Monday, May 28, 2018

A Visit to Ambleside



If you've been following along on our Golden Anniversary trip to Britain, I've been posting in the order that we visited these delightful places.  Today I want to share our day in the Lake District the town of Ambleside.

 This little town is so lovely with its quaint stone houses and shops.  We had visited here on our last trip to England and we decided we must return to view its charm.


Walking down the street we see the Bridge House and decide we must take a peek inside again.  It's a little early so we decide to return later to the little house that stands over Stock Beck.


There are pots of lobelia and petunias and johnny jump-ups on the stairs.  


We decided to visit The Armitt Museum and found it was just opening when we walked up to the door.  The Armitt has a wonderful exhibit featuring the celebration of the 150th anniversary of Beatrix Potter's birth.  Miss Potter was a member of The Armitt and gifted her copies of her little books, watercolors and her special drawings of fungi.  Also she gifted her water colored Roman artifacts.  The Armitt is not to be missed if you love and respect Beatrix Potter. 



As most of you are aware, Beatrix Potter was an extraordinary woman!  An accomplished woman that was way ahead of her time as a scientist, a farmer, a sheep breeder, an estate manager and a conservationist!  

" I do not remember a time when I didn't try to invent  pictures and make for myself a fairyland amongst the wild flowers, the animals, the fungi, mosses, woods and streams. "  Beatrix Potter



I can just imagine Beatrix walking down this same street and passing by the Bridge House.


This narrow little charming house is now owned by the National Trust.  It's sweet little window and stove are about all there is to the first level.


I find it hard to believe a family of eight lived here once!  It's seen many lives over the years.  From a mill to a tea room to a cobblers, to a chair maker's it has witnessed all the goings on of Ambleside.  I'm so glad it has been saved for all to enjoy!



As we were walking earlier we spotted just the right spot for lunch.  I hope you will join us.


With a name like this, how can we go wrong?


And the wonderful window full of bakery treats.  (We chose the wonderful Bath Buns in the bottom right).  What would you like? 


Inside this lovely spot that specializes in all kinds of pie we both ordered the yummy chicken pie.


We actually bought the Bath Buns to take "home" with us to enjoy for breakfast tomorrow.  Bath Buns are said to have originated of course in the city of Bath.  They were treats that were made to give to folks visiting the Roman baths by William Oliver.  Sadly the patients gained weight and he resorted to making the Bath Oliver cracker that is like a water cracker.  Since we're on vacation, let's not worry about calories, okay?  Besides, we need to keep our strength up for all the walking, right? ♥












31 comments:

  1. Oh my, how I loved seeing the Bridge House. Such history and the stories it could tell. Wouldn't it be neat if someone would write a book of the people that lived in it over the centuries. That lunch and roll look delish! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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    1. The Bridge House could really tell some tales I'm sure, Teresa. The National Trust does a great job of keeping its stories alive. A book would be great. I'm not sure if one has been written about it. ♥

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  2. Beatrix Potter was an amazing woman! I am sure that it is thrilling to visit the places where she lived and worked. I love the print (or was it a book cover?) with the watercolor of fungi. I am assuming that it done by Miss Potter. Different from her sweet little character paintings, but charming as well.

    Speaking of charming . . . the Bridge House! (And the chicken pie is charming in its own way. ~smile~)

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    1. Cheryl, Beatrix Potter's fungi watercolors are featured in The Armitt. She was fascinated by all the mushrooms and such that grew in the Lake District. You probably know she was an expert on them, but because she was a woman, she was not recognized as the mycologist she was.
      The Armitt also featured a small display of Charlotte Mason's works and her desk. Sorry, but no photos were allowed. I thought of you when we visited and your teaching philosophy. ♥

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    2. I wondered if you saw any representations of Charlotte Mason while you were in the Lake District! (So sweet that you thought of me!)

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  3. Truly charming town with a delightful name!

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  4. Read it three times, what lovely pictures that perfectly capture the ambience of Amblesisde. I especially love the pots of plants on the steps, and on the windowsill, and, as ever, no disappointment where food is concerned {did you see me wink?} I'll have the jam doughnut, please. Oh, and a slightly damp serviette, for I always get jam everywhere, dusted with that sugar!

