Traveling around the world has become one of my passions in life and I am so thankful for all of the places I have already traveled with family and friends within the United States and beyond! Of the many places I have traveled, there are only a few places that I have absolutely fallen in love with. A few of these places include the Amalfi Coast in Italy, Toledo in Spain and the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland. The beauty of these locations are insatiable!! You simply have to be quite and take in the view because no photo will ever capture the real essence of the moment. The Lake District has just joined this list as one of my favorite places on earth!
The Lake District, also known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England with many fresh water lakes. This region is highly regarded by vacationers with incredible hiking and mountain biking paths, variety of boutiques and outdoor shopping, water sports, and thrill seeking adventures. Since being in England, I have heard so many amazing stories about trips to The Lake District and have been itching to experience it first hand.
Yesterday, Bailey and I had that opportunity to travel to Windermere in the southern part of the Lake District. It exceeded all expectations! Bailey and I hoped on a coach full of international students from Coventry University for a four hour bus ride to Windermere. I had never felt like the complete minority until then. We were traveling with students predominantly from Asian or Arab countries. When I wasn't sleeping, I had the chance to meet a few of the other students and hear their stories.
Arriving in Windermere, we had absolutely no plan. We just knew that we wanted to go on an adventure. Windermere was the perfect old fishing village filled with cafes, boutiques, outdoor stores, and lots of ice cream and chocolate shops!! Everything was so tempting!! We began by walking just over a mile down to the water. At Bowness Bay we ate our packed lunches staying clear of the many birds, ducks, and massive swans. After a few pictures, we decided to take a tour boat to two other small villages on the northern side of the 10 mile long and 1 mile wide lake. The buildings, castles, homes, and hotels along the lake were incredible!! People have money here!! Bailey and I got off at the second stop in Ambleside. What we didn't realize was that the city centre was a mile away! By the time we got into town and look around a bit, we had to turn around in order to make the boat back to Windermere. Thankfully we had beautiful weather, but we missed a huge hail storm by just a few minutes!
Our next destination was Post Knott Viewpoint. The hike up to the top was filled with sweat, lots of mud, and even more laughter. The rain and hail made the pathway to the top a little tricky. No one fell, but there were way too many close calls! Getting to the top of Post Knott Viewpoint was such a reward in every direction. We could see the entire lake, rolling hills, Windermere village, the English countryside, and snowy mountains in the distance. It was absolutely gorgeous! We didn't want to leave!
The trek down the hill was far worse than the trek up... So much mud!! After safely getting back to our meeting point in town, we were able to treat ourselves to a nice meal at Lazy Daisy Lakeland Kitchen before returning home. I'd say it was a successful day! Can't wait to return someday!!
No comments:
Post a Comment