The Lake District

Good news, the train from London to the Lake District only takes about five and a half hours. When I tell that to British people, though, they think it's super long! I din't get any pictures from the moving train, since they would not have turned out very well. And it was always moving—no long stops like on US trains. Scenery through the corridor between Birmingham and Manchester was not very exciting; it reminded me of Iowa, actually, but north of Lancaster we got into very picturesque territory. Feeling grateful for noise-cancelling headphones, since this train car had crying babies and toddlers with noisy toys, here's part of my soundtrack during the journey: The Kinks, "See My Friends"; Jethro Tull, "Cup of Wonder"; George Martin and The Beatles, "Pepperland"; Led Zeppelin, "Bron-Yr-Aur"; The Idle Race, "Come With Me". I only had to change trains once and made my connections even though the train was running a bit late! On the bus I learned that you don't need to say Lake Windermere or Lake Grasmere because mere means lake. On Thursday morning I took the ferry from Bowness Nab. It takes about ten minutes to cross from Bowness to Far Sawrey. From there, I walked to Hilltop—the cottage Beatrix Potter used as her art studio in Near Sawrey. It was kind of wet, and I think it got on my camera lens in some of these photos.

Windermere

Friendly kitty

Kendal Mint Cake: pure sugar

This way to the ferry!

View of Windermere

Walking path

Irresistible sheep

Leaves are starting to turn

Yes, the path goes THROUGH the sheep field!

Hilltop Cottage

Near Sawrey

Amazing dry stone walls!

Growth on the walls

Flourishing lichens

And succulents!

I LOVED the walk to Hilltop! Seeing the sheep fields, dry stone walls, and cottages, somehow I felt right at home. I can well understand why Beatrix Potter liked this area so much. I didn't mind the rain, but the downside was that there was no dry place to sit. I would have liked to stop longer in the garden with my knitting. There was also a sweet little creek with a bench along the way. Still didn't see any hedgehogs, though! I guess you really have to keep a sharp eye out for them. Red squirrels as well. Many visitors I saw at Hilltop were international. There was a Danish family, a mother and daughter from Sweden, a German couple, and a Japanese family. I spent the day on Friday in Grasmere, taking the bus through Ambleside and past Rydal. I didn't have time to stop—or rather, alight, as the automated voice on the bus says—but those are definitely places I want to explore more. Just do a search for Rydal and you will see the beautiful lake! I really enjoyed my visit to Dove Cottage, too. The view is changed now from the early 1800s with the more recent (haha) Victorian houses built across the road, but they've attempted to restore the garden-orchard behind the house. I felt most connected standing in the kitchen where I could imagine Dorothy Wordsworth baking bread. I picked up a copy of her journals in the shop. An entry from October of 1802 reads: 'It is a breathless grey day that leaves the golden woods of Autumn quiet in their own tranquility, stately & beautiful in their decaying, the lake is a perfect mirror.' My ticket is good all year, so that gives me an excuse to visit again!

Entrance to Wordsworth Grasmere Museum

At the bus stop

Dove Cottage

Kitchen

Sitting Room

Wordsworth's poems hand copied by Mary and Dorothy Wordsworth 

for S.T. Coleridge

Stray quill

Famous Grasmere Gingerbread

Grasmere

Knitting by the lake

Cream tea at Baldry's

London: Walking is Free!

Hello friends! The next few posts will be about places I visited during reading week: London, the Lake District, and Cambridge. I started my trip with a day and a half in London. I planned to go to the Lake District, and it was simpler to get the train from London Euston. This time, I wanted to visit Tate Britain to see their collection of original Pre-Raphaelite works in person. I walked past many famous sites on the way to the art museum. I hadn't booked a place anywhere, but walking is free!

Long queue at The National Gallery

Trafalgar Square

Sunny day!

Scotland Yard, I think?

