My Lake District tour started just as I had anticipated – like a beautiful fable.
The little Robin sat on the chair back, its little orange chest puffed up, its brown feathers fluttering in the cool crisp wind. The sun shone down on its back with a mellow glow.
My heart jumped with joy. I was in the English Lake district, one of the beauty spots on England’s map and it was promising to be a sunny day. Hope my luck holds through the day.
It began with a bit of a slip and rush. I missed the Mountain Goat Adventure Tour bus at my pick-up point. But my aunt was determined to get me on it. She pushed hard on the accelerator, and we sped off on the busy Kendall highway to drop me off on to the next point at Windermere.
Finally we did make it!
While she took a breather, I strapped myself in and set off to create new memories.
The first stop was a quaint little bridge that straddled a brook that tripped over rocks as it flowed on its way. It was a picturesque scene, but the fairy tale was just beginning.
All through the journey every spot where I alighted left me dazed. I grew up on a healthy diet of Enid Blyton books and her picture-perfect dales and villages. What I saw before me was the perfect reflection of all that I had imagined them to be.
The vast green meadows, the quaint cottages with pink and white roses lacing their doorway, the rolling valleys with the sunlight trailing down their velvet cheeks making them glow and flush deliciously, the blue waters of the lakes rippling with the light drizzle of the summer rains- all this made me realise that there was something in this place that kept me wanting more and more.
The English weather, it is said, is too treacherous. It does not take the clouds too long to catch up with the sun. Soon the skies pulled on a grey look and rain drenched the mountains making the grass on the slopes glisten with the moisture. As a result, the landscape took on a new look.
As we approached the Honistan slate mines, the skies matched the surroundings by donning a deep grey slate mantle. The chilly mountain wind on the high pass, made a shiver pass through my spine as I dug my hands deeper into my coat pockets and trailed the crunchy path in search of the unknown.
The Lake District is teeming with idyllic lakes and picturesque tarns. Each carrying a story in its depths. They have inspired Poets and artists who, mesmerized by their beauty, have created exquisite and eternal works of arts.
The lake District has a rich history and everything is not only about its lakes. As I travelled through the beautiful place, I captured these stories on my lens.
Take a look at my travel stories on the lake district on my Youtube Channel Storyteller’s Backpack
To read more of my travel stories, visit my Travel Story home page.
