JFitzpatrick Travel LLC

Before we delve into the “Lake District”, a word about “BREXIT”.  You’ve probably heard by now that the United Kingdom voted to remove itself from the European Union—-a HUGE historic move!  YIKES!

Although no one knows the long-term effect, in the short run, there’s a financial benefit to American travelers wishing to visit the UK as the British “Pound” has dropped relative to the “Dollar”.   In other words, the exchange rate between the dollar and the pound is at its lowest level in 30 years…providing American travelers a discount on prices paid throughout Britain.

For now, you can get “more bang for your buck” so if you’re looking to book air travel or make a quick hop “across the pond”, this may be the time to do it!

Okay, back to the Lake District…

In my last blog, I wrote about Edinburgh and, as we continued on our trip, we traveled from Edinburgh (Scotland) to Cumbria (England).  Cumbria is considered one of the most beautiful regions of the UK and it includes the Lake District….where we stayed for a few days…the Eden Valley, the North Pennines and the Furness Peninsula.  I’ll focus on the Lake District!

As a popular holiday destination, the Lake District is a mountainous, national park in northwest England.  It’s ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL and we couldn’t get enough of the rolling hills, cute towns, pristine lakes and SHEEP!!!  Factoid:  The UK has a 3 to 1 ratio of people to sheep….approx. 65 million people and 23 million sheep.  Sheep are EVERYWHERE!!!!

  Sheep, Sheep and More Sheep!

In driving from Edinburgh to Cumbria, we passed “Hadrian’s Wall”…built in 122 AD during the reign of Emperor Hadrian as a defensive fortification from barbarian invaders.  Though only remnants of the 73 mile wall remain, it’s easy to envision its defensive importance.  At its peak use, the wall was 10 feet wide and 20 feet high with forts along the wall at 7-mile intervals.  It has been  a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1987 and is now a popular hiking trail.

 

  Seaview At Hadrian’s Wall

Sooooo…..after stopping at the wall, we were rather hungry as it was past lunchtime.  We sort of wondered where we were going to eat as we were on a huge motorcoach and were traveling through rather narrow country lanes….with limited eating options.  Our guide told us that we were going to a country restaurant and the driver then turned down a lane onto a private road and pretended to be lost.

Imagine our surprise when we stopped at a country manor house and the owners,  Giles Herchard Mounsey-Heysham and Penelope Auriol Mounsey-Heyshams , came out to greet us.  Talk about PROPER BRITS!!!!  Though we weren’t visiting “The Queen”, this house, and its owners, were really impressive!  Even more impressive were the photos spread around the house which included “Lady Diana”, “Prince Charles” and various other royals who had visited this home.  And so we dined!!!!!!!!   (BTW…the family owned about 6,000 acres of prime, beautiful land)

 The “Back” of Castletown House

On we continued passing through Grasmere, home and burial site of William Wordsworth, a famous English Romantic poet.

 

 Wordworth’s Grave

BTW….I’m chronicling different things we saw while in Cumbria but….this occurred over a few days.  We DID check into our digs at the Langdale Hotel and Country Club….set on 50 acres of woodland near Ambleside, Cumbria.  Though the hotel was lovely, the greater beauty was in the countryside and the estates.  What a fabulous region to visit!

Our last Cumbria location I’d like to share is Levens Hall and Gardens….known for their exquisite topiary gardens—the oldest topiary garden in the world.  Our house tour was interesting….but nothing in comparison to our tour of the grounds.  Rather than say more, look at David’s amazing pictures:

So, now we’re done with Cumbria and, next time, we’re off to Wales.   Thanks for allowing me to share our journey and please let me know if you’d like to join us in the future.