After York we began our trek towards the beautiful Lake District in the Northern part of England. Imagine the country-side that Beatrix Potter used as her inspiration for Peter Rabbit…lush and green, beautiful farmland, and a lovely lake around every corner. A favorite summer spot (reached by train) for families wanting to get away from London, with charming villages full of summer cottages and inns all through this region.

We took a few detours on our route, including a quick hike to Britain’s largest waterfall, High Force on the River Tess. While not as tall as some of our falls in CA (or the US), it was still stunning.

Our first stop after leaving York was Blanch land in Consett County and the lovely Lord Crewe Arms Inn. This inn is located in a tiny little village in the North Pennines Area of Natural Beauty. Formerly a monastery, it is a destination in itself with some of the best food we’ve had along the way (really, I mean it this time!). In fact, we were joined during our time here by a Lamborghini club out for a jaunt and a good meal! We could hear their motors long before they arrived in the tiny village and they added a lot of joviality to the charming cellar bar.

Before leaving the North Pennines and heading west towards the Lake District, we took our first foray to look at Hadrian’s Wall. This ancient Roman wall was constructed to protect England from Scottish invaders, and covers the width of the British Isles at this juncture, approximately 73 miles. Many people, more robust than we, hike the length of the wall (over 6 or more days)…maybe someday we’ll work up to that! But we certainly found this stretch of the wall north of Hexham to be stunningly beautiful.

Next we headed south and west towards the Lake District and settled on Lake Windermere, the largest lake in the region. We stayed just outside Bowness-On-Windermere at the charming Lindeth Fell Country House. We were greeted with a traditional, full afternoon tea overlooking the garden which was a lovely way to unwind from the day’s drive and hikes. But boy those teas can fill you up! Our time here was spent walking by the lake; taking a ferry ride; visiting Beatrix Potter’s lovely cottage, Hill Top, where she made many of her sketches; visiting the Beatrix Pottery Gallery; and visiting Dove cottage on Lake Grasmere where William Wordsworth wrote many of his greatest poems (the literary tour continues!). There is a lovely museum there that was actually filled with young, angsty looking poetry lovers. Good to see such an interest in the classics amongst the 20 year old crowd.