England-Scotland Day 12 (Part 2) – Keswick town and Derwent Waters in Lake District of England

14 April 2010

The above photo shows Derwent Waters, shot at Crow Park in Keswick, Lake District. This was my favourite moment while visiting Lake District in spring. Sheep and lambs were wandering freely in Crow Park while we sat on the lawn, enjoying the views and warm of the setting sun.

Earlier, we drove into Keswick at about 4 PM. We would be staying 3 nights at the Honister House and the directions given to us by Mr John Stark, owner of the B&B, on how to get from Glasgow to the Keswick Central Car Park near to the B&B were quite detailed.

M8, M74, M6. At Junction 40 take the A66 westbound to Keswick. Avoid the first exit to Keswick (591) but continue along the bypass to the roundabout. At roundabout turn first left (5271). Straight on to T junction. Turn left. To mini roundabout. Turn right. Follow the road round to the left (Heads Road) to Central Car park on left. Turn left into car park and park.

We made it to the car park as directed. A phone call later, Mr John Stakes came to the car park with the parking permit for our car and also helped us with the luggage to the B&B which was a short walk away. I had chosen Honister House for its proximity to the Keswick town centre, on the corner of Borrowdale Road and Derwent Street. It was interesting to hear Mr Stakes pronounced the name of town as “Care Sic”, when all along we had pronounced it as “Kes Which” when we speak amongst ourselves.

After leaving our stuff in the B&B, we went to explore Keswick town centre. It was a short walk from our B&B to the shopping streets of the town centre.

Keswick town centre.

Keswick Town Centre – people out and about.

Enjoying ice cream. Nice red boots to match the white and red house.

This car reminded me of a car in the “Wacky Races”. Must be a owned by a lady. 

Famous “one-hand” clock at Keswick Town Centre.

Keswick is located near a lake called the Derwent Waters or Lake Derwent. Based on a map of the town, we make our way there, passing by nice B&Bs located on the lakeside.

We sat by a park bench to watch locals or tourists playing some lawn games. In the background are some beautiful B&Bs and hotels that we passed by earlier.

Then we discovered our favourite place in Keswick.  Crow Park!

Panorama of Crow Park, shot from the centre of the park.

Crow Park is a big open field next to the Lake Derwent and at this time of year, the park has many sheep and new-born lambs!!

It was fun walking amongst the lambs and watching them up close and photographing them. Most interesting were the black lambs. In particular, one that was “lost” and trying to get close to an adult sheep. After several rejections, it was finally accepted by a sheep and managed to feed.

Besides the cute lambs, this place is a photographer’s dream – awesome landscape

My favourite photo of Derwent Waters.  This is a panorama comprising a few photos stitched together using a panorama maker software. The family is in the picture, sitting closest to the lake.

After watching the lambs bonding with the ewes, it time for family bonding as we sat by the lake.

Sheep and Human alike – family bonding time.

Wild geese flying close by.

Geese flew over our heads to land in the waters.

We sat by the lakeside till the sun set. Really enjoyable and relaxing way to spend the evening.

Lambs – backlit by the setting sun.

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England-Scotland Day 13 (Part 1) – Crummock Water and Buttermere Lake at Lake District of England

15 April 2010

Breakfast at the Honister House allowed us to meet an interesting English couple who stayed near Manchester. It was nice talking to them over breakfast after Mr Stake made the introductions. This was one of their many visits to Lake district and they had stayed at the Honister House on past occasions. They were about our age, so we talked about our teenage kids, their education and also about English football. The man was a supporter of Manchester United and so a little bit of friendly blagging and teasing occurred naturally once he discovered we were fans of rivals Liverpool FC. We were used to these sort of chat coming from a country where you were either a supporter of LFC, supporter of Manchester United or supporter of anything but Manchester United. It is interesting to note that there is no “supporter of anything but Liverpool FC”.

After breakfast, John Stakes provided us with some tips on what to see and do around the Lake District. The best way to see Lake District is to go on walks through the scenic landscape. We didn’t have the energy and gear to go for long walks. Our plan for today was to do a driving tour of the area to the west of Keswick, and stopped by to do short walks in particular around the Crummock Waters and Buttermere Lake.

Leaving Keswick, we took the A66 west towards Cockermouth. At Braithwaite, we turned west onto the B5292 for Lorton and made a stop at “Go Ape” inside the Whinlatter Forest area for a look. Go Ape is a mixture of adrenaline-fuelled Tarzan swings, tree-top climbing and zip wire fun for both young and old. Here we watched some brave folks attempt the high rope obstacles up in the trees. To do the complete course would take about half a day and not something we planned to do. We visited the Whinlatter Forest Visitor Centre where Daniel bought a pair of binoculars. The centre sells binoculars for bird watching, especially ospreys but Daniel wanted the binoculars for a different purpose. He wants a closer look at the Liverpool players when we attend a live match at Anfield in a few days time!

