My weekend break in the Lake District: from Sawrey to Hawkshead [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
Walking down the pathway in the garden I come to the Beatrix Potter souvenir
shop, full of her books, small ornaments of the characters she created, mugs,
stickers and bookmarks, plus a lot more. I decided to buy two mugs for my
nephew and niece, one with Jemima Puddleduck on it and the other with Benjamin
Bunny.
Leaving the house I took a short walk around
the village. Some parts of it had been used in ‘The Tale of Jemima Puddleduck’ as
well as other tales. Beginning to lose my way, I returned to my car and began
the long drive up to Hawkshead, near the top of the Lake District. Unfortunately
it began raining heavily, which was a nightmare when driving through small, winding
roads halfway through Cumbria. Then I heard the sound of thunder and groaned.
Who would have expected a storm at midday on a cold, April morning? I certainly
didn’t. Putting the wipers on so they beat around the windscreen, I carefully
drove through the pelting rain. Suddenly and taking me by surprise, a squirrel
ran into the path of my car. Swearing heavily, I slammed on the clutch and brake,
swerving the car to my left. What a huge mistake. The car skidded off the road
and down a small bank as I screamed behind the steering wheel. Still pressing
down on the brake as if my life depended on it, the car came to a stop amongst
two trees beside the lake of Esthwaite Water. I took a deep breath, thankful
I was still lucky to be alive.
“Bloody squirrel,” I muttered under my breath.
I took a few minutes to gather myself together as the
thunder raged on and the rain beat down upon my car, almost as if it was about
to crush it. Then it was all over. In another second, the rain had stopped and
the thunder had disappeared. Instead, the sun had unveiled itself from behind
the clouds and was shining upon the water. The scene in front of me was breathtaking.
The sun shone upon the top of the water, giving it a silvery sheen. The sky itself
was a soft orange shade but the landscape was the greenest I’d ever seen
it. It was magnificent. Now thanking the squirrel for running in front of my
car, I climbed out of my car and walked to the lake edge. The air was cool and
crisp, just like upon Lake Windermere, but the view was even more incredible.
I hadn’t heard much about Esthwaite Water before my trip to Windermere
and at that moment I was glad I had decided on the drive up to Hawkshead. Next
time I’m here, I thought, I’ll visit all the lakes. I took out my
camera once again and took a few photographs of the lake. Who knew, they might
come in handy in the future.
After a good fifteen minutes sitting on the bonnet of my car gazing over
the lake, I decided it was time to drive on towards Hawkshead. Climbing in
my car, I backed my car away from the lake and did a small turn, praying
that it would get up the slight bank. Revving the engine, I sped up to the
road and with no cars coming my way, I sped away to Hawkshead, with Esthwaite
Water to my left, accompanying me on the next leg of my journey.
Hawskhead was not as far as I’d thought and the weather
had become brighter by the time I reached it. It was a quiet village situated
at the top of Esthwaite Water and just like Sawrey, it consists of many small
white cottages and pebbled streets. Also, the village centre itself is car-free,
keeping pollution down and making the village even more appealing.
...