Today was again overcast and cool but it didn't rain. A full English
breakfast was provided by our accommodation "The Woodlands" in
Winderemere. Between us, Satoshi and I took 411 phots today. It was
very difficult to choose which to include. There are about 70 photos
here which may cause this page to take a while to load. This means
only about 1 photo in 6 actually made it!
Our first visit today was to "Sarah Nelson's Grasemere
Gingerbread Shop". The gingerbread was £1 per piece so we only
bought six. I found it had a little too much ginger for my taste but
it was good.
From there, we drove to "Lake District Wildlife Park" where we
had booked an "Ultimate Animal Experience". This allowed us to
interact with meerkats, tapirs and lemurs. Each of these experiences
was wonderful. The meerkats were calmer than meerkats we had met at
other zoos, possibly due to the fact that they had been overfed
(accidentally) for some time and were rather tubby! The tapirs were
very calm and relaxed too. The female came up to me and leant on me
for quite a while. The best of the three species were the lemurs.
They were as curious about us as we were about them. They were happy
to be patted and took food from our hands. It was definitely worth
the purchase price. The rest of the park was interesting too and
very peaceful. As in other places we have seen in England, the
facility was in good order and the animals appeared healthy and
happy. Our guide, Josh, was accommodating, knowledgeable and
helpful.
This tapir came and leaned on me and
stayed there for several minutes!
Clearly, this tapir didn't like he attention it was
receiving!!
This goat had given birth to these kids only minutes before
this photo was taken.
"Where are they? They should have been here by now."
"Carrots are SO tasty!"
A Yak
Satoshi with two Dwarf Zebu
Asian Short-Clawed Otters
"It's been a long, hard day!"
A sleepy Red Panda
These are Greater Flamingos. (I'm not sure what they are
greater than!)
Harris's Hawke (I don't know why he left it here.)
A Black Kite (Yes, I know it doesn't look black... I don't
know why!)
An American Bald Eagle (Yes, I know it isn't bald... I don't
know this one either!)
A Lanner Falcon
A Green-Winged Macaw
These kids have grown so much in their first hour of life!
A Grey Crowned Crane
If the Yellow Mongoose breeding program has not been
successful as yet, it soon will be!!
Next, we visited the Derwent Pencil Museum.
We enjoyed some hot vegetable soup and fresh bread for lunch
before making our way around the interesting exhibits. We then
drove the short distance to Ashness Bridge which featured on the
cases of Derwent Pencil tins for many years. The road to the
bridge was very narrow but there were several passing places so
it was OK.
Apparently, this is the world's
largest pencil.
I remember having Lakeland pencils as a child, I didn't
know they were made in the same factory as Derwent
pencils!
This drawing of Ashness Bridge featured on Derwent pencil
tins for many years.
It's still as it was!
The next stop was Lowther Castle. Even
though this building is mostly just a shell, it is still very
impressive and atmospheric. Unfortunately, there were works going on
in the actual ruins so we were not allowed to wander around inside.
Nevertheless, we could go all around the perimeter. In 1882, the
castle and its income were inherited by Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of
Lonsdale. He indulged in many of his passions, spending money
recklessly. Just the bill for his cigars was £3,000 in a year! The
castle was not maintained properly during his time. Then it was
requisitioned by the army during WWII. During the 1950s the owners
could not afford the repairs required so the contents of the castle
were auctioned off and, to avoid paying taxes, the roof was removed.
Some of the gold and silver from the
castle has been bought back.
This was the castle before its demise.
These tiles are all that is left of the Orangery.
Even as a ruin, there are aspects of the castle which are
still quite majestic.
On the way to Lowther Castle, we passed by Brougham
Castle which we had not planned to visit. As we had a little
time spare, we tried our luck on the return trip, arriving at
4:50pm, ten minutes before its advertised closing time. The castle
is managed by English Heritage which we had joined before we left
Australia. The helpful and kind lady in the reception office allowed
us in, gave us a sticker so we can now park in English Heritage car
parks for free, and also gave us an English Heritage Guide Book
which lists all the sites in England (about 500) maintained by this
organisation. The castle is only a ruin, having been abandoned in
the early 1600s but, as with Lowther Castle, it is still impressive
and atmospheric. A climb up a steep and uneven spiral staircase was
rewarded by wonderful views of the surrounding countryside.
This bridge is located just outside the
castle.
Even after 500 years, one gets glimpses of how the castle
looked back then.
I don't know the name of this pretty plant but it was growing
in many places on the castle walls.
An attempt at an "artistic" photo
The last thing on our activity list for today was to attend a
performace of "Around the World in 80 Days" at the Theatre by the Lake in
Keswick. This was an interesting, funny and enjoyable play. There
was hardly any scenery at all but the very clever use of props made
sure we understood exactly where each scene was taking place. The
actors were great and we could hear every word. Information about
the production and the actors, together with some video clips can be
found here.
