Shouldn't really take 2 hours to go 15 or 20 miles, but then, you have to account for detours, being lost several times, etc. So we left about 8:45 this morning and our first short stop was at Thirlmere-- not a natural lake, but a reservoir that supplies over 10% of the drinking water in the northwest UK, according to the information sign.
We did an accidental detour through Grasmere which we will come back to explore at greater leisure, probably tomorrow. On to Keswick (pronounced Kehzick) where we got thoroughly lost twice, but eventually found our way to the jetty for the Derwent Launch.
Lots of pretty spots along the shore.
Went for a short ride to Hawes End, which is the disembarkation point for most folks wanting to walk the Catbells, a ridge of hills going up nearly 1,500 feet.
Supposedly named for wild cats which lived there in the past. Hal was not able to do a hike to the summit but some intrepid souls did--you can see them here along the ridge line.
We took the "terrace path" which advertised "great views without the scrambles." We walked through beautiful old woods going up and down, but once above the treeline, did indeed have gorgeous views of the lake.
Hal's favorite part of the hike is, of course, stopping for lunch while we waited for the launch to come pick up up at the High/Low Brandelhow jetty.
Across the lake you could see the Lodore Hotel, (lower left corner of photo) but the water level was too low for the boat to make it's usual stop there.
I liked the shadows of clouds on the hillsides,
and this sweet little spot someone had chosen to place a bench for resting and watching the water.
There are also these interesting/amusing facts about the history of Derwent Water's islands.
As you can see, it was a mostly cloudy day. Sun came out just about the time we got back.
We also took a detour off the "A" roads onto a "B" road to Threlkeld, which used to be a huge mining area and still has a mining museum.
Given Hal's state of tiredness, and that the museum and tours were not inexpensive, we did not stay. Along our "B" road we saw what I first thought, at a distance, were small black cattle with white faces, but in fact, they turned out to be sheep. I have seen white sheep, black sheep, white sheep with black faces, but these were the first black sheep with white faces!
The maintenance guy has been here since I made another visit to the office with a handwritten list of things that do not work, and he has been banging around--literally with a hammer in the bathroom-- but Hal slumbers on. One of the items on the list got fixed; the others require real plumbers, electricians, etc. Ah well.
