Here in England I have the weekends off work, so my flat mate and I take this opportunity to travel. Today was quite sunny (you heard me right, sun, in England)! So it was perfect weather for a trip to the lake country. Now my flat mate tends to choose where we go on the weekends and when I first stepped off the train I was severely afraid she was off her rocker. I had just sat on a train for two hours and all I could see was field. No lake. No town. Not even sheep. Nothing. Fortunately once we turned around and walked down the road a bit we came to this adorable little town:
Windermere
We sat down for breakfast and I got a cup of coffee. Not just any cup of coffee, but one good enough to erase the last of my misgivings about the trip.
Now, my coworkers have been recommending I try some typically British foods, one of which is a Full English Breakfast. Being that this is includes sausage, bacon and blood pudding (a type of sausage made from cooking blood until is thick enough to congeal) I thought I’d pass on that one. This place, however, offered a Full Vegetarian English Breakfast:
Eggs, mushrooms, beans, hash browns,
vegetarian sausage (or vegetarian junkfood as a friend of mine would call it)
and half tomatoes
Knowing I probably wouldn’t find this option anywhere else, and that I had a long day of hiking up and down the hills surrounding the (still illusive) lake, I decided to go ahead and try it. It was fantastic, but far too much to finish, I wish I could have take a to-go box.
So after that completely and utterly unhealthy breakfast we headed out to explore. We were winging it, but figured if we headed downhill we would probably find the lake. We followed a winding road encountering so many beautiful gardens (after years in Manhattan I think I’m finally hitting nature withdrawal)
After about a few kilometers our logic proved fruitful. We found the lake:
Lake Windermere (the largest natural lake in England)
On our way back up a hill we decided to stop for a late lunch. They had very few vegetarian options so I ended up with more carbs, though a very delicious herb and tomato bruschetta:
I also got to try a fizzy dandelion and burdock drink, it was slightly peculiar but refreshing:
After lunch we discovered we were in the town where Beatrix Potter lived when she wrote most of her stories. If you don’t know who Beatrix Potter is, I’m sorry but you’ve had a severely deprived childhood. She wrote Peter Rabbit, and all those adorable little animal stories, as well as painting the illustrations in watercolor (a medium I have never mastered)
Jemima Puddleduck (one of my personal favorites)
So after buying a small gift for my baby sister (well kinda sister) at the Peter Rabbit & Friends shop, we set out to find Hill Top, Beatrix Potter’s cottage. We found hill top on the map and started up a beautiful (but steep) road that seemed to go on up forever. At the top we reached a Hill Top road and learned from a kind old woman that we were actually on the wrong side of the lake to find the cottage! I suppose this is the sort of thing that happens to tourists who jump on a train without looking where they’re going first, but it’s all more of an adventure that way. We were rewarded for the climb when we started down and got an amazing view of the rolling hills of the Lake Country.
It was quite a rewarding trip, even though we never did make it to Hill Top. I think a day out in nature was exactly what I needed.
~ What’s best place you’ve traveled?
Well, Windermere looks lovely 🙂 That English breakfast is out of control. I was just in that neck of the woods for a wedding but I didn’t get to explore anything because of all the festivities. Not sure where you are based, but if you like day trips maybe you could try Dorking. There’s a winery AND a giant chicken. Win and win. Thanks for the post and for swinging by Deep Dish 🙂
Ah I wish! I’m doing research at the University of Manchester this summer and Dorking is quite a few hours south of here. It’s a shame, I hate to miss the giant chicken!
What a beautiful little town! Those hills and flowers…just wow. That is one protein-rich breakfast! I’d be full for a long time after that. 🙂