From there we drove on through a narrow, winding B-road to Crummock Waters and parked the car on a sandy patch by the roadside. There was a trail leading to a small waterfall at this area.

Interesting flock of sheep at Crummock Waters. Nice colouration.

Taking photos of the sheep and landscape.

Sheep hurdling across a small stream.

A trail that was not clearly marked led to a small waterfall up the hill.  As pointed out by John Stakes, the best way to appreciate the beauty of the Lake District was to take walks through the hills.  

We followed the path, next to a small stream, uphill to where the waterfall is.

There were many trails here, leading to different places.

Panorama of the family walking to the water falls at Crummock Water.

Nice view of Crummock Water from the hills.

Waterfall at Crummock. Not impressive on its own but the views from here were nice.

 Making our way back down to our car.

From here, our next stop would be Lake Buttermere. At Lake Buttermere, the road was narrow and there was not much parking spaces that was provided or vacant. But I managed to park on the narrow grass verge on a road, with little room to spare. 

I like Buttermere Lake better than Crummock Water. There was a nice walking path on the side of Lake Buttermere. The spring sunshine was nice and not too warm. Despite the eruption of the Iceland volcano Eyjafjallajökull that we heard on the news that had stopped all flights across Europe, the sky we saw over UK was clear and blue. But, not a plane in sight!

Exploring the shores of Lake Buttermere.

Walking path on the shores of Lake Buttermere.

Multi-shades of green in spring.

Interesting lone tree surviving on the rocks.

Panorama of Lake Buttermere, taken near the water’s edge.

And when you were least expecting it, it happened. I saw several highland cows! Or bulls with horns.

I finally got my photo of the Hairy Highland Cow (or Bull) with their horns! Fancy doing that in Lake District England, and not Scotland.

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England-Scotland Day 13 (Part 2) – Windermere and Keswick of the Lake District.

15 April 2010

We completed our driving route through the Crummock Water and Buttermere earlier than I thought. So we decided to head down south to Windermere for a late lunch.  We parked our car on a relatively busy street (A5074) at Windermere, had lunch and did some window shopping at the souvenir shops. Then we drove on to explore Windermere.

Pier at Windermere, Lake District.

When planning our visit to the Lake District, I was deciding whether to stay at Windermere or Keswick. I think I made the right choice. Windermere is quite commercialised. If you are looking for boat cruises, shopping, and activities, then Windermere would be the right choice.

We parked at a paid car park near  Bowness-on-Windermere and walked to the pier.


Video shot at lake-side near Bowness-on-Windermere

We decided we had enough of Windermere pretty soon and headed back to Keswick, arriving at about 7.15 PM. As there was still some light, we parked our car on the Lakeside Car Park at the Theatre (our parking permit for the Central Car Park provided by the our B&B Honister House could be used there), next to Crow Park.

Derwent Water at Keswick.

We went for a walk by the banks of Derwent Water, something we did not do the day before.

These are some of my favourite photos taken that evening. 

Panorama of Derwent Water at Lake District.

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England-Scotland Day 14 (Part 1) – Pooley Bridge and Ullswater at Lake District

16 April 2010

Our second day in the Lake District, England. Mr John Stakes, our host at the Honister House B&B, suggested that we take a scenic drive to Ullswater, second largest lake in the Lake District and do a walk to the waterfall called the Aira Force.

Our first destination for the day is Pooley Bridge, located at the northern part of Ullswater.

We arrived at Pooley Bridge at about 11 AM. Naturally we walked about and search for the namesake, Pooley Bridge. This is a place where steamer boat rides on the lake can be boarded.

Nice antiquity that we met on the way to the shores of Ullswater.

Spring flowers at Ullswater.

Ullswater.

We did not go for a ride on the steamer. Instead, we took a walk on a trail by the side of the lake.

Not an easy trail, a bit muddy, rocky and some natural obstacles to overcome but still, it was pretty manageable.

Walking on trail at Ullswater.

Pooley Bridge at Ullswater, Lake District England.

View of river leading to Ullswater from top of Pooley Bridge.

Shores of Ullswater.

Beautiful Ullswater in pastel colours. Picture right out of a fairy tale.

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England-Scotland Day 14 (Part 2) – Doing the Aira Force Walk in Ullswater, Lake District England

16 April 2010

Aira Force is the name of a nice waterfall located near the middle part of the western bank of Ullswater, Lake District. 

