Day 20 - The Lake District

We had a late start this morning, woke up late and only left Kendal around 10am.  

Travelled towards the Lake District.  The tidal bay of Morcambe Bay is absolutely enormous, one can barely see Lancaster on the other side, and when we were there, the tide was out. Very beautiful and desolate.

We saw Piel Castle which are the ruins of a castle on Piel Island which is in Morcambe Bay.

We then drove through a small town called Barrow-on-Furness, old town.  Then we moved north towards a lake called Coniston Water, winding through farmlands, again filled with sheep.  I have never seen anything so beautiful in my life.  Driving down winding, narrow roads, with stone walls or hedges on either side,

with beautiful stone homes up and down the mountains, on either side. Everything so green.  This is the land of William Wordsworth.  So lots of poetry books in the shops.  Also the home of Beatrix Potter. So of course I bought some books and little Peter Rabbits and Jemima Puddleducks, for the little ones back home.

We stopped in a little town called Coniston and went to the Crown Inn for lunch, well not really lunch, we just shared a berry crumble and custard with a pot of tea.  How English!

Then after a stop in Hawkshead, we crossed Lake Windermere on the ferry 

and we have arrived in this quaint little town full of guest houses, B&B's and Hotels and exclusive, expensive shops and restaurants.  This is geared for tourists, who come to the area to hike in the mountains around the lakes.

   

The town is called Bowness-on-Windermere.  

We are staying in this beautiful B&B (called Oakfold House) in this ancient Victorian house, high on a hill.  Lovely room, cosy and warm.

We went for a stroll down and up the Main Street, and I was so exhausted when we got back, I nearly could not make it up the two flights of stairs to our bedroom!

Maybe this is what they mean when they say "mountain climbing" !!!

Now we are going back to the very bottom of the town again to have dinner at this little place called Jackson's Bistro.  Looks very nice.

Well, we went to Jackson's Bistro for dinner...  WOW!  What a gastronomic delight! 
Paul quenched his thirst with a local bitter called 'Hawkshead - Lakeland Gold'...

I started with a Crumpet with caramelised onions, grilled goats cheese, roasted pine nut and a beetroot relish..

...and Paul had the king scallops on black pudding to start...

My main dish was the Linguine with vegetables and buffalo mozzarella in a pomodoro sauce...

...while Paul settled for the Grilled Sea Bass in a lemon butter and parsley with seasonal vegetables...

..we also ordered a bottle of Rosé wine from Chile..

The meal was outstanding in all aspects as was the service!  Highly recommended!!

Tomorrow we leave England, and go into Scotland.  I am excited, but not sure if it could beat what we saw today!