England, Day Four

♫Seventeenth Century English Music♫

Today we awoke to the most gorgeous sunlight coming in the window of our apartment.  The light of the day on the lake made for a beautiful start to our day!  We ate our usual breakfast of toast and peanut butter and fruit.  After getting dressed we headed out to visit Ambleside.

Ambleside is a town at the head of Lake Windermere.  The town is within the Lake District National Park.  We started our day in Ambleside at the Stagshaw Garden.  The garden is the dream come true of Cubby Acland.  He worked for the National Trust as a land agent in 1957.  It was a beautiful garden to explore early in the morning.

Stagshaw Garden and Lake Windermere

Let's get started and look around this lovely garden.  There are more than 300 large azaleas and rhododendrons.

Don't worry it's a little up hill, but the views are worth it!  The azaleas and rhododendrons are blooming and the bluebells are as well.  Ferns and wildflowers are happy in this lovely spot.

Let's go down the path and return to the car park and go to the very special town of Ambleside to visit the Bridge House!

The Braithwaites built this bridge house to go over Stock Beck and access their land on the other side.  It has stood since the 17th century.  It was used to store apples that were harvested in the Braithwaite's orchards.  We were able to climb the stairs for a visit and tour this quaint little bridge house.

The view from the second floor is lovely, don't you think?  There is a sitting room upstairs and then downstairs there is this great old stove!  The National Trust uses this space as a general information center.  I would like to live here!  Even though it's small, it's adorable.

Just down the street is the Armitt Museum.  Beatrix Potter was a member of the Armitt and left her "little books" and watercolors of fungi to the museum.  Go to their site to read more --http://www.armitt.com/   

Just about all the buildings in Ambleside are made of this beautiful stone.  It is a combination of slate and stone that gives a beautiful appeal.  

We now need to make our way to Grasmere.  It's another quaint little town in the Lake District.  It is in the valley surrounded by tall mountains that have sheep grazing on them.  William Wordsworth described it as the loveliest spot that man had ever found.  He made his home here and is buried here.

In the above photo you see Rydal Mount, home of William Wordsworth.  It was here that he wrote his most famous poem ---Daffodils.  The garden at Rydal Mount was designed by Wordsworth.  The home has the iconic wisteria growing along the front entrance.

As we wondered around the town of Grasmere we were inspired by the beauty of the lovely town.

We're getting hungry.  Let's go into this cute little tearoom/cafe for lunch.  It's darling!!

The soup and sandwich was delicious.  I must tell you that the food in England was really good.  They really know how to make soup!  It was chilly while we were there, so soup was enjoyed often!  I had a leek and potato soup and split a sandwich of bacon and brie with Grayden.   

Grasmere is famous for its gingerbread.  So if you're not too full let's go to Sarah Nelson's and get some of that gingerbread!

The gingerbread is quite tasty, but flat as a pancake!  In 1854 Sarah Nelson made her now famous gingerbread in Grasmere.  Her shop opened and became quite popular.  It is now run by third generation owners.  We had to wait in line to purchase her famous gingerbread.  It's still a popular place to go in Grasmere.  The gingerbread is quite good even if it is flat!