Lancaster Canal - such a choice

Tuesday, 09 June 2009 20:33

We made a friend moored here - the whole family greeted us when we opened the swan doors!

So sweet!

There is so much to do and to see and we do not have enough time - boo hoo! Today looked as if it was going to be decent weather, I think the sunset last night predicted it!

Wow!

So decision time this morning (after a good night's sleep, undisturbed by the motorway!) - there is a good bus service to the Lake District from here, but where should we go and what should we do!

The whole day in front of us, we caught the 555 from opposite the Longlands Hotel, together with about 7 others all going to the Lakes! The bus passes over the Northern reaches of the Lancaster canal a couple of times, but no time to get off and explore!

The route goes through some lovely villages - very narrow streets and up hill and down dale! In the distance are the hills and peaks of the Lake District and nearby are very neat small fields, divided by perfect dry stone walls. Beautiful - I love double decker buses!

We followed the River Kent into Kendal, where some passengers disembarked and the bus then filled up - there was only one spare seat upstairs! It was quite noisy - sounded like everyone was Twittering - the bus pass brigade!

We had decided on Windermere as our destination. We were looking forward to a boat and steam train trip. The bus stops at Windermere station - oh how tempted I was to get off and look in the Lakeland Store there - the first and biggest!

I was good and stayed on and after a few miles and a total of one and a half hours on the bus, we disembarked at Watershead, Ambleside. We purchased our go-anywhere Day Ticket at the pier head, bought some coffee and had a quick look at the souvenir shops!

Fi at the pier

I had lost my cap in the wind not long after we came on the Lanky, so I was glad to buy a new one for £3.50 at the shop! I expected it to be a bit windy on the boat!

We waited for MV Tern, the next boat

Yachts and peaks at Ambleside

MV Tern took us from Watershead to Bowness and then on to Lakeside where we left her for the steam train.

The steam loco

It is a lovely but short trip to Haverthwaite, along a bit of the lake and into the hills. We stayed on the train and returned to Lakeside, relishing the smell of the smoke as it blew in the windows!

Return trip

All the timetables dovetail nicely and it is possible to spend more time at all the stops of the boat and train, but we were watching the time a bit, as we did not want to be too late back. Consequently, after a very quick look in the shop at Lakeside, we boarded MV Teal a sister ship to Tern.

Teal had a large covered area to sit - it felt a bit like a ro-ro ferry but without the waves crashing at the windows! That comment stems from the last time we were on a ro-ro crossing from Plymouth to Santander - the ship was at over 45 degrees to the sea all the journey and I was sick, sick, sick! Never again.

Again there were distant views of the Lake District's higher peaks. Unfortunately it had clouded over somewhat so the water no longer sparkled with sunlight as it had on our outward journey.

Distant peaks again!

A thoroughly good day and we returned on the 555 getting back to Epiphany about 6pm!

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