While in the Lake District I wanted to do some light walking but not heavy duty hiking where I could easily get lost and my body not found for days partially eaten by hungry...sheep? Anyway, you get the drift...not too grueling and safe for a solo walker. I get a bit nervous when I am too far from civilization. There are lots of books about walking in the Lake District but they seem to be all about walking the fells in remote places...neither Thelma nor I fancied that. While browsing in the post office/shop in Ambleside one day (if you are ever in Ambleside you must go there - a treasure!) I found a stand of walk descriptions on post cards. And there I found my walk. After all who could resist a stroll on the "coffin trail" in William Wordsworth country...
I took a look and thought hmm...cafe along the route...that works for me. (with at least the security of knowing there was an available "loo" along the way.) Okay, I may not have totally followed the route...see that bit of blue on the left side of the postcard? That's Grasmere lake. I carried along straight instead of turning back up, walked along Grasmere and back to the village of Grasmere.
First, however...why is it called the Coffin Route? Simple...it's the route they carried the coffins along from Rydal to Grasmere which had the only consecrated burial ground in the area. It was a pleasant enough walk but I wouldn't have wanted to be carrying a coffin. Kudos to them. Oh, such fun to live in the "old days".
So on Monday May 14th I hopped the 599 bus to Grasmere and asked that the driver let me off at the closest stop to the White Moss Parking lot. Well there were two parking lots...the instructions said to start walking on a secondary road from the higher parking lot. I stood and looked and picked what I thought was the higher one but the path was rocky and I started off but quickly gave up - "this can't be right" I thought "no way is this a secondary road except maybe for tractors". And sure enough...after checking with a lady who was just returning from a dog walk I was pointed in the direction of the other parking lot. Some people would be embarrassed to admit this but I tell it like it is.
The secondary road seemed to go on forever or so it seemed -it always seems to take forever when you aren't really sure where you are going though doesn't it? The views, however, will not shabby in the slightest.
I encountered no vehicles - just a friendly chap who assured me the path was coming up soon.
And it did...sadly I did not see any red squirrels. They are quite shy - not at all like their cheeky grey cousins.
The path started off great and then...
You had to watch your feet on this bit but it was all good.
Then there were a few rocky bits where you had to climb up on the actual rocks...I just didn't want to risk it on my own. I could have climbed on the rocks but didn't trust myself to stay upright when I got there (head injury back in the day...sounds more dramatic than it is..I fell on ice while walking my dog and hit my noggin and now suffer from vertigo). I didn't stand more than a couple of minutes before there was some kind soul along to take my hand while I climbed up. I just needed that hand to give me confidence...or so I thought...anyway luckily there was always someone there to help me including the (blind) fellow who said he always loved to help a beautiful lady. He was safe...his wife was with him!
Oh yeah...duh...I have my walking stick with me...it folds up into my backpack and I had completely forgotten I had it...stay tuned..I do it again! As the English say "what am I like"?
These were the views that awaited me once I got past the "tough bit" (laughable to others more nimble than me)
Yes! This view and a bench - can life get much better? Oh just wait...
Okay I confess I didn't visit this...maybe one day I will...but my focus was getting this walk done. I did pop into the shop and get a postcard of William Wordsworth's daffodil poem however...
Most importantly I had a rest in the cafe and ordered this....
I can't think of anything more civilized than having a cream tea half way through a walk...even if the scone was a bit too dry for my liking...I was only one third of the way through the walk actually but let's not split hairs here....I had wanted to sit outside but all the tables were taken so sat inside the cafe. (insert pouty face)
Rydal Mount is closed off by a barrier and you have to pay admission to even look at it - this is Rydal Hall which is now a conference centre but I had a quick (free) look around the beautiful gardens.
Above is St Mary's Church, Rydal - it will celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2024. William Wordsworth was one of those who helped choose the site and he was churchwarden for a while.
After his daughter Dora died in 1847 William Wordsworth together with his wife, sister and gardener planted hundreds of daffodil bulbs as a memorial to her. I imagine it is quite the sight in the early Spring...at this time in May there were bluebells in the garden.
A look back at St Mary's before crossing the busy A591 road....look right, left and right again and dash!
And here is beautiful Rydal Water....you can see why William Wordsworth was so inspired by the beauty in this part of England.
Passed through a treed area and then back beside the lake..
Walking along this path was an absolute joy.
In between the lakes was a forested area that was bluebell heaven...
Then there were stepping stones along a creek..this was taken AFTER I nearly fell into the creek running along the right side. (ending here) I stepped up onto a rather large rock along the path and started going sideways - luckily there was a small tree that I grabbed or I would have ended up in the water! And oh yeah...my walking stick was folded up in my backpack again...DUH!!!
And here we are at Grasmere...a doggie's delight. Every time I have been here there have been dogs swimming and fetching in it.
I sat and rested on a log and just gaped at this beautiful scene.
Time to get back on the trail..another beauty.
Okay, I have to admit this was beautiful and wait until you see the sheep...just in case you haven't seen enough on my blog....but I was starting to whine to myself "are we there yet?". I was getting pretty tired!
Bottoms up!!!
When is this bloody walk going to be over? I am dying! The walk may look flat but trust me it wasn't -there weren't killer hills but there were enough for this prairie chicken and one at the end that nearly finished me off. I did walk with a lady from Liverpool for a while so talking was a distraction but when I saw the sign for Faeryland tea garden I had to stop...eventually Okay we walked by and I was thinking.."what! why am I walking by this place? I love it here" - yes I had been here before way back in 2002 at the end of an abbrevated version of this walk. (funnily enough when I was in much better shape than I am now) So I saw a bench and told my walking companion that I was tired and was going to rest and carry on..and then when she had turned the corner I walked back to the tea garden. I am sneaky like that.
