We had a terrific day touring the Lake District National Park, just northeast of Manchester. The National Park has beautiful scenery and picturesque villages. There are Herdwick sheep everywhere, lots of restaurants and shops, and narrow, twisting roads to explore.

We took a Busybus tour in a 15 passenger van and enjoyed the commentary of Shelly, our driver and tour guide. The tour took us to some of the famous places in the Lake District but also took us off the beaten path to places the bigger buses can’t go and places that the average tourist might not find.

One interesting stop was at the Castlerigg stone circle. This site is just as old as Stonehenge (around 5000 years old) but has smaller stones. That is more than offset by its location – natural beauty surrounds it.

We had lunch in the village of Grasmere. It was fun trying out a small café and then we topped our lunch off with a visit to Sarah Nelson’s gingerbread store. People line up to buy this unique treat which is a cross between cake and cookie; buttery with ginger. It is quite tasty and we bought enough to bring home for later on. Grasmere was the home of famous poet William Wordsworth. He called it “the loveliest spot that man hath ever found.” We saw where he is buried, in the church cemetery just near a pretty mountain stream.

From there we headed up into the mountains for what was my favorite part of the trip. The roads are one lane, twisting, climbing pathways with ancient rock fences crowding in on either side. When we met oncoming vehicles someone had to back up to a wider spot to let the other vehicle squeeze by. I was glad that someone else was doing the driving so I could focus on the scenery.

At one point we opted to get out and take a bit of a hike around Blea Tarn (“tarn” means “pool”). The scenery was amazing, especially the view out across Little Langdale Valley. It really is a special place.

Our last stop was at Lake Windermere. With the mountains surrounding it, the lake is well worth a visit. There is a cruise boat there that would be fun. Jackie opted for some ice cream and some quiet time just enjoying the view.

We were pretty much worn out from all the exploring and didn’t mind the hour and a half of quiet during the ride back to Manchester.

As you can tell, we had a wonderful time in the Lake District and we recommend it to anyone visiting this part of the UK.