As you could read in my previous post about the Literary walk in the Lake District, I was lucky to spend a long weekend in England’s maybe most beautiful region. Despite going there without much knowledge and planning, I could squeeze lots of places and various programs in those 3 days. I have to note that I was driving everywhere, which made it easier to reach certain places. I’ve compiled a list of my top 10 favourite sites, or which I found the most interesting.
- Dove Cottage, Wordsworth museum, Grasmere
The home of William and Dorothy Wordsworth between 1799 and 1808, where the most famous and most beautiful poems of William as well as Dorothy’s Grasmere Journal were born. It saw a lot of visitors, among them, there were Coleridge and Southey, or even Walter Scott and Thomas de Quincey. The rooms are organised in a way as they could have been in the times of the Wordsworths, along with their furniture and personal belongings. It also has a garden carved into the hillside, which was enthusiastically taken care by the Wordsworths, and which offers a beautiful view, that could be admired if the poor visitor was luckier and came on a less gloomy and foggy day.
- Derwent Pencil Museum, Keswick
For me, it’s probably the most interesting museum, where the world’s very first pencil was made. I would have never thought that I could be so fascinated by the discovery of the graphite or the details of pencil manufacturing. I hadn’t even known that the first pencils were not made for writing or drawing, but they were used to hide and smuggle maps in World War II. Or that the world’s biggest pencil is 8 meter long, weighs 446 kg, and it is right here, in this museum. Moreover, the first pencil design, or the Queen’s diamond jubilee pencil can also be found here, among many more.
- Whitehaven
A city situated on the west coast of the Lake District, which was an industrial town, though with a very nice port. It’s worth taking a walk here.
- Steam railway from Ravenglass to Dalegarth, and hiking to the Stanley Ghyll Force waterfall
This is the oldest and longest “small railway” in England departing from Ravenglass, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. The railway is really cute, and it takes you into the wild where you’d be in the sight of the highest peak of the Lake District as well as England, the Scafell Pike. You could get off at more stops, and go hiking, but I got here a bit late, and because of lack of time, I only went on a couple-of-hour mild hike from the last stop of the train to the Ghyll Force waterfall, which didn’t disappoint me at all.
- Going on a boat trip on the Winderemere lake, Bowness-on-Winderemere → Lakeside
I rather let the pictures talk about it.
- House of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit, Ambleside and Bowness-on-Winderemere
Who wouldn’t know and love Peter Rabbit? Well, this is also his home land, he comes from here, or at least his author, Beatrix Potter was a resident here. In Ambleside, you can find the Beatrix Potter House, the Hill Top, and in Bowness, you can visit the World of Beatrix Potter centre. Unfortunately, I’m cheating here a bit, as I didn’t visit any of them because of lack of time; however, if I travelled there again, I’d definitely take it on my list.
- Aira Force waterfall, Ullswater lake
I’ve already told about it in more details in my post about the “Literary walk in the Lake District”; however, if you haven’t read it yet, I’d really recommend climbing up here, as you’ll find a splendid and legendary waterfall not far from the Ullswater lake, which also gave inspiration to Wordsworth.
- Keswick and walking around Derwent Water
My accommodation and the starting point for my day-trips were in Keswick. It’s a lovely market-town with many outdoor shops, restaurants, museums; moreover, many hiking trails start from here: one goes around Derwent Water offering an astonishing view. In the town centre, you’ll find the Hope park, which is like a little green island, a treasure chest packed with flowers. Interesting info: the popular “Dog and gun” pub advertises itself as the “Home of the famous Hungarian goulash” → unfortuntately, it was full, though I really wanted to try it!
- Lowther Castle
I stopped by here on the way home, and this hidden gem simply amazed me; it is like a fairy tale castle in the middle of a forest. It has an enormous garden, a forest with a squirrel-observer house and with a large adventure playground formed as a castle, which is a perfect place for kids. It’s probably one of the most stunning castles I’ve ever seen.
- Penrith Castle
Ruin from the Middle Ages, whose walls are still standing proudly, and which was originally built against the raids of the Scots. Later it became the luxurious home for King Richard III. It’s worth stopping by!
Magyar verzióért kattints ide!