England (Lake District) - July 2024

After we left the Dodds family in Wimbledon, we started making our way back to Scotland. We spent one night in Lincoln, one night in Leeds and six nights in the Lake District.

Lincoln

We stayed one night in Lincoln so that we could meet up with Eloise (Ann's daughter) to treat her to dinner.  Shawna had not seen her since our wedding when she was just three years old.  We drove to Lincoln from Wimbledon, stopping at Belton Estate near Grantham (where Margaret Thatcher grew up) to stretch our legs.  The Estate was used in the filming of Queen Charlotte (Bridgerton Prequel). We walked around the grounds which were quite beautiful for 1.5 hours.  Once in Lincoln, we also stopped to see the Bomber Memorial, upon the suggestion of Eloise.  

Belton Estate

We then checked in our hotel - we stayed at the Tower Inn which is a very cute, small hotel located in the old quarter across from the castle.  Our room was cute and it included breakfast for a very affordable price.  That evening, we had dinner with Eloise at Antlers, located in the White Hart hotel, just a five minute walk from our hotel.  Dinner was great - we shared a few appetizers for the table and then we split a fish dish.  We ended up chatting for about three hours before returning to our hotel for a nightcap where we talked to one customer in the bar who was quite hard to understand - a combination of him having a bit too much (lot too much) and having a very strong accent!!

Dinner with Eloise at Antlers

The old town is quite cute so we decided the next day to do some exploring - we walked around a bit and then went into the Castle where we walked the walls and saw one of the four originals of the Magna Carta.  The castle is quite impressive.  We then went into the Cathedral which is huge and equally as impressive!  For lunch, we had a yummy cheese tray and a cheese toastie at The Cheese Society before making our way to Leeds.  We thought the town was beautiful and interesting enough that we would return to visit for a few more days.  

Lincoln Cathedral

Leeds

We stayed in Leeds one night to visit with Lovely and Tim, staying at their house.  On our way to Leeds, we stopped at Clumber Park - a very large park - where we walked for about two hours.  Nice place but not something we would say is a must do for anyone.  We mainly did it so we could stretch our legs.

We arrived at Loveday's house around 7pm and immediately went to their local cricket club to have a couple of beers.  We then returned to their house to have dinner - Tim made a yummy seafood stew that we had with bread, followed by a dessert of meringue with strawberries and cream.  We stayed up to almost midnight chatting.

Dinner with Loveday and Tim at their house

The next morning, we got an early start to drive to the Lake District.  

Lake District

On our way to the Lake District, we stopped in two places in the Yorkshire Dales - both of which were amazing.  We first stopped at Bolton Abbey, a tiny, adorable hamlet with an amazing abbey.  We got a scone with clotted cream and jam from the local tea house and had that while sitting on a bench at the abbey.  After exploring the abbey, we then walked along the river for about an hour.  Our next stop was Malham where we did a wonderful two hour, 8 mile hike on the Malham Landscape Trail.  On this trail, we got to see Janet's Floss (a waterfall), Gordale Scar (a cove with a waterfall shooting through) and Malham Cove (a beautiful limestone cove).  We definitely want to come back to spend more time in this area!

Bolton Abbey

Malham Landscape Trail

We arrived late afternoon at our hotel, The Gilpin Hotel and Lake House, where we stayed for six nights.  This place was one of our splurges for the year as we were celebrating our 23rd anniversary here.  The hotel is a beautiful, small inn located just a few miles outside of Windermere.  We got a junior suite which was a large room with a sitting area that was nicely appointed.  We also had a hot tub right outside our room which we used once after a long hike!  Our room included breakfast so we had that each morning at the hotel.  Overall, the hotel was nice but the service was not top notch.

Our room at Gilpin Hotel

Our plan for our time here was to do lots of hikes and have some nice dinners. While here, we did the following activities:

Helvellyn Circuit Hike - We did the circuit hike which was a little over seven miles and 3K elevation - we did it in 4 hours and 15 minutes.  It was a strenuous hike with a steep grade to the top but well worth it to see the views of the lakes and the surrounding mountains!

Helvellyn Circuit Hike

Old Man of Coniston and Brim Fell Circular Hike - Just when we thought the hike could not get better than the day before, this hike was amazing.  Views from the get-go!  It was a 6 mile, 2K elevation that took us 3.5 hours.  A bit steep at parts but not too strenuous.  Only downside is there were a lot of people on the hike.  

