People ask, "what was the highlight of your trip?".
I must say this particular day was definitely one of the highlights.
It brought tears to my eyes realizing this dream come true adventure.
So early morning we caught the train in London and rode for 2 1/2 hours
to the Lake District.
The Lake District is a National Trust due to the efforts of Beatrix Potter and others.
Yes, the Beatrix Potter that wrote many books, including Peter Rabbit.
With her income from the books she invested in land in the Lake District
as a way of keeping her beloved part of England free from development.
Upon her death the land was bequeathed to England as a National Trust.
We were met at the train station by lovely Lisa from Mountain Goat.
For the day she shared her love of the Lake District.
Then back to London we went in the evening.
What an adventure!!!!!
Enjoy the photos from this special day!
Wray Castle, where Beatrix and her family often stayed
when visiting the Lake District.
The home where Beatrix and her husband later lived.
It was across the road from her Hill Top cottage below.
We walked through her garden to approach and tour her home.
The entrance to Hill Top Cottage taken from Peter Rabbit's garden.
My heart did a happy dance to be here and picture each of her characters dancing in the garden. No photos were allowed on the indoors, sorry.
Scenes from the garden.
Walking along the path some sheep grazed nearby.
Beatrix also promoted sheep farming for the Lake District
and their were sheep grazing all over the hillsides.
The happy girl in the garden.
Part of the tour was exploring the villages in the Lake District.
I think it was Hawkshead. We stopped here for lunch.
My "live-in gardener" and I bought sandwiches and walked up
into the church yard, which looked down on the village.
Beatrix was instrumental in turning this swampy area into a gorgeous lake.
There were signs of wild life and many birds as we paused in our day for a short walk.
The house here was where the Beatrix Potter film was actually filmed.
It wasn't her house, but it was easier for the film crew to move about here.
The barn next door was for the sheep.
Do you see the porch on the side of the barn?
That was for the young women to sit and spin the wool
Young farmers would come along to watch them,
then often fell in love and married them.
The last young women left on the porch as called a "spinster".
Thus, the term came to being.
Fascinating story?! True? It was told as a true story.
Later in the afternoon we took a boat ride across Lake Windermere,
the largest of the lake in the Lake District.
This is Wray Castle from the lake. There are the sheep again.
The house above was just a random shot from the boat.
Gorgeous?!!!!
As a final end of the day treat we had cream tea at
Lindeth Howe Country House Hotel in Windermere.
This property was once owned by Beatrix,
where she housed her parents in later years.
It was a bit chilly for tea outdoors, but I could easily
imagine sitting here and reflecting on the beauty of the surroundings
with my tea and scones and of course a dollop or two of strawberry jam
and Cornish cream.
