Scottish Tour Guide's Blog » Lake District

Visit Kendal, Visit England

catswhiskers — Wed, 08 May 2013 19:46:00 +0000

River Kent at Kendal, Cumbria

This evening, I am focusing on the sizable town of Kendal which is located in the Lake District area of England, (although some distance from the actual water) and relatively close to the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Tour Lake District and Yorkshire Dales, Tour England

catswhiskers — Mon, 06 May 2013 22:07:45 +0000

Lake District, England

Today, we departed pour lodgings at Carlisle and then proceeded to drive S.W.to track the southern side of Bassenthwaite Lake to Keswick and then continued south past Ambleside to Windermere and Lake Windermere stopping for lunch at a lakeside restaurant at Newby Bridge.

Tour Hadrian’s Wall, Tour England

catswhiskers — Sun, 05 May 2013 21:17:29 +0000

Roman Cavalryman

This morning, we departed our lodgings at Thirsk, Yorkshire and drove north to viist some of the key sites along Hadrian’s Wall. The Wall was built AD 122-AD138 and extends for 73 miles, coast to coast. Along the Wall major forts were built at 7 mile intervals and smaller ‘castles’ at intervals of 1 Roman mile.

Visit Sizergh Castle, Visit Cumbria

catswhiskers — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 20:42:15 +0000

Sizergh Castle, Cumbria, Lake District

Today, I visited Sizergh Castle in Cumbria, near the English Lake District. There are three threads to this historic property, viz:

Long-standing association with the Strickland family for nearly 800 years. This family supported the Catholic, King James II and experienced time in exile in France during the 17th century.

Roman Sites in Lake District England

admin — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:48:00 +0000

This evening, I am posting some images of a couple of interesting Roman sites which I visited recently in the Lake District.

The first (still) image is of Hardknott Roman Fort or Mediobocdum. This large fort was built during the time of Hadrian (Emperor from AD117 to 138) by a Cohort of troops from Croatia. The walls were 12 feet thick. Other features include a double towered gateway, granaries, a bathhouse and commandant’s quarters. Elevation is 800 feet and in winter this would have proved a hardship posting for the troops.

Here is a video clip of Alauna, at Maryport. This Roman fort is believed to have been closely linked to Hadrian’s Wall just to the north. It was built by Vexillations of the Second Augustan Legion and the Twentieth Legion. Unfortunately, access to the actual site was restricted but adjacent is a museum full of Roman era artifacts and statues from the locality. To me the earthworks are redolent of Ardoch in Perthshire. In the video can be seen a replica of a Roman Watchtower.

For visitors interested in the Roman era, both of the above sites are deserving of a visit. (There is a good fish and chip shop at the sea front in Maryport!)

Crummock Water Lake District England

admin — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 20:24:00 +0000

This evening, I am posting a couple of images of Crummock Water (“crooked lake”) which is located close to Buttermere, in fact the two lakes were once one and are now separated by a slightly elevated flood plain. Crummock Water is about two and half miles long and much deeper than Buttermere. The latter is more accessible to visitors.

Coniston Water Lake District England

admin — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 19:52:00 +0000

This evening, I am posting a video clip of Coniston Water in the Lake District. This lake, which is some five miles long and half a mile wide, has associations with:

Whinlatter Forest Park Lake District England.

admin — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 21:13:00 +0000

Today we enjoyed various activities in and around Whinlatter Forest Park near Bassenthwaite Lake and Derwent Water in the Lake District.

One member availed of the ‘Go Ape’ experience, navigating around high wires in the trees whilst another went mountain biking along the many trails designed for that purpose.

Overall, this proved an excellent facility run by the Forestry Commission and well patronised by cyclists and walkers.

I obtained some reasonable pics, benefiting from combination of high elevation, lake views and benign weather conditions.

Beatrix Potter Lake District England

admin — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 20:29:00 +0000

Today, we enjoyed an excellent short tour covering Wray Castle, Beatrix Potter’s Hill Top Farm,village of Hawkeshead, Tarn How’s (beauty spot), Coniston Water (lake), Yewdale Valley and Lake Windermere.
Weather was reasonably benign allowing good photo opportunties

Eskdale Lake District England

admin — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 21:36:00 +0000

Today we visited Eskdale in good weather offering great photo opps.

Starting at Ravenglass on the coast we took our bikes on the historic Eskdale and Ravenglass railway which is a quasi volunteer operated narrow guage railway originally established to transport iron ore in the 19th century. This little railway chugs happily through some stunning scenery. At end of the line we collected our bikes and ventured along some almost vertical roads to visit the well preserved Roman fort at Hardknott.

This is the Roman Fort at Hardknott. This is very well preserved, no doubt aided by remote location. One of the most impressive Roman sites I have visited in Britain.