Tag: tree

Train from Penrith

Thus ended our glorious sojourn in the Lake District. From Keswick we took a bus to Penrith and caught the train to London’s Waterloo station. Once again, I slowed my shutter to get some motion-blurred, pictorial images of the English countryside.

Click any image to see them each full sized (in a browser).

Cat Bells

Alighting at Hawse Landing we then clambered up Cat Bells, without doubt our hardest climb, about 450 meters up. Described by all the guide books as “…one of the great favourites, a family fell where grandmothers and infants can climb the heights together, a place beloved. Its popularity is well deserved: its shapely topknott attracts the eye offering a steep but obviously simple scramble,” this walk took the breath out of me and “scramble” means climbing up rocks with your hands. After descending and walking along the lake, we returned by boat from Hawse Landing to Keswick and the ducks.

Click any image to see them all enlarged (in a browser).

Walla Crag to Keswick

No place to go but down from Walla Crag, passing along the shore of the Derwent Water and through Manesty Park we eventually made it back to our hotel in Keswick.

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Keswick to Walla Crag

The next morning, after another hearty breakfast, a taxi took our bags onward to our hotel in Keswick and deposited us in the town center. From there we hiked up to Wall Crag, at an elevation of over 375 meters, for even more stunning views including of the Derwent Water.

Click any individual image to see each one enlarged to full size.

Grasmere to Helm Crag

The next morning we walked out of Grasmere past someone’s lovely garden and hiked up a steeper trail to Helm Crag (about 350 meters). The views were stunning. Another 10-mile day. You should go if you get the chance! Click any image to see each of them enlarged to full size.

Rydal Mount to Grasmere

We continued walking the trails from Rydal Mount, some of it in a steady light rain, down to our next stop, Grasmere (not the one in Staten Island!). Dove Cottage, where Wordsworth lived earlier in his life is a major attraction here. By the time we arrived apps told us we’d walked 10 miles. This proved to be the case almost every day of this vacation to the point that I actually lost a few pounds!