Isle of Wonder
Another bank holiday, another trip to somewhere we hadn't been before. This time we managed to get to two new places, the Yorkshire Dales National Park and The Lake District. We couldn't have picked better weather so brace yourself this is going to be picture heavy. Unfortunately I didn't have my DSLR to hand so the following were taken on my iphone.
We headed to Malham which was about 1hr 30mins drive from Manchester.
The village had a little fair that day which included a safari trail for children. We followed the crowds of walkers to Malham Cove about 1 mile out of the village. There really were crowds of people although you would never know it from my photos..
I was amazed at the dry stone walls they use in Yorkshire (you can see in the distance on the photo) Anyone know how many miles of them have there?
Unusual markings on this cow.
The trail follows the river all the way to the cove. I took this photo on the walk there but on the way back it was full of dogs using it to cool down.
Adrenaline junkies scaling the cove, rather them than me. You can actually walk up to the top which is a great place to see peregrine falcons. Apparently earlier this year when we had the bad floods the waterfall was brought back to life for the first time in hundreds of years.
I love the moodiness of this picture! Such stunning scenery. Malham is situated in the south of the National Park so we barely dipped our toe into the dales! I will definitely be going back to explore more.
We decided instead to try another area and headed to Lake Windermere on bank holiday Monday. It's a two hour drive from Manchester. Being our typical spontaneous (unprepared) selves we didn't check whether there was anything going on. Upon arrival at the visitors centre we were told there was no parking unless prebooked! In spite of their advice to avoid it, we did manage to find a parking space in Ambleside. A word of warning, if you drive a long distance and need to use the public toilets at Ambleside car park, you need 20p to spend a penny! I gave a full review on Trip Advisor which you can read here.
The scenery soon made you forget your troubles...
We took the green cruise tour which is a hop on hop off boat stopping at Wragg Castle and Brockhole. We decided to just stay onboard and make the most of the fabulous weather on the lake.
This is the fancy boat house at Wragg Castle. Can you spot the paddle steamer in the boathouse?
The houses surrounding the lake were very grand. We passed Beatrix Potter's Hilltop Farm but I didn't have a good enough lens to take a picture.
I was very envious of the these grand homes on the lake. Apparently the butler lives above the boathouse. Imagine waking to that view everyday, must be so tiresome :D
Sailboats everywhere and why not! You can hire a small motor boat for £25 per hr if you are not a sailor. When we arrived back at Waterhead Pier we headed to the Lakeside Bar and Restaurant for some food and to sit and stare some more at that view.
Sigh....... I'll never tire of that view. We made a quick drive onto Coniston water before heading back to Manchester. I can see why painters, writers and poets get inspired here. I couldn't help but think of William Wordsworth's I wandered lonely as a cloud........
As a family we have always gone abroad for holidays but these little tasters of stunning places on our own isle has made us reconsider. The Lake District community and businesses were devastated during the floods over Christmas and some roads had only just reopened when we visited. It felt important to go to do our bit to help the recovery of the local economy. Not that we really needed an excuse with these views anyway!
Take a look at the recent advert from the Visit Britain tourist agency. This may give you some ideas about where to visit.
The village had a little fair that day which included a safari trail for children. We followed the crowds of walkers to Malham Cove about 1 mile out of the village. There really were crowds of people although you would never know it from my photos..
I was amazed at the dry stone walls they use in Yorkshire (you can see in the distance on the photo) Anyone know how many miles of them have there?
Unusual markings on this cow.
We decided instead to try another area and headed to Lake Windermere on bank holiday Monday. It's a two hour drive from Manchester. Being our typical spontaneous (unprepared) selves we didn't check whether there was anything going on. Upon arrival at the visitors centre we were told there was no parking unless prebooked! In spite of their advice to avoid it, we did manage to find a parking space in Ambleside. A word of warning, if you drive a long distance and need to use the public toilets at Ambleside car park, you need 20p to spend a penny! I gave a full review on Trip Advisor which you can read here.
The scenery soon made you forget your troubles...
We took the green cruise tour which is a hop on hop off boat stopping at Wragg Castle and Brockhole. We decided to just stay onboard and make the most of the fabulous weather on the lake.
The houses surrounding the lake were very grand. We passed Beatrix Potter's Hilltop Farm but I didn't have a good enough lens to take a picture.
Sailboats everywhere and why not! You can hire a small motor boat for £25 per hr if you are not a sailor. When we arrived back at Waterhead Pier we headed to the Lakeside Bar and Restaurant for some food and to sit and stare some more at that view.
As a family we have always gone abroad for holidays but these little tasters of stunning places on our own isle has made us reconsider. The Lake District community and businesses were devastated during the floods over Christmas and some roads had only just reopened when we visited. It felt important to go to do our bit to help the recovery of the local economy. Not that we really needed an excuse with these views anyway!
Take a look at the recent advert from the Visit Britain tourist agency. This may give you some ideas about where to visit.
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