Big Ben

A Distant Westminster Abbey

At Tate Britain I spent time in the Pre-Raphaelite room and in the neighbouring gallery with the larger-sized works. There are no ropes or barriers, so a near-sighted person like me can stand inches from them! Art on display included: Ophelia, Christ in the House of His Parents, and The Veil of Rest by John Everett Millais; Jesus Washing Peter's Feet by Ford Madox Brown; The Awakening Conscience, Claudio and Isabella, and Our English Coasts by William Holman Hunt; Sancta Lilias and Rosa Triplex by Dante Gabriel Rossetti; Frieze of Eight Women Gathering Apples, King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid, and The Golden Stairs by Edward Burne-Jones; The Room in Which Shakespeare Was Born and The Death of Chatterton by Henry Wallis; Past and Present, No. 1  by Augusts Leopold Egg; photography by Julia Margaret Cameron; Figure of Guinevere by William Morris; and a honeysuckle embroidery done by Jane Morris, William Morris, and Jenny Morris. 

Tate Britain

A little context

Original original Millais!

More Millais

Ford Madox Brown

Rossetti

Burne-Jones

Cameron and Morris

Textile worked by Morris, his wife, Jane, and daughter, Jenny

After the museum, I headed towards Hyde Park. I decided to walk through Kensington Gardens to see the Peter Pan statue. 

Buckingham Palace

Wellington Arch

Hyde Park

Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens

The next morning I had enough time to visit the British Library and get some reading in before catching my train. I arrived around opening time and waited in this queue to get inside! I hadn't made a reservation in any of the reading rooms, but looked at the treasures and read a book (from a different library!) that I had with me. 

Queueing at the British Library

Norwich Cathedral

Norwich Cathedral

 I've been attending Norwich Cathedral for weekly worship services. The Cathedral seemed an obvious place to come for worship, although I am Lutheran and not Anglican. It's over 900 years old, yet still feels like a very active worship area. The Sung Eucharist service is more high church than I am used to; there are at least three pastors presiding over the service and they process in and out with the choir. But the order of worship is familiar, and I appreciate the traditional format. The worship settings used have included music from Bach, Handel, and William Byrd. Voices really resonate in the Cathedral space. I try to blend in with the Anglo-speaking congregation. It's not true that British people lose their accents when they sing! You can definitely hear a difference in words like never, ever, water, pastures, shoulder, staff, transport... to take some examples from "The King of Love My Shepherd Is" that we sang today. Last week we sang "O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing" using the Lyngham tune. I knew this one from Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band! There are two main worship areas. Here are some pictures I took after a service held in the presbytery. You can also take a virtual tour of the Cathedral on their website.

Presbytery Area

New Organ

Cathedral Cat!

The Crossing

Decorative Lectern

Cloisters

Listen to the Cathedral bells. 

Listen to a clip of the organ.

The organ has recently been rebuilt by Harrison & Harrison of Durham. An inaugural concert will be broadcast on the BBC. Check BBC Sounds after November 25 for the recording!

Worship services are available to view on the Cathedral's YouTube page.

Thanks for reading!

Hexachordia and Strangers' Hall

 Hello friends! Although I spent much of the weekend catching up on reading, I did make time for visiting a couple local parks for study breaks. Heigham Park and Eton Park are not far from where I live. 

A place of charm and quiet beauty

Rose bower

Eaton Park

Stately!

Since going to the Flánn gig, I have been keeping an eye out for other music events to attend. The Hexachordia Trio is an ensemble that plays sixteenth and seventeenth century music on period instruments. Their concert included dances, jigs, galliards, and the like, some with vocals. Here's a clip from a different concert by Hexachordia. Here's one of Washerwoman's Bransle performed by another group.

Hexachordia at St Peter Mancroft

It was fitting to visit Strangers' Hall the next day. Parts of the hall have been around since the fourteenth century and there have been numerous additions through the centuries. I had those tunes playing in my mind as I walked through the house and gardens. 

Courtyard

Yes, that says 1571.

In the parlour

Gardens

Also this past week I attended an author visit by Katherine Rundell at Waterstones! She talked about her latest children's book, Impossible Creatures. Some of the stories she told included her experience eating a tarantula and learning how to tightrope walk, but one of the best was when she described her favourite book, which is Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones. 

Favourite quote: 'Children's books are where you go to learn to be brave.'

I have to share this sign I saw outside of Thorns with you as well. I've yet to see a hedgehog, though!

Hedgehog Dry & Wet Food

Thanks for reading!