Hutton Le Hole | North Wales | Lake District

Frank's travels around Britain 2010.

The lake district.

I managed this very short trip, just over two days in October. Travelodge had a reasonably priced room on offer (definitely not inexpensive!). There was a nice Morrisons, just a short drive away, as you approached the town centre of Penrith, where you can eat cheaply for breakfast as well.

Once again the sun shone at the beginning of the trip but some of the valley's & especially Ulleswater had heavy mist covering them. It was quite beautiful & added to a really nice break.

My favourite entry into the Lakes is to go to Windermere & turn right at the mini roundabout  to cross over the Kirkstone pass on the  A592. Its the combination of the views, the lake, the Aria Force Waterfall &  the cafe in Pooley Bridge. This time, I was overjoyed to see an old customer from the gift trade, Malcolm Laverick in Pooley Bridge. My God, despite retiring, he looked no older! What a treat that was.

Over the two days I saw the Bowder stone, "Hill Top" the home of Beatrix Potter, Surprise Bridge (its proper name is Ashness bridge), Sarah Nelson's Ginger Bread shop,  & Castlerigg stone circle.

Castlerigg is still stunning & you can imagine the power it had on those early people. It is amongst the earliest British circles, raised in about 3000 BC during the Neolithic period. There are 38 stones in a circle approximately 30 metres in diameter. Within the ring is a rectangle of a further 10 standing stones. The tallest stone is 2.3 metres high.

It is important in terms of megalithic astronomy and geometry, as the construction contains significant astronomical alignments. Although its origins are unknown it is believed that it was used for ceremonial or religious purposes.

 Bowder stone is just huge. It just fell away from the hillside at some time in the past & remains a very impressive sight. A 2000 ton stone, some 30 feet high, fifty feet across and ninety feet in circumference. It rests in a state of some delicate balance!

Surprise Bridge was lovely but the mist obscured the very famous view across Derwent Water to Keswick and Skiddaw.

The home of Miss Potter was as strange as Sarah Nelsons secret receipt. Hill Top was so dark that even in the middle of the day, the assistants had to use torches to illustrate just the photographs around the rooms. Why Sarah's gingerbread has sold in Grasmere for 150 years is a mystery to me. Its not to my taste at all!

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Links for information on this page:

Castlerigg Circle

Hill Top

Sarah Nelson