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Saturday 27 August, through the Lake District

Great Britain 2005 - part VIII

Elisabeth & Teije
2006-08-27 12:18:58

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After a tastefull breakfast we drive to Muncaster Castle. We have been here yesterday as well, but then we were too late for a visit. The castle grounds are extensive and we first walk for more than an hour through the gardens. The climate here is comparable with that in the Himalaya mountains at a height of 3 kilometers and a lot of the vegetation that grows in the Himalaya has been planted here.

The original castle was build in the 14th century, but probably on top of Roman foundations. The many ghosts haven't kept the owners from living here. This is supposedly the most haunted castle of England, but more castles claim the same and we still haven't seen any ghosts, while we have seen our share of castles!

Near the castle is a owl centre, in fact the headquarters of the World Owl Trust and has one of the largest collections of these beautiful birds there is. Some of the species are very rare. We like the way it is set up and there is much and funny information given about the owls. There are also buzzards, kestrels and red kites and a daily flying display on the Castle lawns.

At Ravenglass we stop for a coffee and then we drive to the north. An occasional shower falls down and the mountains are covered in mist, so we don't see much of the environment. We get out of the car now and then, but it is still quite cold and sitting in the warmth of the car feels better than walking outside.

Via Buttermere we drive between the steep mountains to the Honister Pass, another mountain pass with slopes of 25%. So, no wonder that we see waterfalls everywhere and sometimes a real big one, like Moss Force near Buttermere. It is really a shame that the weather is so bad, it must be magnificient here when the sun shines.

It is still fairly busy on the roads and a road sign like this one is probably necessary. We see much more wild animals lying dead along the road than in Scotland. But we have learned one thing: when there is a sign with an animal on it, you will probably not see it! That is true for the deer in Holland and reindeer in Scandinavia: you don't see them when there is a sign; without a sign your chances of seeing animals seem to be much bigger!

On top of the Honnister Pass the sun breaks through the clouds and the mist is drifting away. I visit the slate mine that can be seen here, Elisabeth doesn't think it to be interesting. And she is right, it isn't really. There is not much to see and we have to bend all the time in the long and straight passages through the dark mountain. The only interesting things are the stories the guide tells us about life in the mines in the old times. But from outside the mine we have a great view over the pass.

The visit takes more than an hour an a half and when I come back it is too late to visit something else, so we drive to Keswick, where we have a meal and than back to the hotel. The distance from Keswick to the hotel isn't very far, maybe 60 kilometers but it takes us more than two hours. On our way back it starts to rain again and quite heavy this time. We are glad we have central heating in the room and on television we see the forecast: in the east it is allright but just here the rain will continue to fall with temperatures under 15 degrees Celsius.We like the Lake District and there is still a lot we want to see, but nevertheless we decide to leave tomorrow. We still have a whole country to visit and we can always come back when we visit Scotland (which we do every year) since that is not so far away.