Buttermere

Trip Start Jun 11, 2008
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Trip End Aug 15, 2008


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Where I stayed
Wood House, Buttermere
(Buttermere hotels)

Flag of United Kingdom  , England,
Friday, July 18, 2008

Time to move, this time to the Lake District.  As Tom is still poorly, Ruth actually drove part of the 280 odd miles from Knapwell to Buttermere.  The drive took about 6 hours, much of it on the M6 with lots of traffic and the usual rain.

When booking accommodation in the area Ruth wanted to avoid the busy and popular tourist places.  She certainly succeeded.  We are staying in a delightful house outside Buttermere overlooking Crummock Water, as the lake is called.  It is so quiet that we are listening for sounds.  There is no TV, no mobile phone signal for our phones and no Internet access.  It's in an area known for red squirrels which now only occupy limited areas.  We have already seen a few running across the lawn and through the woods.  The landlord explained that the introduced grey squirrels carry a disease that is fatal to the red squirrels so he tries to dispose of any greys he sees.

The roads around here are narrow and windy lined with hedges or dry stone walls.  Some are very steep; one we saw had a gradient of 25%.  There are lots of sheep grazing on the road sides.  Fortunately they seem used to cars as they leisurely get out of our way and let us pass.

We had dinner at the Kirkstile Inn in Loweswater which was recommended by the landlord.  As it's in an out of the way place we were surprised at how busy it was.  We were lucky to get a table even though it's a large establishment.  The dinner was most enjoyable.
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