I was spending my Easter breaks in the Lake District in the North West England. I passed by Windermere town once and took a cruise over Windermere lake last year when I was traveling up to Edinburgh. But the beauty of the winding road leading to Kirkstone Pass was the one brought me back to visit the Lake District.
The itinerary was a hard one to do. I didn't expect it at all. There are many lakes you can visit and so many things you can do. I decided to visit three of the many lakes in the three days we spent there: Windermere, Ullswater and Tarn Haws. I also put a few short walks as well as lake cruise in the itinerary.
One thing worth noting about bank holidays in the UK. When you're out and about, so is everybody else. So it's not really a surprise to see long queues and delays in the highway but it was still annoying. The supposedly four and a half hours trip became seven hours. It was very, very draggy.
When I mentioned to my friends that I was going to spend my breaks in the Lake District, the first thing they said was how unpredictable the weather is. I was a little worried. I kept checking on the weather forecast a few days before and was disappointed to see that it was going to be cloudy with rain and a bit of sun. It was raining on the way there but the sun suddenly appeared around sunset and back again with clear sky for the next three days we were there. We had been blessed with good weather. I totally agree that it was definitely unpredictable. And it was a very good surprise too!
It's hard to go to the Lake District and not noticing the farms. They are what make the beautiful lush green scenery of the area. And when you see the farms, you see the farm animals too. The sheep, cows, and horses are those very easily spotted. I was lucky to have seen some herdwicks too, which according to Wikipedia are rare domestic sheep native to Lake District. They are let free to roam around the big area of the farms. It looks like they are enjoying their life there too - which is a good thing.
There are more than 80 lakes in Lake District, which I'm not going to list them here (you can check Wikipedia for this). As I mentioned before, I only went to three of the many lakes that are visited a lot by visitors of Lake District: Windermere - the largest lake in Lake District, Ullswater - the second largest lake in Lake District that has spectacular landscapes, and Tarn Haws - the lake with beautiful surrounding scenery. At Windermere, I sat by the lake and enjoyed looking at the swans (I counted around 30 of them) and looked at busy visitors feeding them. At Ullswater, I took a steamer cruise and couldn't stop taking photos of beautiful landscapes. At Tarn Haws, I laid my picnic rug, sat there and immersed myself to the peaceful surroundings.
Walking is one of the main activities you can do in the Lake District. I think it's the best way to enjoy the lakes, the hills and of course, the beautiful sceneries. There are lots and lots of walking routes you can choose from easy to very difficult, short to long journey, all of which will definitely raise your awareness to how big this area is and how nature is still very much preserved here.
Last but not least, the people whom I heard about during my stay in the Lake District: Beatrix Potter - author of children's best selling books who fell in love with the area and tried to preserve it as much as she could, Alfred Wainwright - a walk lover who walked the Lake District hills probably almost all his life and created many popular walking routes around the area, and William Wordsworth - a poet who made the area famous with his poetry and his guidebook (Guide to the District of the Lakes). They are the people who loved the lakes and whose love was welcomed and admired by the people of the Lake District.
Lake District is a place of a surprise for me. The astonishing scenery and the beauty of all the things I've encountered there definitely feed my 'hunger for nature' soul. It's a great place to open your eyes and see how nature will take your breath away. It's also a great place to lay your head, close your eyes, and hum your favorite songs. I came once and now I'm wanting more. I've never expected this at all.
