Wooden Boats

 SONG -  If I Had A Boat by Lyle Lovett

Day 17 - Thurs. May 16

About 8 miles north of our hotel is Rydal Hall & gardens which we visited on Thursday. A perfect day of sunshine, birdsong and waterfalls.

The waterfall come down off of the Cumbrian mountains and flow past the grounds tea room, under a stone bridge and on past the “Grot” built in 1668.

We then drove into the village of Ambleside on the Northern tip of Lake Windermere.  It’s was filled with hikers, runner’s & pack packers of all ages. We however were there to visit The Bridge House, a local church and scope out our dinner restaurant for the evening.

“ A tiny building, originally an apple store for nearby Ambleside Hall, was built over Stock Beck to escape land tax. Once five mills were driven by the power of Stock Beck and some may still be seen nearby. It is said that at some time a family with six children lived here in the two rooms.” - quote from “Visit Cumbria

We didn’t visit the upstairs bedroom as these were the stairs…

We walked down several streets to arrive at St Mary’s Church built in 1850. We had seen the spire while driving into town and thought it might be worth a visit. 

Later in the afternoon we took a walk along Lake Windermere and enjoyed watching the boats, ducks, swans & people. 

Oh and the Wray castle across the lake. 

We then drove to dinner in Ambleside at Bellis restaurant and headed home for a glass of wine at the bar where we bumped into & joined Robert, Jennifer & Poppy from Glasgow!