May 27, 2018
This was our last full non-travel day on the Exceed All Our Expectations Tour of England and it did not disappoint. The gorgeous weather caught up with us and we may be a bit sunburned. Stephen was our driver guide today. He is/was a roofer/builder who specializes in building the slate roofs that last 300 years. When he tires of climbing on really old houses with stone roofs, he shows off this beautiful country. I am very glad he was driving. The mountains are very like East Tennessee but the roads are like Colorado, narrow and windy. While I did not live in fear of hurtling to my death, there were many times we had to stop or back up so another car could squeeze by.
The sheep in this region are called Herdwicks. They are black sheep when they are born, turn brown as adolescents, and finally white when they are mature. There are black and white cows called Belted Galloway Cows, or as the locals call them, Lake Country Pandas.
There is only one lake in the Lake District. All the others are Meres, Waters, or Tarns. Hills are Fells and mountains are Tors. Most of the names are from Viking times. Suddenly my Scandinavian DNA makes lots of sense because the Vikings were a huge part of English history. As Stephen said the English people were small, brown-haired and wiry. The Vikings were huge, blonde, and good looking. There is a reason so many of us have Viking parentage.
All those ancient stone walls were a scheme by a king to tax this area more effectively about 500 years ago. It caused poverty and a mass exodus of the populace. Again, why we are now Americans, not from here. It’s easy to see why they went from here to our mountains.
Part of our tour was a small gauge steam railroad, so we got to be 9 years old which is one of my favorite things. We rode through mountainsides covered in purple rhododendron.
Our last “stately home” was Muncaster Castle. It was the home of the original “Tom Fool” from whom we get tomfoolery. He was the resident “fool” who was tried and hanged for murder. In addition to the crime he eventually paid for, he was suspected of sending unsuspecting guests to their deaths by giving them directions that led them to quicksand instead of the gardens.
Stephen took us to see breathtaking vistas upon which people of all ages were hiking and biking. They take their walks seriously here. We also saw people swimming in one of the tarns. There is a sport here where people swim the length of the lake. Like 21 Miles. It made me nervous to watch them.
While the day has been gorgeous, the wind has almost knocked us over especially up high. I would not want to be in a tent.
Tomorrow we head to London and then home. I’m going to pretend I belong in this shiny velvet lounge until they make us leave.