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ENGLAND 2000
Day 11
Little Salkeld, Cumbria
Sunday
May 14, 2000
Ahh, we awake to a nice Cumbrian morning and decide after a leisurely breakfast and wash-up, to just head west and see where our little "Merc" will take us today. No special destination, but over into Wordsworth country would be nice.
As we drive along, we get a nice view of the surrounding Lake District mountains.
As usual, the sheep of England are here to see us on our way. The day is lovely, and the Cumbrian scenery couldn't be more pleasant,
After a drive of about an hour, down the small back roads of northwest Cumbria, we arrive in Cockermouth, find the car-park, and wander around on a lovely Sunday morning. The first stop is Wordsworth House, birthplace of both William and Dorothy Wordsworth. This is a special place to me as I've enjoyed their writings about the Lakes for quite a while now. Here is another view of Wordsworth House.
Just across the street from Wordsworth House is the Cockermouth Craft Center. This photo shows a bench/arbor that I fell in love with and which Paul said he could duplicate - if only I'd take a picture of it! Well, so far, no progress has been made on that front, but I can always hope!
We stopped off in a tiny bakery and got some sandwiches, some drinks and of course a dessert each, and climbed back in our "Merc" and headed south to the area of the Lakes where our cyber-friends Ann Bowker and Tony Richards reside. As some of you may know already, Ann lives in a village called Portinscale and here is the sign showing the way to Portinscale.
We climbed the mountains by car, and the views were wonderful. No wonder Ann is a contented mountain climber living in this area. The ooooh's and aaaaah's from our mouths were constant.
Here is a view of Ullswater, which is a popular destination for boaters in this area. Join us now in appreciating these spectacular views of the lakes and mountains. There are enough views to go around - here we see mountain peaks and views of the road and mountains.
Sometimes we like to stop by the side of the road to get a picture of the local sheep, ask them how they like it here, you know, get an up-close and personal opinion from some of the local residents.
This is an especially well-traveled section of the Lakes called Honiker Pass. Today is such a nice sunny day that we encountered lots of day-trippers out for a bit of that warm sun on their faces! And here are more of the mountains as we drive along.
Off in the distance we can see a farmhouse and I can just picture me living here enjoying this incredible scenery day in and day out! And more views of the valley along the way.
This is Ullswater taken on our way back home - we passed this lake on our way down here, remember?
And back home, in the little village of Little Salkeld, and located just up the road from our cottage, is an ancient stone circle called Long Meg & Her Daughters Here are various views of this interesting and peaceful place, including Long Meg with Paul on the right, and Long Meg & Her Daughters full view, and Long Meg showing the large tree and the stones, another view of Long Meg and her Daughters. We met up with some other folks touring this place, and met a very nice dog who got loose from her lead while she was running up to greet us! Here she is with her family/a>, and one more of our friend, the bearded collie dog.
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Just wanted a picture of Paul and the stones, and here is a view of Long Meg looking thru the trees, and once again Long Meg with Paul in the distance and the stones, and a close-up of the stones (Long Meg's daughters)
Before we leave, here's a really good shot ofLong Meg
Some more views (yeah, yeah, I know... but I got carried away!) of Long Meg looking back at a white truck and another view of Long Meg looking thru some large trees
On the road back down to our cottage, only yards away from Log Meg and her Daughters, we happened to hit just the right time of day to encountere a cow traffic jam. Some of the local farmers are herding a bunch of cows down the road, and hte cars driving along just have to sit and wait, inching along behind this group at a snail's pace.
Back at our cottage, I looked out our bedroom window a bit later and saw this view of the cows coming in to the yard for milking.
And here is one of the cows now waiting in the barn to be milked, and here's one more view ofher.
All in all, we had a lovely day touring the countryside, up and down the wonderful mountains of the Lake District, and enjoying the local areas of interest nearby. This is a good place to be right now, and we've pretty much decided that tomorrow will be the day to go south to Broughton-in-Furness, and see Our Dawn's old home village!
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