I wandered lonely as a cloud - again!!

Hello, sorry to everyone who has already read this post when it was first aired, but I was trying to do my award post on my ipad  (I never do a post on my ipad, always on The Big Computer) and somehow deleted this post.  I couldn't get it back, however hard I tried, couldn't find it anywhere, but my lovely friend Julie somehow has, and so I'm putting it back on again as I want a record of a lovely day out!  (I know that otherwise I would forget I'd deleted it and be looking frantically for it!)

Posted: 11 Jun 2012 04:31 AM PDT

Before I start waffling on, can I just say a Very Big Welcome to all my lovely new followers!

Have had a lovely weekend, with a  fuller house than usual, as my second son, Jacob, who lives in Leeds, came home for a few days, bringing with him his lovely girlfriend, Jules.  All the rest of the family were home too, so have had a nice family weekend with days out, a bit of carbooting, Chinese takeaway, fish and chips and board games. 

Got up early on Sunday and was expecting it to be pouring down as the weather forecast wasn't good, but was actually quite a nice day in the offing.  Picked my friend Kath up and went to the car boot at the end of the road (the one I went to where I got all the lovely treasures which I did a post about).  This is what I found:

2 orignal Hummel pictures
Cath Kidston Travel Set
Vintage half a cup from the Isle of Wight
2 Fawn Candle Holders
1988 Christmas Plate
Random Jewellery
Next Patchwork Flowery Bag

Came back laden and by then the sun was getting quite hot so we decided to have A Day Out in The Lakes.  Jules is from London originally and now lives in Leeds and hadn't been to the Lake District, so we had to put that right!

The Lake District was packed with tourists as we drove through Bowness and Ambleside.  A sunny day brings everyone out, and it was the last day of half term so everyone was making the most of the unexpected nice weather.  We decided to go to Grasmere and though the first car park we tried was full it wasn't as thronging as the previous places.  We parked up and ambled along to one of my favourite places ... Dove Cottage, home of one of the Lakeland Poets, William Wordsworth.

The house is gorgeous, just what I aspire to one day living in! A chocolate box cottage with roses round the door! You can just imagine WW sitting at that upstairs window, looking out at his beloved fells beyond ...

The side of the cottage ... I like the way the reflection on that latticed window looks like a perfect heart ...

A slate with a message on, taken from Dorothy Wordsworth's (William's sister) journal.  I have a paperback copy of this, and it is fascinating to get an insight into how they lived their everyday lives.  212 years ago, to the day, a snippet of Dorothy's entry for that day ... "A cold yet sunshiny morning.  John carried letters to Ambleside.  I made tarts, pies, etc.  Wm stuck peas.  After dinner he lay down.  John not at home.  I stuck peas alone.  Molly washing.  Cold showers with hail and rain, but at half past five after a heavy rain the lake became calm - and very beautiful".  Can't help but think if Dorothy was around now, her blog would be fabulous, because she paints such a lovely picture with her words.

The side garden at Dove Cottage.

We left Dove Cottage and walked along the lane into the village, where the hotels and shops have many references towards Wordsworth ...

"Feel free to wander lonely or as a crowd" ... very clever!

To the Grasmere Gingerbread shop ... I wish I could relay the smells to you that waft from this lovely shop, the only place in the world allowed to call its product Grasmere Gingerbread.  There have been legal wrangles in recent years, but the closely guarded, centuries old recipe, thankfully won!

A little touch of Jubilee Spirit by the side of the door ... and on to the churchyard, where William and Dorothy Wordsworth and other members of their family are buried.  A very peaceful, tranquil place, despite the hordes of tourists passing through ...

We walked over the bridge where lots of mallards were congregating, being fed by diners at the riverside restaurant ...

Distant cousins of the pair who visited our garden on Friday (yes, I know the grass needs cutting, we have had lots of rain!) ...

We then left Grasmere and trundled along to Ambleside for a cream tea ...

Then on to Bowness where we just had to stop here ...

And then home to fish and chips (I can feel the excuses coming on already, when I step on the scales at WW tonight!)

I'll leave you with this image, have to go and prepare a roast for this evening, Jacob's looking far too thin!

Thank you for bearing with me, you probably have a feeling of deja vu!

Have a lovely week,

Love, Claire xxx