The Lake District

Last week, we went to the Lake District, a charming region in the north-western county of Cumbria. This is surely one of the most beautiful places we’ve been in England. The houses and walls of stone nestled in the rolling hills suggest a slower pace of life where the truly important things in life come first.

It’s no wonder that William Wordsworth chose to spend his life here. We visited Dove Cottage, where he spent some of his most productive years. We all enjoyed the tour of the house, hearing what it was like to live there two hundred years ago.

The daffodils were just about to bloom, but we could well imagine the scene William and his sister Dorothy must have encountered that inspired his classic poem:

I wandr’d lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Wordsworth, “Daffodils”, 1804

By the way, I think we can thank Karen for teaching River the eye-crossing trick.  Sage, however, managed to learn how to roll her eyes all by herself!  What talented children!

The other well-known author who made the Lake District her home was Beatrix Potter. We visited her home at Hill-Top in Near Sawrey. The countryside clearly inspired much of her work as well.

This is the side-entrance to her garden. We thought of Mr. Macgregor and Peter hopping about, though I guess the scene was also painted in Jemima Puddleduck.

We also visited the Beatrix Potter museum in Bowness-on-Windermere, which had some nice displays and a very interesting short film.

I think we might have found some kindred spirits!