LAKE DISTRICT

The national parks of the North York Moors, Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District lie in a fairly straight line across the part of the UK which is the thinnest. So from Whitby on the east coast to Whitehaven on the west via the Dales in the middle is only about 172 miles (280 kms) by road, though it is a fairly winding road, so a non-stop journey would take about five hours.

The journey therefore from Richmond where we were staying to Keswick was a fairly leisurely drive passing along some of the most spectacular scenery in England.

The Lake District is probably the only area in England which has anything resembling a proper 'mountain' as opposed to a 'hill', although at a little under 1000m high, Scafell Pike doesn't even register on the list of the world's highest. Even the 'flat' country Australia boasts a highest peak of more than twice that. The whole area is very popular with cross-country hikers, which is reflected in the number of shops in the main Lake District towns specialising in hiking gear.

The craggy mountains and passes contrast remarkably with the peaceful serene beauty of the lakes, and the picture postcard perfect villages which hug the shores of the lakes.

Coniston Water, which in the 1950's and 1960's was the scene of many attempts on the world water speed record. Donald Campbell lost his life here in 1966 whilst attempting to break the record in 'Bluebird'. His body was never recovered, so it lies somewhere in the murky depths

Here's a real cranky looking bird (and this time it's not Karen!)


Lake Windermere, the largest of the English lakes. For trivia buffs, "Windermere" comes from "Vinandr's lake" highlighting the Nordic influence in the north of England (as if the accents were not enough)



Breakfast taken at Derwent Water, near Keswick.
I had the feeling the whole time we were here that we were being watched



Sure enough, eyes were on us

Lake District scenery

Perhaps the most spectacular drive in England is the road through the Hardknot Pass. With numerous tight hairpins, and 1:4 descents/ascents it is an unforgiving road, and of course is closed to trucks and vehicles towing any form of trailer (so, phew! No caravans!).

We passed through a small town called Hawkshead near Esthwaite Water, one of the smaller lakes. The following pictures are all of Hawkshead, another of those picture postcard perfect places

My personal favourite of all the buildings in Hawkshead, the Red Lion Inn

Not quite as hair-rasing as the Hardknott Pass, the Kirkstone Pass also offers some spectacular views, and there's the (ahem) Renault

Another view of the Kirkstone Pass

After the arduous drive across the top of the mountain, the Kirkstone Pass Inn offers a welcoming respite

Whilst the girls settled for pots of tea, I had a pint of Jennings Porter, a heavy dark beer which can be seen on the table near Karen.

Chloe seems startled, whilst Chanelle lives the moment

BEATRIX POTTER

The Lake District's most celebrated celebrities are the poet William Wordsworth, who was born in Cockermouth, just on the edge of the national park and went to school in the village of Hawkshead (as above), and of course Beatrix Potter, who was born in London, but spent much of her life in the Lake District, and through the phenomenol success of her Peter Rabbit series of 25 books, written between 1893 and 1944, she was able to accumulate some 4,000 acres of the Lake District and a large number of cottages and other buildings. Concerned as she was of the oncoming development of the Lake District, she wanted to preserve the beauty for future generations. Her amazing foresight saved so much of the Lake District, and upon her death, her estate passed to the National Trust organisation, who today manage the Beatrix Potter estate, worth an estimated $500m.

The village of Sawrey, much owned now by the National Trust, courtesy of Miss Potter. On the hill overlooking this village, is 'Hill Top', the first property purchased by Beatrix Potter, and which today is open to the public. She spent many years living at Hill Top.

'Hill Top' the first Lake District home owned by Beatrix Potter. In true National Trust style, only about 12 persons are allowed into the building at any one time.

Chloe with the extensive Hill Top gardens in the background. Beatrix Potter was most famous for her illustrations in the Peter Rabbit books, and these gardens provided the locations for many of the drawings

The path leading up to the cottage which is depicted in the book "The Tale of Tom Kitten" as shown below

and Chanelle in the gardens

Karen on the path leading up to the cottage

Yew Tree Farm, at nearby Coniston, was another cottage owned by Beatrix Potter, and was actually used as 'Hill Top' in the movie 'Miss Potter' as it bears close resemblance.

and so that was the Lake District. So we've had enough of pretty countryside, it's time to visit a city, and the closest one was Liverpool............

YORKSHIRE DALES

I've been to the Dales countless times, and my favourite spot is the town of Richmond. It is set in beautiful rolling hills, it has fabulous old buildings, a great market square, and of course, most importantly it has a disproportionate number of pubs in relation its population

I counted 24 establishments within a small radius of the market square, in a town of about 9000 inhabitants (and before you reach for your calculator, that's 375 people for each pub, and that includes children. I wasn't bored enough to study the census figures to determine how many people are actually over the age of 18). Needless to say, I could find no problems with the high ratio of pubs. My biggest issue was that we only had about three days, and Karen, naturally, wanted to do other things like look in shops and museums (sheesh!)

