We wake to birds singing outside of our windows – and hustle downstairs for a lovely British Breakfast. Surprisingly – there’s no toast cooler. I do fondly remember those from my previous (50 years ago) trip to the UK – and had thought for sure they would be using one.

These are metal holding racks for toast, carefully designed to make sure that the toast gets cold. But Rose and Andy are ok with hot toast, and honor us by offering, in addition to margarine, some of Rose’s home made Orange Marmelade. It’s yummy.

Breakfast isn’t fancy – but it is ample – lots of different cereals and what I’m being to see is a Rose Signature Item – a fruit plate! I adore fresh fruit, and she’s being incredibly generous with what I know is expensive fruit. We do try to leave some for them – really we do.

After breakfast, they announce that they have packed a picnic lunch, and we’re heading off in the car to the Lake District. Andy has mapped out a route he wants us to follow, winding thru tiny villages, and including a ride on the Bowness Ferry across the only ‘real’ lake in the Lake District – Lake Windermere.

But the plans of the best oft go astray – and so it is with Andy’s plan. Turns out there’s a marathon being run around the Lake District today – and roads are blocked here and there and everywhere. Interesting thing about UK detours – they rarely tell you where the detours are going – nor when they will end – at least for marathon runs! So we wind our way up to Gummer’s How (How is Hill apparently) and admire the view over the rolling countryside. Some absolutely tip-top shape bikers stop to admire the view with us – and quick enough we’re sharing laughs over the challenges involved in detouring around the marathon. Opinions shared, we are all off – us to the ferry – they are headed to parts unknown.

The ferry is on a pair of tow lines – so no steering is needed. Just turn on the engine and pick East or West. The challenge is paying the fare. They have installed a brand new ticketing machine – and no one is sure how to use it! It is made more challenging because the screen is angled into the sun – and virtually unreadable. But Andy works thru it – and when the ferry arrives – we’re ready to board. A short time later – we’re off the ferry on the other side of the lake and heading up winding narrow laneways towards Hill Top – the home of Beatrix Potter.

This charming cottage was the inspiration for most of her books after the success of Peter Rabbit provided the money to finance it. In every room are copies of illustrations she drew that clearly reflect the furniture and window views around her. Since she died without heirs, she left all her land and her cottage to the National Trust – and they were charged with always keeping the fire in the parlor going, and leaving the house as it was when she died. And so they do, and so it is. A cottage frozen in time – filled with the knick-knacks she collected over a long and interesting life.

Well worth the visit.

But its getting on to lunch – and our next stop will be for our picnic. Naturally the rain, which had been holding off admirably, decided at this time to play games – and we decide to enjoy our lunch in the car park at Hawkshead. Hot tea, Ham and Cheese sandwiches, and snack bags of chips or crackers satisfies the inner need.

One curious incident – a black Jackdaw lands near us and begs for crumbs. Rose throws a few his way which he gobbles up – and then suddenly flings himself into the air and over the car to grab a mouse! We watch in horror as the Jackdaw enjoys a much better lunch then our paltry crumbs. Biology lesson over – we pack away the picnic things and stroll around the extremely touristy but very cute town of Hawkshead.

Our route now took us thru Ambleside – a name that in Galic means Amble’s Pasture, past the stragglers in the Marathon (one of whom was being helped by an Ambulance crew), past 3 lovely smaller lakes – Rydal Water, Grasmere and Thirlmere.

We then leave the Lake District to head to Penrith. Jill’s family claims a great-great-great aunt who was a lady in waiting to a Queen and lived near Penrith. We check out the Penrith castle for clues – but after Richard III (who lived here prior to becoming King), there’s no evidence of an Queen in this area. We check out the church yard as well – but aside from the Giant’s Grave – there’s not much to see.

Our stroll thru Penrith is unexciting too – the shops are all closed and the church locked tight. Good thing too – I saw lots of stores that I would have visited – so having them closed definitely saved us some money. It’s a 128 mile round trip – long by UK standards, a normal days commute in North America.

Back in Morecambe, dinner is at The Lodge – Rose and Andy’s Local. It’s a long thin restaurant/pub with an interesting menu of many traditional British items – including Steak and Ale Pie, Fried Pork Belly (yummy!), and Fish and Chips. The Intrepid Traveler and I opt to share a traditional British appetizer platter which has 2 slices of thick cut ham, two delicious pieces of country bread, two hunks of local Lancaster cheese, a wonderful home-made relish, some pickles, a small meat pie and my favorite – pickled onions. That plus the fried Pork Belly is more than enough for us. I’m too full even for dessert – which is saying something because they have a bread pudding that sounds yummy.

Andy asks if we’d care of a bit of walk since even though it’s past 8:00 PM – it’s still light out. The Intrepid Traveler and I agree – and Andy takes us to Barrows Heights. This is exactly like the place where Harry Potter and the Weasleys find the Port Key – except instead of a Port Key – we find cows. And this is THEIR pasture – not ours. We hike up to the top of the heights, where the cows have gathered to catch the last rays of sun, and it’s only when we’ve pretty much arrived that I realize that the cows are free to roam as they will. Seconds after that – the cows decide to come over and see if we’re family. I’m hiding behind the Intrepid Traveler – who bravely stares down the lead cow. Andy simply solves the problem by going – ‘Shoo’. Works with cows apparently. They Shoo.

So do I. Enough of going nose to nose with an animal – no matter how friendly – who weighs several tons. They would squish me if they just sat on me. We hip hop back down, avoiding the remains of cow pies, cross the still – and head home.

Whew – TV and Bed have never looked so good.

Tomorrow we head out to York by train via Manchester. Should be an interesting day.

Signing off – The Intrepid Traveler and the Soup Lady.