Old Man of Coniston Hike

Hill Top Beatrix Potter Home - We stopped here on the way back from our hike - cute stone house with artifacts from when she lived there and a nice garden.  

Beatrix Potter Home

Ambleside and Troutbeck Hike - It was supposed to rain so we opted for a moderate hike.  That said, it was 8 miles and 1.9K in elevation gain!! It was a nice hike that took 3.5 hours.  It started in Ambleside, passed by the Stock Ghyll Force Waterfalls and then got steep as we hiked over Wansfell Pike to the town of Troutbeck where we stopped at the tea house for a scone.  The walk back had nice views of sheep farms.  

Ambleside and Troutbeck Hike

Langdale Pikes Circuit - This was the hardest hike - non-stop up and down over rough terrain.  That said it was beautiful!  It was 5.5 miles in length, 2K elevation and took 5 hours.  The hike took us up a waterfall to a lake and then over the peaks of Stickle, Pavey Ark and Harrison Stickle.

Langdale Pikes Circuit Hike

Wordsworth House and Museum and Grasmere - Our last full day was rainy so we went into Grasmere to visit one of Wordsworth's houses (Dove Cottage), gardens and the museum which is really well done.  We then walked around the town and saw the Wordsworths graves near the chapel.  

Wordsworth House (Dove Cottage)

Spa - We wrapped up our last day with a massage at our hotel.  We could only get 50 minute massages which seemed to fly by - both very relaxing!

And went to the following restaurants:

L'Enclume - We had dinner at this Michelin Three Star restaurant located in Cartmel, about 35 minutes from our hotel.  The meal was amazing - Shawna said it was up there with Eleven Madison Park.  The restaurant is very nice, with cozy alcoves, and not stuffy.  We had a fifteen course tasting menu with the wine pairing - every dish was so tasty!!  Definitely worth it! While we waited for our cab, we got to see the kitchen as well.  

Dinner at L'Enclume

Old Stamp House - We had dinner at this Micheline One Star restaurant located in Ambleside, about 20 minutes from our hotel.  The meals was really good - it was a ten course meal which we had with the wine pairing.  We had a gin and tonic to start and opted to have the optional cheese course at the end.  Every dish was very tasty!  Cute restaurant located in what was the place that Wordsworth worked as a tax collector before he became an author.  

Dinner at Old Stamp House

The Little Ice Cream Shop - Located in Hawkshead which is a very cute town - we stopped here after our hike and had some yummy salted caramel ice cream!

Rogan and Co - Located in Cartmel, we had dinner at this Michelin One Star restaurant that is the sister restaurant to L'Enclume.  The restaurant itself is really nice and the food was amazing!  We had a 10 course tasting menu with wine pairing.  

Dinner at Rogan and Co

The Old Post Office Tea Room - Located in Troutbeck, we had scones and a hot chocolate as a break on our hike.  Pretty good - hot chocolate had lots of toppings so turned out to be a bit much!

Old Post Office Tea Room

Source - Located at our hotel (Gilpin), we had dinner at this Michelin One Star restaurant.  We had another 10 course tasting menu with wine pairing.  And we first had a cocktail in the bar before dinner.  This was our Anniversary evening so we had hoped they would do something nice for us - the only thing we got was the bartender wishing us a Happy Anniversary!  Overall the food was really good but not as impressive as the prior nights and the service was a bit lacking!

Anniversary Dinner at Source

Gilpin Spice - Located at our hotel (Gilpin), we had dinner here - first night not at a Michelin Star restaurant and also first night not having a drink in a long time! The food was very good.  We sat at the 'Chefs Table' which is essentially at the bar and we shared a couple of appetizers and a lamb dish with fried rice.  

Sarah Nelson's Grasmere Gingerbread - Located in Grasmere, we stopped at this famous bakery that was celebrating 170 years of making gingerbread.  We got a few gifts and a few treats for ourselves.  Gingerbread was very good!

Sarah Nelson Grasmere Gingerbread

Westmorland Inn - Located in Windermere, we had dinner here for our final night.  We shared a goat cheese and a mushroom appetizer and pork chops for our entree.  Food was pretty good!

Next stop:

Our next part of our trip will be another week in Scotland, visiting Ann in Glasgow and Kirsty in Edinburgh.