Lancashire, England

Not the lake we stayed on

We left Paris on the Eurostar to London.  This is the high-speed train that goes through the Chunnel.  The trip only took 1 hr & 15 minutes.  We also got a nice meal with wine and dessert on the train.  Another really cool train experience.  In London, we took the metro out to Heathrow where we picked up our next rental car.  From there, we drove north to the Lancashire area.  We actually stayed in Dock Acres next to Carnforth. 

Our timeshare was on a lake (with swans and geese) and the weather was warmer than usual.  One maintenance guy said they were into their fall season and doing fall chores but the weather was more summer-like.  We expected rain but lucked out and had some clouds, some sun, and very little rain.  Carnforth has grocery stores, restaurants, and gas stations so we were all set.  Laid back a little there.  It is in the Lake District and a very pretty part of England.




We spent a day in Lancaster.  There is a royal palace there that was a prison until a couple years ago.  It looked like a prison, too.  It is still the court.









There was also a nice church started in 1094 (Lancaster Priory), although the current structure is mostly from the 1700's, and picturesque streets and buildings.



We drove around the area on some narrow streets, again.  Went down one wrong one and could barely pass the car coming the other way that told us we had to turn around and go back to get where we were going.  Also went over a pass that had a restaurant from the late 1400's at the top.  Went through little villages along lakes and went across one lake on a cable ferry.

Went into Bowness-on-Windermere which is the little village where Beatrix Potter grew up and wrote her Peter Rabbit and other tales at Top-of-the-Hill (her home).  There is an attraction there called "The World of Beatrix Potter" which has a McGregor's garden, tea room, and lots of recreations from her books.  We didn't go through the attraction but I did hit the gift shop.

We also visited Lowther Castle  & Gardens.  It is being preserved/restored by private donations but as a mix of old and new.  They have made part of the castle area safe and have a café and shop.  They also have extensive grounds which they have reclaimed from cement and chicken coops, and which you can hike and picnic on.





In the south Lake District, we walked around Hawkshead which is where Wadsworth grew up.  Had cake and tea in a little restaurant there.  It really is a pretty area.