June 30, Windermere and environs, but Windermere mostly. A rest day.

Some days are divided into three parts, like this one for example.  At 5:30 (a.m.) I headed off to Holehird Gardens, a few miles over hill and dale away, which gardens are open to the public "dawn 'til dusk," in other words, all the time, but officially at 10:00 when the volunteer staff show up.  Would you believe I had the place all to myself?  

From Windermere, it was another gorgeous walk, truly.  

Someone must live here, and if they don't they should:

Prime real estate for the right critter.

But not for this guy:

The entrance to the gardens for walkers, such as myself, was a little bit off putting:

 

But once past that, a world or exquisiteness awaited:

There were beds of astilbe in various colors—divine—but the photos came out blurry.

A lily pond, too:

Then, back in Windermere, it was off to do some local walking that involved a stretch along the lake, as well it should:

The route went by the Jetty Museum, and never having been to such an attraction, I paid the £12 and went in.  Here are some things you can learn there:

There was a boat called the Esperance that was transported to Windermere over 150 years ago, which transport required the removal of railway tracks to allow it, the boat that is, to fit under the bridges.

Then there was Septimus Bland (1908-1987), chauffeur to Alfred Sladen before WW2.  Very often the chauffeur was expected to look after the boat AND car.  Sladen left his Cambridge University, Royal Henley regatta rowing oar to Bland in his will when he died in 1944.  The oar used to hang in the hall at Sladen's house over the front door. (Now that is one heck of an inheritance.  In case you are wondering, the oar is now in the Jetty Museum.)

Beatrix Potter lived near Windermere after she married a solicitor, bought several farms, and left 4000 acres to the National Trust.

One also learns—in case one did not already know—that toilets on boats are called heads, because of their location near the bow on old sailing ships.

The first known life jacket was patented in 1765.  It used pockets full of cork blocks to keep the wearer afloat

Fenders used to be filled with sheep's wool or horse hair.  Now they are filled with solid foam and full of air bubbles.

And Brass is often used on boat fixtures because it does not rust.

I hung around longer than I wanted to in order to hear a talk on boat preservation.  OMG, the presenter was so totally incoherent it was shocking.  After about 15 minutes I could stand it no longer and escaped.


But before leaving the Jetty Museum, we look at the boat house:

This boat hung on the wall reminded me of some of the huge prints Suzie and Jay have, you know, in terms of installation:

 

On the way back, one passes through some beautiful woodland.  I named this place Peter Rabbit Woods:

Also, I encountered a wedding party:

I was hoping to catch a shot of the two flower girls who carried the same bouquets as the bride and wore organdy dresses tied in the back with a huge, light pink bow.

Later, in the afternoon, it was time to explore the hub of Windermere.  

I stopped in at the local art gallery.  This is not me:

And I met Holly (the white dog) and Jackson( the tan dog), both elderly, and in town for some kind of Shih Tzu reunion.  Anyway, both were rescues and now are enjoying a happy old age:

Sometimes you just are at your:

Like when you are tyring to communicate with the AirB&B owner about checking in....this for tomorrow in Ulverston whither I go to begin the Cumbria Way.  It is supposed to rain.