After our brief stint in Scotland, my class traveled down to the Lake District in England. It was gorgeous - we stayed at a bed and breakfast in Keswick, England which has to be one of the most charming little towns I've ever been in (I'll try to update the blog later with the name of the B&B because it was a great place to stay). There were great little shops that lined the streets, and the views were spectacular. You had the lakes, there were meadows and grassy knolls (which my classmates said conjured up images of The Sound of Music where Julie Andrews goes running through the fields), mountains and absolute majesty.
We had time to explore the town where Cedric and I found the best little sweet shop ever, grabbed a bite to eat, and just spent some time down at the edge of the lake, watching ducks bobbing in the water. It was incredible. The next day we went to William Wordsworth properties - he was a major romantic poet back in the day and called the Lake District his home. First we visited Dove Cottage, which is where he lived earlier in his career, and then we went on to Rydal Mount which is a rather large estate where he lived later in his career. Both properties were extremely interesting, and at Rydal Mount we got a private tour with the couple who keep up the estate - we also had a sampling of wine and gingerbread, with a poetry reading! It was ridiculously English and a ridiculous amount of fun. So glad that we went!
A view of the lake in Keswick
William Wordsworth's famous "Daffodil" poem inspired this bit of graffiti that we found in a tunnel in Keswick, England.
Dove Cottage
From the grounds of Rydal Mount
Best little sweet shop ever!
Daffodils at Rydal Mount
Keswick, England
Where to eat...
Sweet Temptations
Stanley rating: *****
First of all, it's a bright pink shop which is totally enticing (and makes it easy to find). Secondly, they have lots of candy, fudge, ice cream, and coffee concoctions. The ice cream is good, the candy is delicious, and I ate a whole tub of cotton candy (aka candy floss) by myself. Totally worth it.
Recommended eats: Anything
The Wild Strawberry
Stanley rating: **
The food was okay (huge portions) but the service was only so-so.
Recommended eats: Fish and chips
What to see...
Everything! Make sure that you go down to the lake and take a nice stroll along the properties, stop into the many shops that are EVERYWHERE, and don't miss out on the Wordsworth properties (even if you have no idea who Wordsworth is, it is well worth a trip.
Where to stay...
I will try to update this section with the place that we stayed at a later date.
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