Photos and the City

Tag: my british summer

Coniston Water

When I mentioned to my Airbnb-hosts Tony and Wendy that I would love to do some walking and a little boat tour on this lovely morning, they recommended to go to Coniston Water and do a trip with Victorian Steam Yacht Gondola. And to watch out for the typical Coniston sheep!

It was just a short drive from High Park Farm to Coniston and so I had enough time to explore the lakeshore a little bit (and have some coffee at the Bluebird Café) before getting in queue for the gondola.

The Victorian Steam Yacht Gondola was rebuilt and is operated by the National Trust.

Originally launched in 1859, she was built for the steamer service carrying passengers from the Furness Railway and from the Coniston Railway. She was in commercial service until 1936 when she was retired, being converted to a houseboat in 1946. In 1979, by now derelict, she was given a new hull, engine, boiler and most of the superstructure. She is back in service as a passenger boat, still powered by steam… (Wikipedia)

The Gondola glides quietly over the water – a quite special experience. And the views were just amazing!

The boat stops at Brantwood, John Ruskin’s house and gardens, now a museum dedicated to the art critic of the Victorian era.

Victorian Boathouses along the Lake. In 1847 the Windermere Train line opened the Lake District to the world – something Ruskin strongly fought, thinking that a huge number of visitors would destroy the calmness and beauty of the area. He influenced the creation of the National Trust in 1895. Today the National Trust owns a lot of land in the District.

While waiting to get off the Gondola I took a peek inside – looks cosy enough!

23/08/2018
Windermere & Tarn Hows

It´s a quick drive from Lancaster to the southern part of the Lake District and so we did a little day trip to Bowness at Windermere. “mere” = lake

Windermere (the lake not the town) is the largest natural lake in England, formed by a glacier and one of Britains favourite holiday destination. It was busy in spite of the rain – but the one thing I learned quite early on: Look at the sky and just say “It´s clear up!” – and it always does. (just takes a little bit longer sometimes)

There are different cruises available on Windermere, we just took the shortest one from Bowness around the islands and it started a little bit wet and gloomy.

Authors seem to like the area, William Wordsworth wrote poems about the lake, there was a series of children’s books by Arthur Ransome, tv shows and movies are filmed here and then there is Beatrix Potter, who seems to be an icon and important figure for the Lake District.

And it cleared up right after getting off the boat and in time for a little picnic along the shore.

Tarn Hows – The Tarns

It was time for a little walk around this beautiful spot near Coniston.

It is a beauty spot that must not be missed, yet is not entirely typical of the local landscape, for the tarn is partly artificial, being three tarns joined together in the 19th Century, and most of the trees surrounding it are conifers. (Visit Cumbria)

Beatrix Potter bought the Tarns in 1929 and gave it to the National Trust, like many other areas in the Lake District. Enjoy a walk around this little lake.

14/08/2018
Lune Aqueduct

It was just a short walk from our cottage to the river Lune. The one thing I was really really looking forward to doing in Lancaster was a boat tour on the Lancaster canal and over the Lune Aqueduct – carrying the canal over the river. But all boat tours were fully booked – so I just walked to the aqueduct.

I just walked along the river Lune, first enjoying a beautiful view of the city and later on a “wilderness” I know from the Auen along the Danube.

Lancaster Canal links Kendal to Preston and follows the coastal line. It´s the longest one in England without any locks. It was build in the 18th century to transport coal north from the Lancashire Coalfields, and limestone south from Cumbria.

In 2002 the new Millennium Ribble Link was opened and linked Lancaster to the national network via the River Ribble, the River Douglas and the Leeds & Liverpool Canal’s Rufford Branch.

The Lune Aqueduct was designed by civil engineer John Rennie and completed in 1797 at huge costs. But it soon got famous for its beauty and got painted by Turner who seemed to be fascinated with it.

And beautiful it is – even so, I kind of missed the perfect photo opportunity to show it sitting over the river. I wanted to do it on the way back but then there were trees. But it´s also amazing to walk over it and seeing the canal over a river – somehow it doesn´t make sense.

River Lune from above

I followed the canal back into the city, which is a beautiful walk by itself! On the left side the usual golf course.

View of the castle from the other side of the city.

Old mill houses along the canal.

09/08/2018