiet and we had coffee afterwards in the pale green and silent lounge.

On this occassion we arrived in time for a drink and went round to the public bar where the light was good enough to read the paper. 

The public bar

The other side of the bar

This is an old fashioned hotel with pleasant old fashioned service and a smell of beeswax in the air.  The gong may have sounded for lunch but we were already on our way round the outside (no access from the public bar to the rest of the hotel - this is designed to keep the muddy boots of the walkers off the carpets). This time the dining room was almost buzzing.  A couple of guys in pink shirts, another couple about our age, a softely spoken trio of elderly folk leaning in to hear each other and a party of people who spoke in plummy voices that could have carried right across the lake, and probably did.    Again, no menu, just soup or fruit juice and cold meat (beef, ham, chicken, duckling, pork or salmon), salad and hot potatoes.  The salmon was delicious. Peter opted for the beef.  I had plum tart and icecream for dessert and Peter had fresh fruit. We partook of coffee in the garden and then Peter went in search of someone in order to pay our bill.  Quite a difficult task, but in the end he got the barman to sort it out.    Back on the steamer and a quick dash to Penrith to pick up some bread and a gift or two then back to Curlew Cottage to run the vacuum cleaner over the carpets and get everything ship shape in time for Joe and Helen's return at 5.00 pm.  A nice cup of tea, followed by a bottle of wine and much catching up.  Dinner in the evening at the George and Dragon.

Helen and Joe

And so ended the holiday.  An excellent and relaxing week. 

Day 6: Kendal

We set off for Kendal by a back route, just for the fun of it.  A winding road with grass growing down the middle and some diving into the hedge to avoid oncoming traffic (two cars actually).  Then we were completely stopped by a small farm vehicle loaded with sheep dogs parked smack in the middle of the lane.  We waited patiently as befits city folk not wanting to appear pushy and eventually the farmer jogged down the road from the gateway where he had been having a chinwag with a mate and gave us a wave and a sheepish (ha) grin.

I'm not sure if we've been in Kendal before, we certainly went to the Abbot Hall museum about 4 years ago.  Just to make sure we parked near the museum in Peppercorn Lane car park and had a walk round.  A busy town with some fine architecture left over from its days as a rich wool town and a myriad of 'courts' or alleys leading off the main street and several large archways leading to what would have been coaching inns.    We had coffee and read the papers (and I must confess to a toasted teacake) in an old coffee/tea shop.  Very old!  The shop's account book going back to 1800 was on display as well as the original tea containers.

Tea containers

The coffee department

A bit of humour

A street in Kendal

We were going to have lunch in the museum café but they only had one bowl of soup left and we decided against a bread based lunch...so instead we wandered back to the main street and found a greasy spoon (aka a café were almost everything is fried!) and Peter had quiche and chips and I had sausage, egg and chips!  We would have been better off with a sandwich after all...

Then we went back to the museum, only to find that they were between exhibitions so although we enjoyed a small collection of water colours and some fine pictures by Romney there wasn't a great deal to see.  The Barbara Hepworth's for the coming exhibition were in a dark corner, firmly shrouded and marked 'No photography' though what harm a picture of a cloth wrapped shape would do I wasn't sure.  However I obeyed the signs.

We returned to Askham by a more orthodox route and made a supper from left overs and more rhubarb from the garden.

Day 5: Around Askham

Lowther Castle

We got plenty of exercise today without going very far as the crow flies.  We walked downhill through Askham to the bridge over the Lowther river, turned right and walked along a woodland path beside the water.  After a while a friendly dog walker told us that to reach the castle we would have to make a sharp left.  This led us uphill (again!) and we eventually skirted the front of the ruin.  We had hoped to enter by the front but as you can see the ruin is in a semi-restored state.  It's never going to be a home again but work is going on to make it safe enough to walk around inside.  Apparently a lot of money was squandered in the 30s and a fire took off most of the roof and the family abandoned the castle and moved into something more manageable, Askham Hall.  However, there was no way in at the front so we had to trudge uphill (again) around the side of the castle and between the sheep until we reached a gate to the drive and then back down the drive to within a stone's throw of our original point.  Phew!

I went up in a balloon to get this shot. Oh yeah!

View from the summer house

A trust is now running the ruins and the gardens which are very much a work in progress having also suffered neglect for years.   There are some good notice boards and old photographs to tell you what it might have looked like.    It reminded us of the Plantation Garden in Norwich, though on a much larger scale - a Victorian construct which fell into disrepair.  We bought a roll, crisps and water at the café and wandered off into the grounds for our picnic.   We came across a summer house by a pond which was a perfect lunch spot once my Paddington stare had caused the couple who were sitting in in to cede their places! 

Reflections

 After lunch we strolled along the woodland paths and along the edge of the grounds on a mown path looking out across the valley and over to Askham.

In the woods!

