We had a very nice leisurely breakfast and then it was off to Beatrix Potter’s Hill Top Farm.  It was a charming place with informational placards all over the farm. The house on the farm looked like a lovely cottage from the outside.  Inside, the rooms were displayed with items from her life at the farm.  There was also information on how she created her stories and drew inspiration for the illustrations from her surroundings.  There was also a vegetable garden planted with items that would grow when she was there.  I could just picture Peter Rabbit squeezing into the garden under the gate and eating the lettuce in Mr. McGregor’s Garden.  I did learn that Beatrix was an avid gardener and farmer.  She is credited with saving the   Herdwick sheep from extinction. It was a lovely visit.  The only problem was the rain pattern for the day had begun.  It started to rain, so we went into the gift shop.  It stopped a few minutes later, so we headed to meet our transportation to our next stop. We had to plan our walking around the ever-changing rain pattern.

We were dropped off at the Bowness on  Windermere Boat Terminal for our Windermere Lake Cruse for the afternoon  Our launch time was 2:30, and the boat left right on time.  This wasn’t a cruise; the boat was more like a bus on the water with a few brief announcements of explanations about the lake.  It took us to Ambleside where we disembarked.  There was a long line of people waiting to get a ride back to Windermere. ​

By now, we were famished, so we headed into Ambleside to search for lunch.  It was a 20-minute walk mostly uphill.  When we finally did make it to the area where there were places to eat, we had no idea which one to choose.  I saw a man walking his dog and thought he looked like a local person.  So I asked, he was local, and pointed to the Ambleside Inn and Pub. His suggestion was spot-on.  I finally had a traditional serving of Fish and Chips, complete with mushy peas.  If I ever order this dish again, I will pass on the mushy peas.  With lunch/dinner (I call it dunch) over, we realized there was only enough time to head back to the pier for the ride back. 

​

From the pier, we knew we needed a taxi to take us back to the hotel.  I tried to call one of the numbers on the cards which had been given to me by other taxis we had used, but no luck.  My phone still didn’t work.  Luckily, a taxi pulled up a few feet away.  My thought was this: if he was there for another group, I would ask him to call a cab for us.  Luck was on our side.  The sun was shining; he gave us a ride back to the hotel. 
We were still stuffed from dunch, so dinner was out of the question.  I took a walk instead.
​​

Tomorrow, Hadrian’s Wall

​