The Flora and Fauna of The Lakes District

We spent the last weekend in May in Windemere in the Lakes District, England. Good friends, Sherryn and Tim, were returning to Australia shortly and had offered to meet us in one of several locations they were yet to see in England. Only three hours from Irvine, we opted for the beautiful Lakes District and just happened to pick a spectacular day for weather. Saturday brought blue skies and 25 degrees. Our newly acquired Scottish expectation of weather had us prepared with clothes for all seasons. Luckily, because Sunday was grey and drizzly all day. The B and B we chose was a good find too. Brendan Chase provided us with lovely soft beds and huge Full English Breakfasts to keep us going well past lunchtime. On Saturday morning we made the most of the sunshine (and the calories from breakfast) and headed off up the hill in Windemere for spectacular views. Lake Windemere is the largest lake in England. You can't miss it in the photos.

The tallest peak, Scafell Pike (978 m) could also be seen from the lookout but we can't remember which peak to show you on the photos. After soaking up the views we trudged down, discovering Eeyore on the way. Greg made a new friend in Eeyore, perhaps due to the fact that Eeyore rather like peppermints when Greg does not.

Next we visited the town of Grasmere where gingerbread was first properly made (so they say). The recipe is still kept in a bank vault in the village. Of course we had to sample some, along with their locally brewed ginger beer. In Grasmere we also visited the grave of the famous English romantic poet, William Wordsworth.Sherryn and Tim sadly had to start their long drive back to London but before they left they recommended we take a stunning drive through Hardknott Pass. The road was one of the narrowest and steepest we've come across with a gradient of 30 degrees at one point! The Romans built a road over this pass between Ambleside on Lake Windemere and the West coast in 2nd century AD. We visited the Roman Fort, built between about AD 120 and 138. The buildings must have been very impressive since 500 men were housed here at one time. You can make out the external walls on top of the hill to the right of the picture below.The area was heavily excavated in the 1950's and 60's and lots of important information about Roman times was gathered from the site.

Outside the square of the fort is the remains of the bath house (which has a rare circular sudatorium - sweating room). Here's Greg walking on the remains. The sheep feel free to wander in and out so we thought we could too.Due to the number of sheep roaming free on the narrow, steep roads we travelled at a snail's pace back to Windemere via a short ferry across the lake whilst enjoying the sunlight. It was still light at 11pm that night as we sat on the lawn of a local pub, sipping a glass of wine, still in t-shirts and shorts.

Despite the drizzle on Sunday we bought 2 "Walker's Pass". The passes enabled us to travel a circular route including the ferry from Windemere to Ambleside to Wray Castle, then an eight mile walk down the Western edge of Lake Windemere and a short ferry back to the car. Fortunately the walk was mostly under the trees and the bad weather drove all but the hardiest of tourists indoors! Greg discovered his favourite castle in Wray Castle. Its relatively new, seeing as it was built in 1850. It was a private house, built for a surgeon from Liverpool, but now belongs to the National Trust and now you know its not open on Sundays.As usual the weekend away ended in a long drive for Greg and a long sleep in the car for Jane. Jane arrived home in Irvine refreshed and ready for another week of work and Greg arrived unable to speak due to exhaustion.

Our Pilgrimage to Iona

One sunny Saturday in May we packed the Polo with clothes for every season and left Irvine for the seaside town of Oban. The road took us beside Loch Lomond and up over the mountain pass called " Rest and be Thankful".The last month has brought some brilliant changes to the countryside. From leafless branches everywhere to tiny green sprouts through to huge clusters of GREEN we've seen our surroundings change. So many different colours in the flowers too! The road that leads to our house in Irvine has changed almost weekly from white snow drops to yellow daffodils to blue bells. The road to Oban was no different. The seasons are definitely more obvious in this hemisphere.We had a brief stop at Loch Fyne Oyster Bar for heavenly Oysters (although not as good as the ones we sampled near Port Lincoln, SA) and then drove on.
Oban put on the weather for us. It was a stunning day with views all the way out to the Isle of Mull. The Scottish Gaelic meaning for Oban is "Little Bay". The island of Kerrera protects the bay and from here you can take the ferry to inner and outer Hebrides (islands off the West coast of Scotland).
Our B & B was right in the centre of town with a large beer garden out the front to sit in and admire the view. We strolled through the shops, the French Market and art gallery, past literally hundreds of B & Bs, to McCaig's Tower. Built in the fashion of the Colosseum, the tower was the dream of John Stuart McCaig. He was a banker living the the late 1800s who wanted to build a monument to his family and provide work for the local stonemasons during the winter months. Unfortunately he died before the inside design of the tower was completed. Today McCraig's Tower forms the destinctive skyline of Oban and its a peaceful place to wander.On Sunday we'd booked ourselves in for a day trip across to Mull and Iona. The ferry (capacity 800 passengers with 100 cars!) left at 9 o'clock in the bright sunshine. The trip to Craignure on Mull to 40 mins, passing some very isolated places. This is Duart Castle, home of the Clan MacLean.
A bus then took us 1.5 hours to the far South Western corner of Mull for a ferry to Iona. The driver was full of fascinating info about Mull. There are currently about 2,700 people living permanently on the island with a whole lot of wildlife! Over 250 species of birds call Mull home, including the white-tailed eagle, of which there are probably 12 pairs living here. The group was told to keep their eyes peeled for eagles in the sky, red deer on the green slopes of the hills, otters in the shallows or on the sand and Oyster Catchers (birds) nesting in the rocks! One Oyster Catcher had particularly funny taste for a home. Her nest was right beside the road for all the tourists to peer into from the bus window.
A small ferry then took us to Iona. St Columba founded a monestry here in AD 563. Columbus was one of the most important saints of the early Christian church. Some say he was the person who brought Christianity to Scotland by converting the Picts (the people that inhabited scotland at that time). The famous Book of Kells was written by the monks of Iona around 800. The Iona Abbey was built in the Middle Ages. At that time many of the early kings of Scotland were buired on the Island. In front of the Abbey stands the 9th century St Martin's Cross, one of the best-preserved Celtic crosses in the UK (seen on the right).
There was a Viking Massacre in 806 from which the Abbey recovered slowly, becoming a Benedictine establishment by the 13th century. Then, during the Protestant Reformation, all abbeys and monestries were shut down and the Abbey went to ruin. In 1938 Reverend Geoffrey MacLeod restored the buildings and formed the Iona Community which still functions today. People come from all over the world to retreats held here on Iona. The community is non-denominational with a strong focus on world justice and peace issues.Despite the 140,000 visitors it has each year, Iona is a very peaceful place with a population of only 125.