Woke after an excellent night’s sleep excited to begin our day exploring the Lake District. I had made a serious miscalculation in only scheduling one day in our itinerary to visit this area. My husband and I would love to return there again some day and spend several days hiking the surrounding hills and cruising the lakes.

Our first stop was to the Lake District National Park Visitor Centre housed in a stately old lakeside mansion built along the eastern shore of Lake Windermere at Brockhole. We gathered flyers and hiked through the groomed, lakeside park to the water’s edge, breathing in lungfuls of the crisp, clean air. Windermere is a focal point of sailing and boating in the Lake District, and many boat tours leave from various points around the lake. At over 10 miles long, this dramatic watery expanse is England’s largest “mere”. 

Continuing on down the Lake District’s main corridor, we passed through the village of Ambleside, located at the northern end of Lake Windermere. Its many stone houses include Bridge House, the smallest in the Lake District. Built on a tiny packhorse bridge over the Stock Ghyll, the 13 x 6 ft former apple store is where Mr. and Mrs. Rigg raised their six children in the 1850s. The house is now owned by the National Trust and is open to the public as an NT information centre. Mainly Victorian in character, Ambleside has a good range of outdoor clothing, crafts and specialist food shops. It was here that Wordsworth carried out his job as distributor of stamps. 

Just north of Ambelside, we stopped to visit Rydal Mount, the final home of poet William Wordsworth. William and Mary Wordsworth moved to 16^th century Rydal Mount in 1813, with three of their children (two had died the previous year), William’s sister Dorothy, and sister-in-law Sara. It was to be his home for the last 37 years of his life. 

We then drove on, passed Dove Cottage (the earlier home of Wordsworth), to the village of Grasmere. It was here at the sturdy St Oswald’s Church that Wordsworth and his family worshiped and was buried. Wordsworth planted eight yew trees in the churchyard, and one now stands over the grave he shares with his wife. Next door to the church, stands the small Grasmere Gingerbread Shop in the building that was once the Lych Gate village school where Wordsworth taught. Sarah Nelson’ Grasmere gingerbread recipe is such a closely guarded secret that it is kept in the vaults of a local bank. We purchased a small bundle of the gingerbread, finding the texture and taste far different from the soft, molasses-based gingerbread we were used to at home. Grasmere Gingerbread is hard and tacky, and much more bitter, with a strong ginger taste. We found we preferred the gingerbread from home, even though the Grasmere Gingerbread is probably much closer to the original incantation of the sweet.