We left Keswick a bit before 9am this morning and headed south, exploring as we went.
Our first stop was on the southern side of Windermere, we got a good park on the side of the main road just past the Windermere Hotel. From there we took a walk up to Orrest Head Viewpoint. It was a nice walk up a well maintained path to the top of a high hill. It took around 30 mins, walking up through magnificent woods. We are still looking for the very elusive native red squirrel, they are out there somewhere.
We got to the top and found quite a few people up there, after a while most left and it got a bit more peaceful. The views from the top of Orrest are 360 deg over the surrounding countryside. It was from this point that the famed English Nature/Geography writer and fellwalker Alfred Wainwright got his inspiration a love of the landscape of the Lakes District.
From there we drove to Blackwell – The Arts and Craft House, through Windermere township. The town was bristling with tourists, so many people! Aside from the crowds it was an attractive town with narrow streets and most buildings built of the local slate. Its the grey slate buildings that gives this region its distinct look and character.
Along more narrow winding roads we got to Blackwell – The Arts and Craft House. The house was built in the 1890’s by an architect to showcase the Victorian “ Arts and Craft” style. We had lunch overlooking Windermere, watching many boats of differing sizes sail around on the waterway, and the distinct large homes on the far shore and tree covered hillside.
We then continued down to Cartmel and found our BnB in Broughton Fields just outside Cartmel. We couldn’t check-in until 4pm so we drove into Cartmel for a stroll around. Our first stop was Cartmel Priory, an amazing building in it sheer size and just as impressive inside. The foundations for the Priory were laid in 640AD, the Priory itself was founded in 1189 by William Marshall, 1st Earl of Pembroke and he was granted an alter in one of its chapels. It was this that saved the building during the time of the Dissolution the Monasteries in the early 1530s, The villages protested that it was a church rather than a Priory, and so it remains today as a church in title, if not in name.
We then had a walk around the village, it is small with narrow roads and a central square. It seems that the presence of Simon Rogan’s 2 hat Michelin restaurant L’Enclume has transformed Cartmel. There are so many high quality food shops in the tiny village. We got some magnificent cheeses from the cheese shop and we will be going back in over the next few days to try some other delicacies available. The local craft beer shop/brewhouse looks good.
After having a cheese platter and a glass of red in the grounds of our BnB we went back into Cartmel for a night of “Priory Proms” put on in the naive of the Priory by the Furness Music Centre’s Choir and Chamber Orchestra. The Furness Music Centre pride themselves with their ensembles being inclusive, all age and non-auditioned. The Priory acoustics were good and the musicians did their best, but Last Night at the Proms it wasn’t.
Tomorrow holds a mixed bag for us, let’s see what we get up to.
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