Coniston Water

How would you like to take a ride on a Steam Yacht Gondola?  Staying in the Lake District we have enjoyed looking at the beautiful lakes that surround this lovely area.  But today we want to take you on the water.  The Victorians enjoyed this mode of transportation as an outing or as a means of getting around Coniston Lake.  This gondola is like the ones in Venice, but much larger.  

Riding over to catch the gondola the clouds start to roll into the valley.

Grayden is happy to see the hedgerows have been clipped or they've been trimmed by motorists!

We reach the lake and get our tickets to board the Gondola.  This sign reminds us that the Lake District was recently proclaimed a World Heritage Status!  It certainly deserves it!

This is a big deal.  This means the area has been selected by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to be of value and is legally protected by international treaties for the enjoyment of humanity. 

Here is the Steam Yacht Gondola.  Her design is based on a Venetian "Burchiello".  She glides silently through the water, with Sid the golden sea serpent at the bow as her figurehead.  The National Trust rebuilt the vessel from an 1860 Gondola.

Boarding the gondola we are quite surprised as we step on board and see the inside!

It's quite fancy with leather seats and cozy blankets and if ordered ahead, a picnic hamper!  You can ride inside and wander all about the gondola on the journey if you wish.

In the second cabin the upholstery is a pretty tufted fabric.  As you can see it's quite large inside.

The engine of course is powered by steam.  Grayden really enjoyed speaking with the gentlemen that skippered and maintained the vessel. 

He was able to feed the steam engine fire box so we could putt around Coniston Water.  Coniston is the third largest lake in the Lake District.  Glaciers formed all of the lakes in this area.  Coniston Water is five miles long and a half mile wide. 

Grayden even got a chance to pilot the vessel.  Don't worry he's had plenty of practice on boats!

The water was so calm and the gondola so quiet.  Such a peaceful and beautiful ride.

The reflections on the glassy waters doubled our views.

Here is the home (Brantwood House) of Victorian artist and philosopher John Ruskin.  He lived on the eastern shore of the lake from 1872-1900 when he passed away. 

This photo of him hangs in the Gondola. 


“Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty if only we have the eyes to see them.” 

― John Ruskin

Riding along we certainly see beauty everywhere!

It's time to leave Coniston Water.  

Grayden reminds me it's easier to pilot a boat than a car in England!  We were driving on the lower road here and came upon a little darling on the stone wall!  Please don't jump, my little friend!  Yes, there is beauty all around if we have eyes to see.  ♥

My new blogging friend is cleaning out her attic and has a giveaway.  Check out her post at Teresa Kasner

Thanks for coming along with us on another one of our days in Britain! 

England, Day Four, Part Two and A Winner!!

♫Castle Bard♫

After leaving Grasmere we headed to one more special place for the day, Sizergh.  It is still in the Lake District so you can be assured it is lovely.  Driving up to the car park we were greeted by these cuties.

Sizergh Castle dates back to the the fifteenth century.  Some believe the tower dates to the fourteenth century.  Sizergh has been the home of the Strickland family for over 750 years.  In fact they still live here!  They gave the castle to the National Trust in 1950 with the understanding that they would still have a private wing and use of all the rooms when not open to visitors.  Most people can not afford to keep up a castle and this is not unusual for families to do this.  It's a good deal all around.

The wing on the right hand side of the photo is where the Stricklands have their private quarters.  This is the entrance to go into the castle.  It used to actually serve as a stable then a carriage storage area.  Let's go inside and have a look around this beautiful home.

There are paintings that line the hall of family members that date from the 1600's to present day.

Here is the dining room.  It's set for dinner---How lovely!  The panelling throughout the castle is quite unique.  In one room (no photography allowed)  the panelling is inlaid with florals and geometric designs made of oak bog and poplar wood.  This room used to be in the Victoria and Albert Museum but was bought back to Sizergh in 1999.  The room is quite dark but definitely a work of art.

The rooms are enormous in Sizergh.  The Strickland family still invites extended family here for Christmas and special occasions.

Let's take a look out the window!

The castle is full of priceless antiques.  I especially liked looking at all the beautiful china.

The furniture is quite unique in the castle.  There are pieces from just about all centuries since the castle has been here.

I was surprised to see current photos of the Strickland family displayed in the castle.  This was a collection that was on a table in the sitting room.

What a lovely place for a family to gather.  Plenty of bedrooms and space to have all of the generations under one roof! 

Let's head out to the garden.  This swan would not come up for his photo!

The gardens were lovely with interesting paths and plants.  We were able to speak to one of the gardeners that make this garden so lovely.  Such a peaceful way to end our day.  Goodbye Sizergh!

Let's change modes and see who has won the bluebell mug!  I gathered all of my Peter Rabbit friends to help pick our winner.  Good Luck everyone!  Thank you for entering!

Peter Rabbit (aka Grandson Samuel) made sure all the names were in the Peter Rabbit mug.  After hopping around he picked one name from the mug.

