Windermere, Peter Rabbit and the Lake District

Awaking to a drizzly day did not discourage Julie and I  but sent us off on a search for properties of the National Trust. We prepared a light breakfast in our cottage of "egg in a cup" lovely crumpets and of course tea. I couldn't resist taking a picture of the bird feeder hanging outside our window and feeding my well known bird obsession.

This little fellow is a Blue Tit, a bird we do not have in the USA. This beautiful Pheasant seems to hang out at the floor of the feeder picking up scraps falling from above. 

Our drive today took us to the home of William Wordsworth. Those non-poetry fans will remember from high school english class his beautiful poems such as Clouds aka Daffodils.

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o’er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

The 18th Century Wordsworth is revered throughout England and was selected by queen Victoria to be the Crown's Poet Laureate. William at a ripe old age said to the queen you must choose a younger man. Why not Tennyson? She insisted and he accepted under the condition that he would not be forced to write poetry; it must come from inspiration. She agreed and gave him a handsome salary which he enjoyed for the remainder of his long life. The problem was, he was never again was inspired and wrote no poetry from that point on. As a comfortable retiree, not having to work, I can relate to this problem.

We then headed through the lake district stopping for our pub lunch and then off to Lake Windermere. The Lake operates a small cable ferry and we decided to take it across the lake and take some photos.

The Lake district is indeed beautiful, even on a rainy day. The area is an attraction to holiday walkers who take advantage of the many public footpaths and walk from town to town. As we met walkers all togged out in their rain suits we realized that wet weather is the norm and not for the faint of heart.

Our next stop was the home of Beatrix Potter and her lovely stories about animals which I had read my children and am now reading to my grandchildren. Her cottage home is on the National Trust and is surrounded by her garden, home to Peter Rabbit and Mr McGregor.

As we toured the Potter home we learned about this enterprising spinster who was an accomplished artist and business women. Her books were so successful that she used the money to buy adjacent farms to protect her property which would be left to the nation in her will. She left all the rights to her work to a good friend who later sold them to Penguin books who capitalizes on her work to this day. This is not the picture of the reclusive simple artist portrayed in the recent movie about her life. Her legacy will live on for future generations to enjoy.

As we headed home for the evening after a wet but busy day we are reminded that tomorrow is the national election here in Britain. Throughout the towns we have been seeing these tasteful signs promoting local candidates standing for election tomorrow. The party with the largest number of wining candidates will be given the opportunity to choose a prime minister and run country. The national is abuzz however with the fact that there most likely will not be a majority party win and the parties with the most votes will be forced to form a coalition government. England is very tough on sign laws so the political signs are temporary and are unobtrusive. I can't say the same for the retoric on the radio and TV. More on this tomorrow night.  

We end our day after a lovely visit with our cottage neighbors who invited us in for glass of wine. We had much in common with each other through our travels and we enjoyed a delightful chat that went on for a long time. I sit tonight in the little outbuilding that serves as a laundry and the WiFi modum. Such is my dedication to reflecting on my day and sharing this blog. Tomorrow we are off to Hadrian's Wall further north.