Britain 09 - Day 16

Introduction

Today being Sunday, our first mission was to drive over to Kendal, find the railway station at Oxenholme and meet Margaret after her train journey from Edinburgh. Kendal has a confusing cluster of one-way streets and we found ourselves going round in circles trying to get to the town centre, only to find most of it shut. So we settled for a look around Marks & Spencer, coming away with a selection of cheeses and wine for our evening's comsumption.

We eventually found the station, and Margaret's train arrived right on time at 12:41pm. The morning rain had stopped and the cloud cleared, so we decided to drive back to Bowness and take the steamer trip to the head of Lake Windermere. The weather cleared and we had some wonderful views of the lake.

Back at Bowness, the cloud returned and we were reminded that this was now early-October. The warm fire and selection of drinks enticed us into Bar Bodega for a few glasses of red wine and a selection of fine tapas, then back to the hotel unit for the cheese we had purchased in the morning.

Cruising on Windermere

One of the main tourist attractions at Bowness is the steamer trip on the lake. We booked on the ferry and were soon heading down the lake to Lakeside at the head of the lake. We passed yachts, large and small, and hotels and large residences on the shores. Most of the shoreline is in some form of park or trust, so that development is minimal and blended into the trees. At Lakesend you can take the old steam train for a short ride before returning for a coffee and the next ferry. We decided to stay and watch the boats and ducks, sampling the leek and potato soup (which was quite acceptable) for lunch. Then back to Bowness.

The queue waiting for the boat