at the mortal man inn in troutbeck just outside of windermere, we discovered that the wet stuff dripping from the sky actually meant that it was 'raining', all thanks to the weather forecasting stone. fun fact: this pub was given the title of 'best beer garden in britain' by some free, random, hiking magazine. another fun fact: the service was crap and the cider was served warm. bonus points for the cute puppies and the full-stoked fireplace.
on lake windermere in ambleside, we made friends with a sassy goose who matched almost perfectly to rebekah's outfit, before walking as far as we could around the lake where we stood and admired the deliciously glassy water and snow-capped mountains off in the distance. such. insane. beauty. well played england, well played.
at wray castle in lower wray we wandered around the empty neo-gothic building on our own; built in the 1840s and never a real castle, the private house was built as a private residence for a retired surgeon from liverpool. because... that's normal, right? from the parking lot we were treated to some gorgeous views of both mountain and lake, and knowing we were allllllll alone in one of god's most idyllic places, we were -- well, pretty chuffed with ourselves.
after a long day of driving and lake hunting, we stopped in the tiny town of kirkby lonsdale for a late lunch. except... with a ton of one-way streets and not a lot of day parking, we ended up driving around in circles for aaaages, before finally finding a park a *short stroll* from the centre of the village. it was fine. and the fish and chips were well worth it, considering the 20 minutes we had to walk to eat them... and back.
ah, it was another top notch day in the life of a lakey lady.