Congratulations Rosinda!  You are the winner of the Bluebell Mug!  I'll send it to you soon!

Day Three, Hilltop and Giveaway

♫Perfect Day♫

Today is a day I have dreamed about.  If I admit it, if I were only able to visit one place in England, it would be Hilltop. Visiting Hilltop, one of the homes of Beatrix Potter, has been dream of mine for a long time.  I've loved her charming books forever.  Her beautiful artwork is truly a gift from God.  Sometimes when a dream is about to be realized one can be afraid that the real thing will be disappointing.  Believe me--I was not disappointed!

Our apartment is only 27 miles from Hilltop!  This is the main reason we chose to stay in this location.... But it took us 1 1/2 hours to get there.  The M5 and A roads were just fine, but then we took a B road that was curvy, narrow and quite scary.

See the stone wall on the left--that's where I was sitting in our car, trying not to say too much to Grayden as he carefully drove us along curves and hills and more stone walls.  

Along the way carpets of bluebells made the drive beautiful and more enjoyable.  It was a drizzly, rainy, moody day.  Anticipation of what was to come made it all very mystical and magical.

After driving at very slow speeds we finally made it to Near Sawrey--the town where Beatrix Potter bought her beloved Hilltop!

Beatrix Potter bought  Hilltop in 1905 as a retreat away from London.  She purchased Hilltop with money from her first book-- The Tale of Peter Rabbit.  She loved the area around Hilltop and it's not hard to see why!  It served as inspiration for her books that followed. 

Upon arriving at the car park for Hilltop, rain was falling.  We were early (on purpose) to be able to get our tickets.  Hilltop is very popular and has a timed ticket schedule.  We were early enough to pick up our tickets for the first opening at 10:00am.  A few cars began to fill the car park.  Everyone wants to come to Hilltop!

It was time to make our way up to Hilltop.  We followed a hill up a narrow pathway made of large rocks that was lined with flowers.

We're almost there!  I can't believe it! 

There she is!!

The nice National Trust docent invited us in!  Oh my, yes I'll park my brolly at the door and yes you can wipe the rain off my jacket.  We don't want to harm anything in Beatrix Potter's home.

We made our way inside to a sitting room on the left.  It was cozy with a roaring fire to warm us.  There were low beams and the ceiling was covered in wallpaper.  I'm quite emotional at this point as I can't believe I'm standing where Beatrix Potter once stood.  Everywhere there is charm.  To the right is another room that is filled with lovely china that Beatrix collected.  She was from a wealthy family and attended many antique shows with her mother.  It was pointed out that she and her mother didn't have much in common but they both loved to go to antique sales together.

Toward the back of the sitting room was the scullery where Beatrix prepared meals.  To the left of the scullery were stairs we climbed to see four rooms.  One was a room of her collections with a lovely dollhouse.  Another sitting room with a piano and beautiful photos of her and her family. Her bedroom with her lovely tester bed and bed coverings and memorabilia all about.  She added an addition so she could have proper light for her art studio.  She never wanted electricity in her home.  This room was filled with her brother's artwork.  Bertram was an accomplished artist as well as their father.  There were very large paintings that lined the walls.  Sadly no photos are allowed inside, but you can go here to see her bedroom.

I can't begin to describe how I felt in her home!  Her love of nature was everywhere.  Beatrix Potter, I felt your spirit in your beloved Hilltop.  I'll never forget it!! 

As we left her home I turned around and gazed upon this special place. We wandered about the property.

Upon leaving the gate we spotted Castle Cottage, the home that Beatrix and William Heelis shared after their marriage. It's the white house on the right. 

When we planned this day before leaving home, I told Grayden I wanted to stay all day in Near Sawrey.  I did not want to short cut this visit.  So next to Hilltop was The Sawrey House Tearoom that we had to go visit.  We read on their menu that Beatrix Potter would often come and have afternoon tea here.

The vistas from this property were lovely!  These photos were taken from the inside the Sawrey House Tearoom.

After having a lovely soup for lunch it was time to take another look around Near Sawrey.  It's so charming and quaint in this area.  What a wonderful place to live!  I hope it never changes.  Beatrix Potter was a big proponent of the National Trust and gave over 4.000 acres of land, 16 farms and cottages, cattle and Herdwick sheep for future generations to enjoy.  Her gifts were the largest the National Trust had received and enabled them to create the Lake District National Park.  Thank you, Beatrix Potter!

Because of all the joy that I felt upon seeing bluebells and Hilltop, I wanted to have a gift drawing for one of my readers.  Thank you for coming along with me on my Grand Adventure to England and especially to Hilltop!  It is very special to be able to share it with you!

I bought this lovely mug in one of the National Trust stores to give away.  If you want to put your name in the hat, just leave a comment on this post and in a few days I'll draw one of your names and send it off to you.  Thank you for coming along! ♥