Monday
24 October
We drove
to Woolston just outside Warrington to meet up with Sylvi's friend
Pam and her sister Maureen (Mo) and brother-in-law Steven. This is
the second time on our trip that we've stayed over at a friend's
place, with our huge beast parked in their front drive, for which we
are very appreciative.
Mo
took us to the local shopping centre for some shopping and lunch
followed by a visit to St John the Evangelist church (1885) with old
graveyard attached. A plaque marked the spot where 50 people's ashes
had been buried following their deaths from cholera. That totally
put us off eating any of the acorns falling off the church yard
trees.
A
short walk further we came to a beautiful grove of trees overhanging
a canal where local fisherman were competing for the heaviest catch
of the day. Their nets contained more small sardines then anything
really substantial but it was all in fun and they would be released
once the winner identified.
Then
we came upon the grounds of Walton Hall built in 1838 and now opened
to the public for weddings and other functions. The old stables now
house a small museum with family photos, displays and relics of tools
used in days gone by. The house itself is still resplendent from the
exterior and from what we saw looking through the windows, the inside
is too. There were 3 gravestones on the front lawn and we wondered
if an ancestor was really called Bubbles and similar names. It took
us awhile to work out they were dogs, obviously family pets buried
here many years ago.
Back
at the house, Steve had cooked up a storm – Thai green curry and a
sticky date cheesecake made by Pam – and we enjoyed a long dinner
with much animated conversation late into the evening. It was such a
lovely evening and thank Mo, Steve and Pam with all our heart.
Tuesday
25 October
The
sound of the garbage collectors at a very reasonable 8am was all the
alarm clock we needed. In the house, Pam was busy preparing our
breakfast – burcher muesli followed by a beautiful hot selection.
We felt so totally spoilt and would happily have stayed a week.
However,
the night before Steve had helped us plan the next places to visit so
we headed for the Lakes district in Cumbria after saying our
goodbyes.
Once
again the countryside scenery is magnificent though the occasional
waft of very strong cow poo fertiliser was less so. As we got closer
to our destination of Coniston, on Coniston Water, in Cumbria, the roads started to
narrow and the occasional tree branch scraped the vehicle as we made
room for vehicles coming the other day.
Our
camp site, Park Coppice Caravan Club Site, has an amazing 285 pitches
for caravans and motor homes and is just about full due to the school
holidays this week. It is a very picturesque site built within lush
woodland and very close to a huge lake and the village of Coniston.
After
lunch we set off wearing our rain gear just in case and did the huge
loop from the lake to the village, walking through sheep farming
properties. The village is totally gorgeous with many stone
buildings, pubs and church, and quite crowded with tourists.
On
the return walk we were on a more elevated path so were able to take
some great photos of the colourful countryside overlooked by many
large mountains.
On
the news we heard that parts of Ireland suffered terrible flooding
following 48 hours of torrential rain, with at least two people
killed so far and many properties damaged. The footage of flooding
in Dublin streets we had visited just last week seemed surreal. We
are certainly very lucky, once again, not to have been caught up in
this disaster.
Wednesday
26 October
A
bit of rain overnight but temps aren't too bad – around 5 – 7
degrees. We set off in the late morning to do a somewhat challenging
walk through farm and National Trust land. This is Walk #3 from the Lakeland Leisure Walks Series, to Yewdale Valley and Tarn Hows. The sun was trying to
break through but lots of dark clouds hang stubbornly over the
mountains.
As
we're walking through farming land, we constantly have to open and
close gates to prevent livestock from escaping, and obviously have to
watch where we walk. There's lots of mud on the paths, but also lots
of sheep and cow poo.
The
countryside is breathtaking with lots of stone walls covered in moss,
tall trees with yellow and orange autumn colours and lots of flowing
streams of crystal clear water. The air is crisp but the occasional
breakthrough of the sun helps to keep us warm.
After
a few steep climbs we arrive at a beautiful waterfall amidst the
colourful forest. In summer it's probably hard to resist going for a
dip, but at the moment we assume the water is far too cold.
The stream and its numerous waterfalls are called Tom Gill.
Beautiful
as this is, it isn't the culmination of our trek so we continue up
the still rising slope to arrive at a huge man made lake at the
summit called Tarn Hows. There are lots of people here who “cheated” and drove,
but we are proud of our efforts and take a well deserved break to
admire the wonderful view.
The
walk back to Coniston village is flat and easy but no less
picturesque and after a late lunch we head back to our camp.
So
many people had suggested we visit this Lake District, and we are
very glad we did. We've been very lucky with the weather here and
we've loved being amongst this beautiful natural wonder.
Our other photos are here.
No comments:
Post a Comment