The Lake District

Here we are at Bowness on Windemere. What a beautiful place.......but I suppose I'm saying that about each place we go to, aren't I??
There is something very special about this place, however. Lake Windemere is spellbinding. And of course, having grown up on Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series, Lake Windemere and Coniston Water are places that I have wanted to visit for a long time.

We are spending our time here just walking around and exploring the lakes, picking out some landmarks and sites from the books. The weather for the last week has been very warm for England and just right for me! Temperatures around 25 degrees or so. Perfect for this type of sight seeing and exploring.

This afternoon, on our way back from Coniston Water, we visited Hill Top Farm, the home of Beatrix Potter. This also made me reflect on her work to protect the Lake District, and donation of land to the National Trust.

Tomorrow, we are going out on Coniston Water to look at Peel (aka Wild Cat) Island and other points of interest :-))

"Surreality"

Surreality - is there such a word? Because surreal is the word I find myself most often using when people ask me how I am feeling about this trip. Surreal because suddenly, after 38 years, I am finally going back to England. Although I identify myself without hesitation as an Australian, this trip will be something of a "back to roots" pilgrimage for me.
There are so many places that I want to see. This is reflected in the itinerary, some of which I know looks like a children's literature tour of England (the lake district country of Arthur Ransome and Beatrix Potter; Rye and Shropshire which are described so well in the works of Malcolm Saville; even the Hundred Acre Wood). But I am especially looking forward to the dearly remembered village of Borth in Wales, for which I was so homesick when we left.
Then there will be the visits and meetings with family, some of whom I don't remember (not having seen them since I was a baby), and others who have been to Australia, but a long time ago.
And so it seems surreal to me that in two weeks time we will actually be in London; there is a lot of work still to be done before that time, but it is very close now.