Day 35 - Windermere - 12 October 2024

Day 35- Windermere - 12 October 2024

We woke to a blustery day with rain on the horizon. We had a continental breakfast which was obviously less filling.  A short drive to the Information Centre gave us a lot of options for the area.  We headed to the ticket office for the cruises, only to find that all but one had been cancelled.  There is a low off the coast that is moving inland and expected to arrive at midday.  That was okay as we jumped on a 45-minute circular trip.

We were really lucky because there were so few people on the boat.  We took the top deck to get a good view.  The lake is really huge and from the boat, it is easy to get a proper appreciation of the size.  The captain gave us a brief discussion about various buildings around the lake.

The biggest island in the lake is Belle Island which is one kilometre long.  The house on the island was constructed in 1774 and is round.  it has a four column portico and is three storeys high. 

The boat

Bowness

Windermere Lake

In 1778, Thomas West published his guidebook to Lakes which sparked a great deal of interest in Lake Windermere.  To assist artists to view the lake, a viewing station was constructed in the 1790s.  It had tinted windows of various colours to enhance the colours of the seasons.  That viewing station was named the Claife Viewing Station and it still exists.  Of couse, there are hotels on the western bank of the lake as well.

A hotel

The Claife Viewing Station

The boat left from the pier at Bowness which is a lovely little place just south of Windermere. We spent a long time looking at the shops and buying souvenirs.  It rained for about 15 minutes but it is so gentle that it doesn't stop anybody.

Bowness

More Bowness

We eventually decided that it was time to see something else and so drove to Hawkshead, a small town near Hilltop where Beatrix Potter lived.  We caught the little bus up to Hill Top.  Beatrix was an amazing lady with a passion for the countryside.  She left a huge area of land as well as Hill Top to the National Trust so that future generations could enjoy it.

The house is generally as she left it and the Trust has also included copies of her manuscripts, sketches, artwork she collected and portraits of her. The gardens have also been kept in good condition.

Hill Top

An original sketch

A statue she purchased

Crockery she painted

Miniature things sent by her publisher

A portrait of Beatrix

A dahlia in her garden

We spent a long time looking at the collection of things and reminiscing about stories we had read to our children.  

On the way back, we came across another Fell Foot Park located at the southern tip of Lake Windermere. So, decided to have a look. The ground was covered in leaves with autumn colours and, we found a holy bush with berries. 

Map of Fell Foot

Looking towards the lake

Looking north

Entrance for a boat

Holly

As it was getting very cold, we headed back. We decided it was definitely the weather for a whisky.  We grabbed a couple of glasses of whisky and went out onto the verandah for a photo.  We wandered out into hail!.  It was so cold. 

A very cold whisky