Ah...my feet are happy and so is my tummy...yes I had a cream tea and then ice cream...you have a problem with that? And it was black current...yum!
I then trudged back into Grasmere and plopped myself onto a bench at the bus stop waiting for the bus to take me back to Ambleside ...tired but very happy.
I took a look and thought hmm...cafe along the route...that works for me. (with at least the security of knowing there was an available "loo" along the way.) Okay, I may not have totally followed the route...see that bit of blue on the left side of the postcard? That's Grasmere lake. I carried along straight instead of turning back up, walked along Grasmere and back to the village of Grasmere.
First, however...why is it called the Coffin Route? Simple...it's the route they carried the coffins along from Rydal to Grasmere which had the only consecrated burial ground in the area. It was a pleasant enough walk but I wouldn't have wanted to be carrying a coffin. Kudos to them. Oh, such fun to live in the "old days".
So on Monday May 14th I hopped the 599 bus to Grasmere and asked that the driver let me off at the closest stop to the White Moss Parking lot. Well there were two parking lots...the instructions said to start walking on a secondary road from the higher parking lot. I stood and looked and picked what I thought was the higher one but the path was rocky and I started off but quickly gave up - "this can't be right" I thought "no way is this a secondary road except maybe for tractors". And sure enough...after checking with a lady who was just returning from a dog walk I was pointed in the direction of the other parking lot. Some people would be embarrassed to admit this but I tell it like it is.
The secondary road seemed to go on forever or so it seemed -it always seems to take forever when you aren't really sure where you are going though doesn't it? The views, however, will not shabby in the slightest.
I encountered no vehicles - just a friendly chap who assured me the path was coming up soon.
And it did...sadly I did not see any red squirrels. They are quite shy - not at all like their cheeky grey cousins.
The path started off great and then...
You had to watch your feet on this bit but it was all good.
Then there were a few rocky bits where you had to climb up on the actual rocks...I just didn't want to risk it on my own. I could have climbed on the rocks but didn't trust myself to stay upright when I got there (head injury back in the day...sounds more dramatic than it is..I fell on ice while walking my dog and hit my noggin and now suffer from vertigo). I didn't stand more than a couple of minutes before there was some kind soul along to take my hand while I climbed up. I just needed that hand to give me confidence...or so I thought...anyway luckily there was always someone there to help me including the (blind) fellow who said he always loved to help a beautiful lady. He was safe...his wife was with him!
Oh yeah...duh...I have my walking stick with me...it folds up into my backpack and I had completely forgotten I had it...stay tuned..I do it again! As the English say "what am I like"?
These were the views that awaited me once I got past the "tough bit" (laughable to others more nimble than me)
Yes! This view and a bench - can life get much better? Oh just wait...
Most importantly I had a rest in the cafe and ordered this....
I can't think of anything more civilized than having a cream tea half way through a walk...even if the scone was a bit too dry for my liking...I was only one third of the way through the walk actually but let's not split hairs here....I had wanted to sit outside but all the tables were taken so sat inside the cafe. (insert pouty face)
Rydal Mount is closed off by a barrier and you have to pay admission to even look at it - this is Rydal Hall which is now a conference centre but I had a quick (free) look around the beautiful gardens.
Above is St Mary's Church, Rydal - it will celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2024. William Wordsworth was one of those who helped choose the site and he was churchwarden for a while.
After his daughter Dora died in 1847 William Wordsworth together with his wife, sister and gardener planted hundreds of daffodil bulbs as a memorial to her. I imagine it is quite the sight in the early Spring...at this time in May there were bluebells in the garden.
A look back at St Mary's before crossing the busy A591 road....look right, left and right again and dash!
And here is beautiful Rydal Water....you can see why William Wordsworth was so inspired by the beauty in this part of England.
Passed through a treed area and then back beside the lake..
Walking along this path was an absolute joy.
And here we are at Grasmere...a doggie's delight. Every time I have been here there have been dogs swimming and fetching in it.
I sat and rested on a log and just gaped at this beautiful scene.
Time to get back on the trail..another beauty.
Okay, I have to admit this was beautiful and wait until you see the sheep...just in case you haven't seen enough on my blog....but I was starting to whine to myself "are we there yet?". I was getting pretty tired!
Bottoms up!!!
When is this bloody walk going to be over? I am dying! The walk may look flat but trust me it wasn't -there weren't killer hills but there were enough for this prairie chicken and one at the end that nearly finished me off. I did walk with a lady from Liverpool for a while so talking was a distraction but when I saw the sign for Faeryland tea garden I had to stop...eventually Okay we walked by and I was thinking.."what! why am I walking by this place? I love it here" - yes I had been here before way back in 2002 at the end of an abbrevated version of this walk. (funnily enough when I was in much better shape than I am now) So I saw a bench and told my walking companion that I was tired and was going to rest and carry on..and then when she had turned the corner I walked back to the tea garden. I am sneaky like that.
Ah...my feet are happy and so is my tummy...yes I had a cream tea and then ice cream...you have a problem with that? And it was black current...yum!
I then trudged back into Grasmere and plopped myself onto a bench at the bus stop waiting for the bus to take me back to Ambleside ...tired but very happy.
Comments