The market place in Richmond


The girls loitering on a street corner

(Bit of trivia here) This non-descript little building was the location where John Fenwick opened a grocer's store sometime in the 1870's. He eventually moved to Newcastle where he opened a larger store. From this came the Fenwick department store chain, now one of the largest in the UK with one in Bond Street in the centre of London.

This is a recreation of the original Fenwick's store in Richmond (Oh, and that's Karen trying to do some shopping)

A view of the fabulous Yorkshire Dales

A view showing how the hedgerows ( which have been around for centuries) serve as fences between fields)

Bolton Castle, built in the late 1300's. It's most famous inhabitant was Mary Queen of Scots who 'resided' here for about six months back in 1568, after she had been imprisoned for conspiracy to assasinate her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, in an attempt to seize the English throne. That's families I guess!

These two views show the amazing network of drystone walls which are prevalent throughout the north of England. Although these walls are believed to have been first constructed in Cornwall in the Iron Age, these here are quite recent, probably only dating back to about the 16th century.

This close-up shows the intricacy of the building technique

The Wensleydale Heifer is always a good spot to pull up for an hour

The market place of another beautiful town, Thirsk, which technically, is not in the Dales at all, but lies between the Moors and the Dales. However, it had to be included here, as this is the introduction to yet another old English TV series "All Creatures Great and Small"

All Creatures Great and Small was shot in the Yorkshire Dales in the 1970's and 80's, and was set during the 1930's. For those who are unaware of it, it tells the true stories of a country vet who lived in Thirsk during that time, one James Herriott (although his real name we discover was Alf Wight).

The interesting thing about England is that there are stories of heroes and villains in just about every town or city you go through. And yet, a country that has produced such heroes as Francis Drake, James Cook, Lord Nelson, Duke of Wellington, Robbie Williams etc, can still turn a middle-aged country vet into a superstar. Herriott's books, film and TV rights turned him into a multi-millionaire, and naturally Thirsk embraces its favourite son (although he was born in Sunderland) and has turned his fame into a booming tourist destination. People from all over the world have been through Thirsk and the Dales in search of 'Herriott Country'.

The original vets surgery in Thirsk, now has been restored to its 1930's decor to reflect the TV series. Herriott and his partners at the practice all passed away in the 1990's, but according to the locals, despite his immense wealth, Herriott would still be tending to small animals way into his 70's.

One of the cars, an Austin 7, used in the TV series, now resides at the Herriott Museum

Another wonderful country pub in the Dales

Chanelle and Chloe in the village of Askrigg, where much of the filming was carried out

Main street of Askrigg

So after about four days driving around the Dales, it was time to hit the road again, this time the destination was, arguably, the most beautiful region of England, the Lake District

WHITBY

Whitby is a pretty little coastal town of about 14000 inhabitants situated on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors. It's main industry is fishing and tourism.

Most of the waterfront is made up of old fisherman's cottages and little laneways like this

whilst the large grand houses are located at the top of the hill overlooking the town. The cluttered cottages and winding streets and alleyways do have much more character. However, this thought was probably not on the minds of the wealthier people when the town was developed from the 1600's onwards.

Whitby also has a very famous abbey which dates from the 7th century, and which dominates the East Cliff.

A view from the West Cliff at Whitby with the ruins of the abbey

just visible opposite

Karen had organised to get her hair done by a friend of her hairdresser in Australia, so that sort of freed up the whole day for the girls and I. Whitby is famous for its fish and chips so we had a go at that. They say if you're going to have fish and chips anywhere in the UK then Whitby is the place. Unfortunately, Whitby has not missed out on 'progress' so fish and chips are served in a polystyrene container, instead of yesterday's newspaper, which took some of the mystique out of the experience. The actual food component, however, was very good.

Next up we braved the cool breezes coming up the River Esk, and took a cruise up the harbour and out to sea. Not exactly Sydney Harbour, but well worth the effort.

Chanelle and Chloe rugged up ready for the big boat trip



Chugging up the river with Whitby in the background

Unlike Great Yarmouth and most UK seaside towns, Whitby does not have a pier in the true sense of the word. This has not stopped businesses opening amusement arcades on the waterfront

A view of the 'grand' houses at the top of West Cliff

Chanelle does her 'Titanic' routine

Looking back into Whitby from the sea

There is an Australian connection to Whitby of course. This was the town where way back in 1747 a young Jimmy Cook started his sailor's apprenticeship. What isn't so well-known is that Captain Cook (as he was to become) was actually born at Marston, near Middlesborough further north around the coast, into a farming family. However, it was whilst employed as a grocer's apprentice that his love for the sea began.

Whitby, naturally, pumps up its tourism potential by capitalising on the Cook connection, and he is commemorated with a statue on the West Cliff, which bears the following plaque, apparently given by the "People of Australia", so good on ya Cobbers for thinking of old Jimmy.

Chloe reflects for a moment on the existance of James Cook, without whom, history would have worked out differently, and she'd possibly now be wearing clogs in old Amsterdam