Although we arrived back at the corner of the property where we wanted to exit, we did not have the nerve to vault over the clearly barred gate so we went back to the entrance, up the drive and through the sheep again.  This time we took the quick path down to the river which turned out to be very narrow and steep and not easy going for some with varifocals and poor balance and weary legs!   We made it though and crawled back up through the village, stopping at Askham Hall for a cup of tea.  We were planning to see the garden there, but just didn't have anymore energy.  So we toiled back up through the village to Curlew Cottage.

After a rest, a few emails and a wash and brush up it was down to the village pub (we chose the Queen's Head) for curry night.  Chicken or Lamb Rogan Josh with a poppadum and a pint of Black Sheep.  The curry was fair to middling!  Interesting to sit in the corner of the pub and watch people come and go.  They all know each other.  We speculated what it must be like to live in a village where everyone knows your business. 

Day 4: Carlisle

Peter about to enter the city!

Today was not a walking day...or rather, not a walking day on the hills.  We decided to give our muscles a rest and get a bit of culture instead.  We drove north to Carlisle, a border town with a Roman and Scots versus English history.   We made a few wrong turns and eventually found a car park under the western walls with a staircase going up and emerging near the cathedral.  Perfect spot! 

We made our way to the Tullie House Museum and started in the cafe with coffee and the newspapers.  No rush!  Then we realised it was 1.0 pm and a sensible time to have lunch.  Eventually we hit the museum, laid out in three sections.  The lower floor devoted to Roman history, the upper floor to Scottish, English and local history and then somewhere in between the old house with pictures.  Excellent exhibits that had us looking, reading and listening for a long time.  They have some excellent pre-Raphelite paintings and a 20th century collection that included Nash and Spencer. Walls were decorated with some splendid Victorian tiles.

Wall tiles

Just as we were enjoying the paintings we realised that we had a few minutes only left on the parking...so we hurried back down the walls.  It seemed pretty quiet so we purchased another ticket and set off in another direction to explore further and buy some supper.  We had a notion that Carlisle was where we had found an attractive dress shop but we couldn't identify the right area.  We may have been mistaken and it was frustrating to say the least to have Peter resigned to looking at clothes and no dress shop worth stopping at in sight. 

Instead, we walked to the station for a glimpse (Peter has all sorts of interests!) and then found a butcher and an M&S food hall and bought supper before driving home.   Cooking on the Rayburn/Aga is an art that I have not quite mastered.  Peter stays out of the kitchen as much as possible while I am huffing and puffing!   It turned out fine though and took our minds off the England v. Costa Rica match.  

Day Three: Askham to Pooley Bridge

Horses, standing still

Another beautifully warm and sunny day so we decided to take another walk.  Straight out of the front door and up the hill and down the other side to Pooley Bridge at the northern end of Ullswater, three miles away.  A long steep climb up the hill to start with and then a flat bit and then a steady descent to Pooley Bridge with a great view of Ullswater on the way.  Towards the start of the walk we came across a group of horses standing by a wall.  They were strangely still and didn't show any interest in us.

Ullswater in the distance

At Pooley Bridge I tried and failed to buy walking trousers and we had fish and chips at the pub.  The portions were positively American!  Neither of us could finish the chips but the huge pieces of cod were delicious.  Really fresh fish, not previously frozen!

Back down to Askham

The climb back up from Pooley Bridge on a full stomach was not great.  My legs were burning and I made frequent stops, ostensibly to look at the scenery.  Peter just walked on and waited when he realised I wasn't in sight.  However, despite the pain, the scenery again was wonderful and at least the way back home, once we had skirted the last hill, was downwards.  We passed the horses again.  Some had moved away from the group, but not far, and a couple were grazing but the rest were still immobile in group.  Supper at home including salad picked fresh from the garden, followed by rhubarb, also from the garden.

PS I have now done my homework and the 'horses' are Fell ponies bred for their stamina and ruggedness.  There are fewer and fewer breeders now and the Fell ponies are on the endangered list of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Apparently the Queen rides one....well!

Day Two: Walking round Wet Skeddale

Looking over the resevoir at Wet Skeddale

Not a long walk, probably about 5 miles, but very up and down and a bit boggy underfoot where the path is unmarked. We had to ford a river using stepping stones - not nice flat ones and not in a straight line.  Peter fell in!  Much unfolding of the map and scratching of heads in one or two places, but we could almost always see the reservoir and our car parked on the other side.  A great comfort!   We enjoyed our picnic and the weather was perfect. 

Came back to Curlew Cottage and sat and dozed in the summer house and read and finished off the day with supper at the Queen's Head.

Crossing the footbridge

Looking back the way we've come

Up through the foxgloves

Lake District: Day 1

The holiday begins with a stroll round the garden and watering duties.  Watering cans and taps everywhere.  This is a beautiful garden! A lot of work goes into it.

 Through the wildflower meadow

The front garden

The veg patch and summer house

Little details

A side path

Looking up from the patio

The kitchen

Inside the house is just as lovely...
I'm beginning to sound like an estate agent!

The sitting room

The boot room and a few maps!

The rest of the day was spent re-discovering Penrith, having coffee, doing a spot of food shopping, having lunch, reading the papers, have a drink at the pub and watching football!