We decided to drive south from Keswick to the village of Grasmere. Our hosts gave us suggestions of what to do and where to go. Grasmere is a little more quaint that Keswick and is obviously a tour bus destination.
By 11:00, there were four tour buses in the car park. It was the first time we heard people speaking American in a while.
Besides being quaint, Grasmere is famous as the home and resting place of the English poet, William Wordsworth. We visited the beautiful and ancient St Oswald's church with its timber frame roof.
Wordsworth is buried behind the church.
Grasmere is also world famous all over Cumbria for gingerbread and specifically Sarah Nelson's secret recipe Cumbria gingerbread. This distinct gingerbread is make from a recipe that has remained secret since it was developed in the mid 19th century. We did the tourist thing and dutifully bought a package.
Grasmere is full of cafes and tea rooms, but our hosts had recommended Baldry'sTea Room, so that is where we had our lunch of jacket potatoes (stuffed baked potatoes). The main reason for having lunch at Baldry's however was their warm sticky gingerbread pudding with rum butter sauce and ice cream. Different from Sarah's, but in a word; magnificent!
It would be a shame to visit Keswick without doing some fell walking, so when we returned from Grasmere, we decided to walk off the gingerbread with a walk up Latrigg fell. Latrigg is one of the smaller fells with a summit of about 1200 feet. It is mostly tree covered. The higher fells such as Cat Bells, have heather higher up. We were able to begin the walk from our B&B. Although we had detailed instructions and a good map we had some trouble getting out of town. However once we found the trail head, we had no problems.
Keswick and Derwent Water from Latrigg.
It was warm and sunny when we started the walk. But by the time we reached the summit, the sun had disappeared, the wind had come up and the temperature dropped. Cathy is having fun, really.
We went to the George pub for supper. Feeling a little guilty for eating a large lunch with a large dessert, I innocently ordered a half portion of the Cow pie. What I didn't realize is that a cow pie apparently contains the meat from an entire cow! Lets just say that I wasn't lacking for protein in this meal.
Friday morning,
I'm sitting by a park on a bench writing Thursday's account while Cathy explores the shops. But I have company.
Soon we will hit the road again and head north to Scotland.
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