Lake District – Day 1
The One With… The £1.50 Ferry, Beatrix Potter’s Garden & a Three-Hour Snooze
📍 Location: Windermere, Lake District
🥾 Steps: 26,000
🌥️ Weather: Perfect walking weather – warm but overcast
The Short Version
After a seven-hour journey to the Lake District, a good night’s sleep in Sid was exactly what I needed before setting off on our Beatrix Potter adventure.
Today’s walk took us across Windermere on the little ferry, through woodland, over rocky climbs and past tarns and green fields before reaching Hill Top, Beatrix Potter’s former home in Near Sawrey.
It was one of those days that reminded me why I adore the Lakes so much. Good walking, lots of chatter, old friends, beautiful scenery and, most importantly, my foot behaved itself!
We finished with another ferry ride across Windermere before I retreated to Sid for what was supposed to be a little afternoon snooze. Three hours later… fish and chips were definitely required!
The Long-Winded Version
I always sleep well in my campervan and woke at around 5am feeling refreshed and ready for the day ahead.
There was just one thing on my mind.
Please let my foot be OK today.
I’ve had two whole weeks of very little walking and I’ve been pain-free. Today’s walk would be around ten miles, with some decent hills thrown in.
Time to see what happens!
8.45am – Sid is sorted
Sid is now parked in a car park just off Windermere. £24 for three days – result!
It’s considerably cheaper than a hotel or B&B and my Radar key works for the toilets.
Double result!
I lock up and head towards the ferry, grabbing a coffee and some porridge from Costa on the way.
Then, as I’m sitting there, a very recognisable pink-haired lady walks past the window…
Carol!
I catch up with Carol and Sandie and the three of us walk the half-mile or so towards the ferry car park.
It’s already busy. Boats are moving across the water, people are milling around and the whole place has that wonderful holiday feeling about it.
9.30am – The gang is back together
Everyone is here and it’s so good to see a few faces I’ve not seen in a very long time.
Lucy, our guide for the weekend, gives me a huge hug and obviously I have to make a fuss of her gorgeous collie, Tarn.
Then there are Lou and Allie, who I’ve not seen since October last year. They both look really well and there are big smiley faces and hugs all round.
A few people have joined The Wonky Club today.
Annette and Sue H have bad knees and Trudi has her broken wrist, so they’re giving the ten-mile walk a miss and will catch up with us later at Hill Top.
One of the things I love about these weekends is that you don’t have to do everything. Sometimes adventure means climbing hills. Sometimes it means meeting everyone later for tea and cake!
10.05am – All aboard!
The ferry is here!
We each pay the grand sum of £1.50 and hop aboard for the short journey across Windermere.
What a brilliant way to start a walk.
Within minutes, the busy streets of Bowness are behind us and we’re stepping onto the much quieter western shore of the lake.
And we’re off…
Our first stop is Claife Viewing Station, sitting above Windermere.
I’d never really appreciated the history of this place before. Built in the 1790s, it dates from the time when the Lake District was beginning to become fashionable with tourists. Visitors came here specifically to admire the views across Windermere.
But here’s the quirky bit…
The windows once had different coloured glass in them so visitors could change the landscape according to the season. Yellow gave you summer, orange created autumn, green gave you spring and dark blue made the view look like moonlight.
Basically, Instagram filters… 1790s style! 😄
We take lots of photos while Lucy reads out some of the history.
And then it’s time to start climbing…
Rocks, Mud & Beatrix Potter Country
And I LOVE it.
It feels so good to have a bit of a challenge again.
We clamber over rocks and weave our way through the woodland around Station Scar, gradually gaining height.
I’m feeling strong.
More importantly… my foot is holding out!
We stop every so often to regroup – and for the occasional wild wee – but there’s absolutely no rush today.
The chatter is high, everyone is in good spirits and it just feels brilliant to be outside with good people.
12.45pm – Lunch with a view
After walking through Hollin Bank Plantation – an area that looked as though it had taken quite a battering from storms over the years, but is actually just a rather sad culling of trees – we find the perfect lunch spot overlooking a little tarn.
Sheep graze in the background while we sit and eat.
And the thing that really strikes me is the colour.
GREEN!
Everything is so green up here.
Back home in Northamptonshire we’ve had weeks of dry weather and the countryside has turned brown and crispy.
Here there are lush fields, little streams and even mud!
I’ve actually missed mud. Remind me of that statement in January. 😂
After lunch, we continue towards Near Sawrey and one of the main reasons we’re here this weekend.
Hill Top – Beatrix Potter country
We arrive at Hill Top, the little 17th-century farmhouse that Beatrix Potter bought in 1905 using the money she earned from her books.
Hill Top became Beatrix’s farm, her escape and the inspiration for many of her stories.
The house, garden and surrounding countryside found their way into books including The Tale of Tom Kitten and The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck.
She later became an important Lake District farmer and conservationist, particularly passionate about Herdwick sheep and protecting the landscape she loved.
When she died in 1943, she left thousands of acres of Lake District countryside and numerous farms to the National Trust.
Quite a legacy from the lady most of us simply associate with Peter Rabbit.
We spend well over an hour here doing very little – and it is glorious.
Some people explore the house, a group wander off to the pub and I happily laze around on the lawn in the sunshine.
Naturally, I also visit the shop.
And naturally, I buy something.
A Beatrix Potter Christmas decoration for my tree. 🎄
The Wonky Club eventually arrive and join us for a while too, so we have a good catch-up before it’s time to get moving again.
Green Fields, Another Ferry & an Accidental Three-Hour Snooze
3.15pm – Back towards Windermere
We start the final section of our walk back towards the ferry.
There are a few more hills to negotiate, but by now I’m feeling confident.
The foot is STILL behaving!
We wander past old churches, through ridiculously green fields and between tiny Lakeland villages filled with stone cottages.
That’s what I love about this side of Windermere.
Move away from the busy tourist spots and it feels as though you’ve stepped back in time.
Dry-stone walls, sheep in the fields, narrow lanes, old farmhouses and the fells rising around you.
Yep. I really do love the Lakes.
4.15pm – One last ferry ride
And we’re back at the little ferry.
We pile aboard for the short journey across Windermere, then it’s hugs goodbye as everyone goes their separate ways.
Some are meeting for a pub meal tonight.
Others are heading back to their campsites and B&Bs.
Me?
I do a little bit of shopping and wander back to Sid for an afternoon snooze.
Just a quick one.
Or so I thought.
Three hours later I woke up absolutely starving!
Oops.
A fish and chip supper sorted that problem, followed by a Netflix film called Ladies First, tucked up in my little home on wheels.
And that was me done.
Ten-ish miles walked in total today.
26,000 steps on the clock.
And, best of all…
Today’s biggest win ❤️
I’d been nervous about how my foot would cope with ten miles and some proper Lakeland hills after hardly walking for two weeks.
But it behaved itself.
No foot pain.
I’ll take that as a very big win.
Night night.
Thanks for reading the blog.
See you tomorrow. 😊
