Our England and Scotland Adventure: Day Five (21 August)

If yesterday gave us a taste of the beauty of Ullswater, today's wanderings on the lake, along the shore, and on the fells surrounding the lake confirmed our first impression of Ullswater as an idyllic haven. The impossibly quaint post box I spotted on our way to the steamer ferry set the picturesque tone for the day,

and these curious dogs that bounded out from nowhere to inspect the strangers didn't hurt the rural mood either.
The clouds threatened rain all day long, but we ended up being lucky, with overcast, cool, and breezy conditions making for perfect hiking weather.
We didn't have to wait long
before our boat arrived
and we were off!
Although we had driven alongside Ullswater several times by now, it wasn't until I got onto the lake that I realised the extent of the surrounding beauty.


Our boat ride to Glenridding lasted forty minutes-- we stopped for a coffee break in Glenridding and then started our walk up to Lanty's Tarn, a small lake overlooking Ullswater. At the beginning of our walk, we passed by a few stone houses

and some pretty woven fencing


that soon gave way to the more common stone walls.
We saw quite a variety of trees along the way

and every once in a while, Ullswater peeked out at us.
The higher we got, the more perspective we gained on our surroundings,
and when the vegetation gave way to an ocean of ferns, we began to feel like we were in another world.
It was simply gorgeous.
Um, I guess I'm supposed to say that Bob was simply gorgeous, right?

We arrived at Lanty's Tarn,
admired the great pine trees,
and paused for a bit
before continuing on our way.
It was a good thing Grahame and Jo were such good guides, or we might have gotten lost! Along the way, signs indicated various walking paths,

and we'd love to return to walk through more of this beautiful region. Back at lake level again,

we rushed to catch our return ferry, but ended up missing it by seconds. Ah well, the smart members of our group (i.e. not us!) had thoughtfully packed salmon sandwiches and coffee, and we hungrily devoured our lunches by the pier. By now Jo and Grahame were getting used to me taking photos of food, and Grahame seemed to enjoy teasing me about my habit. Today we were all so hungry that we were finished eating before I realised I'd forgotten to take a photo of our hiking treats. Grahame shook his head and put on his best outraged airs with a smirk: "I guess my sandwiches aren't worth a photo. No gratitude at all." Luckily, I had our ferry tickets in my wallet, or he might have left me at Glenridding, ungrateful sort that I am . . . Our return trip was just as enjoyable as the ride out, with scenery that never seemed to bore, both around the boat

and on the ferry itself.

When we arrived back at Howtown, I wanted to get a close-up photo of these sheep,
but I ended up scaring them away.
We did another lovely walk from Howtown, along Hallin Fell, on our way back to where we had left the car this morning. Once again, Grahame and Jo led the way, while us elderly folk brought up the rear--mostly because of me taking photos, but boy, oh boy, could Grahame and Jo motor along! More signs promised other lovely walks
and it wasn't long before every step seemed to bring an even more picturesque sight.

At first, these puppies looked like they were just out on their own ("What do you feel like doing today?" "I know, let's hike up Hallin Fell!"), but their owner turned out to be relaxing on a rock, just out of sight:
This landscape could comfortably belong near Vancouver,
and although the grand vistas were impressive,
I found that the smaller elements of those landscapes were also rather inviting.

Most of our walk was spent looking down at the ground, not for the London reason (dog poo), but for the Lake District reason (tree roots, rocks, loose dirt)--nice to have a different reason!

At one point during the walk, Bob and I saw a flash of movement beside us and experienced a brief sense of shock--just what was that animal right beside the path?
Pigs!

We couldn't figure out why they were there, until we came to the gate at the end of the bridge and read the sign that had been posted there:
We didn't call in at the farmhouse, but it looked nice! Our route became more open from here, as we crossed large fields and reverted to a semi-London reason for looking down (sheep poo).

Bob imagined that some clever sheep escape had occurred here, with the crafty lot making it across one stone wall and then another, to freedom:
A few times during our walk, we came to stone walls that seemed gateless, but on second glance, there was always a tiny stack of stones on which we had to climb and then a teeny gate through which we hopped to get to the other side.
Once again, Jo and Grahame were in the lead,
but at least I wasn't last! (Notice the great concentration involved in avoiding sheep poo . . .)
The sheep along these paths were definitely more used to people than the sheep by the lake; we walked by and they didn't even move.

Here's one of those strange gates I mentioned earlier,

and here's the most awkward of the lot: Unlike the previous gate, the stone "steps" up to this gate were very ramshackle, causing this (over-acted) reaction on Bob's part.
Safely over the other side, we looked back at the silly thing we had just climbed through!
Even when we made it back to the car, the views didn't end. We drove down what Grahame, Jo, and Fiona all call "the zig-zag road." You can probably guess why they've named it that:
Back home and hungry after our walk, Jo prepared another delicious dinner, this time Cumbrian sausage (a local specialty, which she bought as one extremely long coil and cut into pieces after it was cooked). Of course, I didn't dare risk the wrath of Grahame twice in one day, and here's the photo as proof!