We bought an information leaflet from a visitor centre that will guide us on the 1 mile circular walk to the waterfall and back. Based on the information on the leaflet, the walk would take about an hour. With the leaflet in hand, we walked to the back of the car park and onto a footpath that is signposted.

The footpath led us through a gate in a wall and then over a small bridge. So far so good.

Stream at the start of Aira Force Circular Walk.

Then, according to the guide, the path splits into two.

OPTION 1 – a more gradual route with views from the top of the Force Take the left fork for an easier, more gradual climb straight to the top of the force, bypassing the view from the bottom of the waterfall and, therefore, the 105 steps up to the top [Note: these are worth doing if you are up to it - see OPTION 2]. This path is still fairly steep in places. Follow it until you drop down onto the bridge spanning the waterfall from which you get a fantastic view looking straight down the fall. After the bridge follow the path straight on, rising up and skirting the tree line to give you superb views over the lake in both directions. The path soon drops down some steps and over a bridge before heading through a gap in a fence. Turn left here and walk straight along to meet back up with the path you originally came in on. This takes you back to the car park. OPTION2 – a slightly more strenuous route with great views from the top and bottom of the force Take the right fork which heads straight on and through a narrow gap in a fence. Cross the bridge and follow the path up some steps. In a few metres the path splits – take the left path and be careful – it is wide but has a steep drop off to the left. You will soon reach a bridge spanning the Aira Beck at the bottom of the waterfall – the classic postcard view straight up the fall to your right. You now have to walk up the 105 steps to the top of the fall. When the steps end, continue straight on towards the falls and drop down on to the bridge spanning the top of Aira Force. After the bridge follow the path straight on, rising up and skirting the tree line to give you superb views over the lake in both directions. The path soon drops down some steps and over a bridge before heading through a gap in a fence. Turn left here and walk straight along to meet back up with the path you originally came in on. This takes you back to the car park

We chose to go Option 2. Then somewhere along the way, we got lost or went to follow a different trail. We continued on, although I can hear some giggling and snickering behind my back. “Dad is bringing us on the wrong way”. So I put away the leaflet and let instinct guide us instead. The “wrong” trail that we took finally brought us to the waterfall about 10 minutes later.

We arrived at the right side (looking upstream) of the waterfall and crossed over a stone bridge. A path leads down from here but we saw a family coming down a trail that leads to the upper part of the waterfall.

At the stone bridge spanning the waterfall.

Aira Force waterfall viewed from the stone bridge.

We met a family coming down a trail by the waterfall. They sounded like German but spoke English. I asked them if there was anything interesting up from the trail they were coming from. They told us there is a nice stream with a waterfall up there.

Thanks to the information from the friendly folks, we went up the trail where the family had come down from and was soon rewarded.

Nice walk along the trail leading upstream from the Aira Force upper stone bridge.

Another waterfall upstream. This must be the one the other family was referring to.

Interesting patterns formed by roots of a tree.

Nice place for a picnic, which we did.

We sat by the rocks and ate some snacks that we brought along. We tried to spot birds using the new binoculars we bought from the Whinlatter Visitor Center.

Bird watching.

Enjoying the sun.

Snack time.

Testing the waters... cold.

I tried shooting some long exposure photographs of the moving water by resting my Nikon D90 on the rocks.

Here are some of the photos.

A fellow tourist with a more advanced model of Nikon came by. Although he spoke only a little English,  I explained what I was doing and he tried the same settings on his camera. I hope his shots turned out well. 

After enjoying the picnic and photo-shoot, we back-tracked to the bridge at the waterfall and followed the trail downstream.

We came to a long flight of steps (this must be the 105 steps mentioned in Option 2 of the leaflet but now we were coming from the reversed direction).

105 steps down to a stone bridge spanning the Aira Force waterfall.

So down the steps we went, onto another stone bridge.

From the bridge, we can viewed Aira Force waterfall from below and see the arch bridge at the top of the falls.

View from the lower stone bridge …arched upper stone bridge.

Lower stone bridge.

From here, it was an easy walk on the trail running parallel to the stream back to the car park.

English Robin with orange chest.

A little robin just wanted its photo taken. It followed me as I walked and stood still on the ground even as I approached to capture a close-up shot without using a telephoto lens.

Close-up shot of a friendly english robin, on the Aira Force Circular Walk.

All in all, we spent about slightly over two hours on the walk. We took an extra hour to explore the upper part of the stream beyond the standard one hour circular route as described in the information leaflet. It was well worth it.

A recommended activity for visitors to Ullswater or Lake District in England.

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