The Lake District

For our travel weekend, Marth and I and two other girls spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in the Lake District in NW England, Cumbria to be more specific, Grasmere in Cumbria to be the most specific. We rolled in on Wednesday afternoon and had some time to bum around Grasmere. We ate a a delicious place called The Traveler's Rest for a late lunch. Their desserts were DELICIOUS! Bread pudding and banana creme brulee. We also went to Sarah Nelson's Grasmere Gingerbread Shop. This gingerbread is famous and amazing. I don't like gingerbread, but I love this stuff. There was a queue (mostly of Japanese tourists) out the door when we got there. After we checked into our quaint hostel just outside of Grasmere we went on a walk. NOTE: "Walk" in the Queen's English is "hike" in American English. So, we bought some "walk" guides and started to take one but found a path that looked like more fun so we took it.

We went up this hill for quite some time and got some spectacular views. It was cloudy and misty and we were ill-prepared for walking because we didn't know that walking was hiking. Grasmere was decked out with hiking shops and there were lots of retirees in their gear. After our first little self-guided walk we hit up the grocery store, bought some pizzas, chowed down in the hostel kitchen and passed out.

The hostel was great except for the fact that there was NO water pressure. On Thursday morning I showered under a drip that would sometimes be an actual flow, for about two seconds. After breakfast on Thursday three of us went on a real American walk around Grasmere Lake. It was beautiful. The lake was like glass and there was lots to look at. Grasmere is built out of grey stone, lots of slate, like the fences that are all over the countryside. There are also lots of sheep all over the countryside. I am not all that enamored with animal life, but if you want about 2600 pictures of sheep you should talk to Martha.

After our morning walk we returned to the hostel for our last member. We were planning on splitting up to hit Hill Top (Beatrix Potter's home) and Dove Cottage (William Wordsworth's home) but our hostel owner informed us that Hill Top was rather a ways away so we all agreed to stay in Grasmere and go to Dove Cottage. Indeed, we stayed in Grasmere the whole time. After a delicious lunch and tea at Baldry's (BEST BLT of my life), where the waiter can dish it out, but can't take it back, we went to the Wordsworth Museum and cottage. It was much more interesting and delightful than I expected. The views from and of the garden were beautiful and we recited deliciously horrible poetry in Wordsworth garden just to be funny.

Thursday night we walked to a tarn. It was very high, seeing as apparently a tarn is a lake in a mountain. The trails were well marked for the most part but were covered in either GIANT rocks or almost GIANT rocks. This was very tough on our feet, seeing as we were prepared for walking and not hiking. The walk was rather shear at points, but passed a beautiful water fall and the tarn was very nice. It was big and deep and glassy and remote. Also, Martha and I accidentally matched, promise.

After that tarn we went to The Traveller's Rest for dinner. I got plum stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon on top of basil potatoes with golden plums on the side. For dessert I had a hot lemon poppyseed sponge with plum compote. AH! SO GOOD!

Friday was our last day so we decided to fit in one more walk. This time we walked to a different tarn and it was HARD! The trail was the worst yet and we were so tired! The weather was finally sunny and HOT. The tarn was disappointing compared to the first, but the views from it, of Grasmere and Grasmere Lake and Windemere Lake, were gorgeous. It was nice just to sit up there. The descent was very treacherous and needless to say we all had sunburns and swollen feet by the time were were done with all of our walks.

We had time for one last lunch in Grasmere so we went back to Baldry's and its sassy waiter that was so happy to see us. I got a smoked salmon sandwich with cream cheese. A) best cream cheese ever. B)I didn't realize the salmon would be raw!! C)The salmon was DELICIOUS!!! I've seriously never had food like the food I've had in Grasmere. For dessert I ordered an orange drizzle cake, which wasn't very orangey, but it was good. Katie got a sticky gingerbread cake that was TO DIE FOR!! Martha asked for the recipe, but Lee, the sassy waiter wouldn't give it to her, those Northerners and their gingerbread secrets...

After lunch we went back to our hostel, got a cab, got on the train and went home. My neck did get rather red, but it's turned brown since. This weekend was absolutely relaxing (except for the intense amounts of exercise) and delicious for my tummy. When I come back I'll have to go to Baldry's and give Lee a hard time again.