    ~~~Waving~~~From Across the Pond~~~Deb in Wales xoxo

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    1. Happy to have to come along with us, Deb. I'll get the damp serviette asap. The Bath buns were delicious (the size of a dinner plate)! I do hope you enjoy the jam doughnut. Have a wonderful evening, my friend. ♥

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  5. How cute is that bridge house! It’s like something from a fairytale! The bath buns look so enticing but so do those jelly filled doughnuts! The chicken pie looks like it was delicious. I have to admit I am not very knowledgeable about Beatrix Potter so it’s been fun picking up what I have through your travels.

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    1. Liz, I tend to think all of Britain is a fairy tale. Of course the world is not, but Britain comes as close to anywhere I've seen. I have big shoes to fill to inform you about Beatrix Potter. I hope I can do her justice. You can feel her just about everywhere you go in the Lake District. Of course it's because of her that all the lovely places are left for all the future to visit. ♥

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  6. Oh what a lovely looking place. I so love all the stone homes and buildings. Nice.

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    1. The stone houses in Ambleside have about as much charm as you can imagine, Pam. You would love it there. ♥

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  7. I think I remember your report on this from an earlier trip. How I would love to see this! Funny story about the weight gain. Crackers don't quite seem to bring the same charm!

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    1. Yes, we had to go back to Ambleside, Dotsie. It's one of my favorite spots in the Lake District. A cracker is not a Bath Bun is it? ♥

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  8. The bridge house so beautiful and full of history..

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    1. It is a charming old place, Krishna. Thank you for stopping by. ♥

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  9. I'm so glad you were able to get photos of inside the Bridge House. There were too many people in the way when we visited. When I do my post about Ambleside I will have to refer people to your post!

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    1. It's such a small place it's quite hard to get the perspective correct with a camera, but I'm so glad you visited there. I'm looking forward to your posts about your visit to the Lake District. ♥

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  10. This is what I like to see of Britain. Beautiful fairy tale villages such as this. I would park myself right here in this village. I so love seeing the stonework and especially that beautiful stone house on the bridge. How sweet is that? The pictures of the inside are wonderful with the capture of the window and old cookstove. When you showed the pastries in the window, the first one that caught my eye were the buns with raisins. The chicken pot pie with the slaw would have been my choice for lunch. I bet it was sooooo good. When we vacate to anywhere we DO NOT count calories. My husband said it's forbidden on vacation. You can tell when ya see me when I get back. Looking forward to more pictures.

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    1. Thank you, Betsy. I agree with your hubby! Ambleside is so charming and around every corner there is more to enjoy. Even though we had visited here before, we had to come back to see the Bridge House and The Armitt Museum again. I hope you have a great time on your vacation. ♥

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  11. If I were ever so lucky to visit to visit Britain, Ambleside would be near the top of my list of places to see. Of course, I love everything having to do with Beatrix Potter.

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    1. I hope you are able to visit one day. I can feel Beatrix Potter everywhere in the Lake District. She was one special soul that I respect so much. ♥

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  12. The Bridge House looks amazing! Love the view out the first story window.

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  13. This looks like a nice place to visit!

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  14. Beautiful bridge house and appealing chicken pie. This blogpost remembers me to the book of Susan Branch: A fine romance. May be you know this book, the writer is also in love with the English countryside and Beatrix Potter's place.

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    1. Janneke, I adore Susan Branch! She was our inspiration on our first trip to England in 2015. A Fine Romance is one of my favorite books about the English countryside. Because of her we discovered our love of the Lake District. I'll be taking us back to Hill Top in a future post as I couldn't possibly not visit there again. ♥

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  15. Lovely, lovely, lovely...

    Seeing your post here bought back memories of our recent time in the Lake District, it is truly a wonderful area of the UK.

    This post and your earlier ones have been a joy, thank you.

    All the best Jan

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    1. I'm so glad you were able to visit this wonderful area, Jan. As I've said before--it's my favorite place in England. ♥

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