Saturday 7 November 2009

43 Ambleside, 20.08.2009

After Keswick, we drove back to Ambleside,  where we saw some wonderfull old buildings including a working water wheel



The Country's smallest house... Bridge House, and
possibly the most photographed building in the Lake District.  It is also one of the most well known buildings to feature in many paintings of the Lake district, including one by Turner.

It was originally an apple store for nearby Ambleside Hall,.  the reason it was built over Stock Beck was in order to escape land tax.   legend has it that at one time a family with six children lived in the two rooms.

it was bought by a group of local people in 1926, who passed it into the care of the National Trust.  In 1946 they turned into their first information and recruitment centre.

Sadly it's now a rather cramped shop for the National Trust, I think personally it would be better if they turned it back into a house/home.

We came across a rather delightful bookshop, which had a wonderful Vintage Book window display...

Then we made our way to a rather lovely cafe, that Antonia had visited before.. and  well we had a late lunch/tea and pudding ! (pics to follow)


44 Keswick 20.09.2009


After Castlerigg we headed back to Keswick, we had a quick wander round the town and the market and then headed for tea and cakes!



 



we saw a man with a very friendly parrot, though his t-shirt was the cleanest!


a family with a couple of stunning Newfoundland  Dogs, both still puppies!!



we slowly made our way down to a rather quaint  Cafe, where the owners sold home made Knitted/ woollen gloves etc..





as well as an assortment of teas and coffees, each with their own kind of teapot - all very vintage and shabby chic!
Lelani Japanese Green tea




and Lelani






and a Jo.. sat in the window making the most of the sunshine...

Antonia, waiting patiently and Sue enjoying her Coffee

45 Castkerigg Sone Circle 20.08.2009


On the Saturday we got up early and after breakfast headed for Keswick and Castlerigg Stone Circle







The circle was magical and the views spectacular.




looking up at the hills, really got the feeling on what it must have been like thousands of year before.. beautiful but bleak!

We of course had to make a sacrife...

Lelani didn't seem to mind too much...





46 Morecambe , Lancashire 19.08.2009

On the 19th August, I headed of with Sue, Jo and Lelani to stay a few for the weekend with our friend Antonia, who happens to live in Morecambe. A weekend of visiting places was planned... but the first is Morecambe itself!

We arrived in the evening, and after some refreshments, we went for a walk along the front, it was dark so not a great deal to see, though Lelani did find a friend.



The following day we did meet up with Eric Morecambe and his birds!






The statue was created and cast by Graham Ibbeson and stands on the Promenade as a tribute to the town’s most famous son. It was unveiled by the Queen in 1999. 



The life-sized bronze sculpture features the comedy legend in his classic ‘Bring Me Sunshine’ pose; one hand raised and a leg cocked. surrounded by stars of fame..





Eric was also a keen ornithologist, and around the statue and along the front you can find many statues of Turns and seagulls...





We did have coffee and cake ( or in my case tea), but we had those at Antonia's house, and I forgot to take pictures .. silly me!!


It was a lovely day and I got a lovely picture of the bay 


We have talked about going up again as soon as possible and to especially go and have cocktails and maybe even a spa day at The Midlands Hotel, which is a stunning Art Deco hotel, that has recently been restored to it original grandeur.


been a while

It's been a while since I posted - ooooopps sorry, life and all that seems to get in the way.

However, that does not mean that I have not been doing my 50/50.. so lets see if I can get my visits loaded and continue the countdown, I don't have long left.....17 days and counting!