Day Twenty-Three

After yesterday's rain today started sunny with scattered showers forecast. I took these pictures on my morning constitutional. I didn't meet any deer this morning.

After the morning walk a visit to Hill Top, Beatrix Potter's house at Near Sawrey. The Vegetable garden:

Dinner at the Indian Tandoori restaurant in Ambleside.

Day Twenty-two

Short drive to Bowness-on-Windermere yesterday but I didn't snap any pictures but this panorama.

This morning I was determined to get some shots of Ambleside sans tourists and traffic.

The oldest dwelling in Ambleside

And this is one of the perks of wandering about before the sun is shining over the hills.

After my lone jaunt on foot we went on a drive to the west coast by way of Rydal, Grasmere; by Thirlmere under Helvellyn; Keswick, Cockermouth staying inland to Cleator Moor and then stopping at Whitehaven,

St Bees, where Wainwright's Coast to Coast walk begins; it ends at Robin Hood Bay on the Yorkshire coast.

We took a detour through Seascale and then up to Wasdale Head to gaze at the rain and mist shrouded Kirk Fell, Great Gable, Lingmell and Scafell Pike;

the screes sliding into the far shore of Wast Water;

Ravenglass where I had to forego a ride on La'al Ratty if I was to get to Chapel Stile in time to ring;

and then home through Broughton-in-Furness and Coniston. We'd missed the heavy rain in Ambleside.
Then I went ringing at delightful Chapel Stile. A light easy going ring of six.

Long drive up to Cumbria on Saturday. No photos along the way although we passed through some pretty country.

The cottage is on the edge of Ambleside in the heart of the Lake District. The whole place is within a National Park.

I took a few pictures early Sunday morning walking into the village and snapping the little house on the bridge owned by the National Trust. 

After breakfast I drove Chris and Steve into Ambleside and I went to Church in the Community centre attached to St Mary's parish church which is undergoing extensive repairs but the bells are not affected as the bells were being raised and I went to join them and drummed to some call changes; rang the fourth for plain courses of PB Minor and the treble for a touch of Grandsire then rang the second down in peal.

Fetched Kathy from home and then met Chris and Steve at Esquire Cafe where Wi-fi is available and a couple of public computers for £2.50/hr.

After lunch I listened to the radio adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's choice of a neglected work "The Snow Goose" by Paul Gallico. There followed a programme with Mariella Frostrup talking with the person who lives in one of the lighthouses at the mouth of the Nene which was the inspiration of the story suggested by the naturalist and painter Peter Scott.

Then I took a short walk up Loughrigg Fell. Walks here are short or long; they are all fairly strenuous, or is that my age showing? There is an annual running race up and down Helvellyn. That is a young man's sport.

Rydal Hall from lower Loughrigg