Day 2 - Watson 16 Lake District Trip 2003

17 July 2003 Tuesday
I was so bloody tired. I wanted to sleep once we got home from Windermere Lake but if it’s not for Alex’s 23rd birthday, I would be asleep at 10PM. We waited till 12AM and spent the remaining time chatting. However, by 12AM, Alex was already asleep. He did not respond well to our birthday wishes!

Fell Foot Park
Our first destination was Fell Foot Park, a restored Victorian park in Newby Bridge. The scenery was really pretty. We had clear blue sky with clouds scattered randomly and a fabulous view of a lake.

One of the most memorable photo sessions in Fell Foot Park was our photo session on the tree. It was an easy climb as the tree had many things to hold on. However, the tree was pretty dirty. We had loads of dirt and tree juices stuck on our hands. All the guys except Alex (who suffered from a twisted ankle) climbed the tree to take a photo. CM had problem getting down the tree. LOL
 

The gang
Ala Dawson Creek
Up the tree yo!


Coniston Water
Most famous resident: David Campbell. He broke the water speed record with a speedboat called Bluebird in 1951. His name is all over Coniston and shops had pictures of him with his boat. Even his autobiography is on bookshops shelves. He died in a tragic death after he tried to break the world water speed record on 4 January 1967. As he tried to raise the record to 300mph, his jet powered Bluebird went out of control. Campbell was killed and his body never recovered from the depths of the lake

Our initial destination was Coniston Water before we decided to drop by Fell Foot Park. Paul, the owner of our hostel, recommended a pub called Drunken Duck in Coniston for lunch. However, once we got there and asked for directions, we were told that it's hard to explain the exact location of the place. We ended up eating lunch at Coniston itself. SL, WD, WK, CM, Fred and I ate at an old pub (more than 100 years old) called Crown. I had beef with 3 mustard sauces. Sounds interesting huh? The beef was good but the sauce wasn’t really good. Frederick as usual, had a pint of beer before we ate.

Coniston Town
Coniston Town Street
tie your dog here

Majestic mountains surround Coniston. The lake wasn’t visible from the town but the main photo attraction is the picturesque views of the mountains. There’s a little museum called Ruskin museum. It doesn’t look interesting but it has a little miniature town (looks exactly like the houses in Lake District. However, the miniature town wasn’t maintain properly, it had weed growing all over it) and a rusty aeroplane engine displayed outside the museum.

The gang @ Coniston Town
me @ Coniston miniature town

Mindy suggested that we go for a boat ride. We moved on to another part of Coniston Water, where the David Campbell broke the water speed record. There’s a café called Bluebird café on the shore of the lake. Unfortunately, (but fortunately for me, I didn’t want to row boat that time) they didn’t have any rowing boats for hire. We ended up taking pictures around the pier. While we were walking around, taking pictures and exploring the place, we lost Frederick. We found him moments later, sitting in Bluebird café enjoying a cup of coffee.

We stopped by a valley to take some photos. Even though it was a secluded area there was a small mail box. I wonder who post his mails there.

The gang @ the valley
Paranomic
Alex & ponies

Hardknott Pass and Wrynose Pass
I immediately got out from the car and ventured out on my own. I wanted to climb up the hill to take an aerial view of the place. However, it wasn’t easy. I had to brave through sheep droppings and muddy grounds. The ground was soggy and there was once I stepped on a puddle of mud. My shoes were all wet and muddy.

Valley
Chuo Ming's car..
Lovely hills

After venturing high out, Frederick followed. He too was subjected to the muddy ground. I’ve always wanted to go somewhere where no man has been to therefore I climbed the hill even higher. However, once I got to the top, I saw a road. It was the road we’ll pass through if we went further. Damn, I’ve gone through the muddy grounds for nothing. I should have followed them in the car.

We stopped to take some photos. I took the opportunity to hike up the tallest hill available. Once again, I had to endure the sheep droppings and muddy grounds. Unfortunately, I didn’t go far. I was stuck at a steep slope. I could have rolled down the hill if I didn’t get a good grip.

Me
Sheep dung..euww
Me on top of the world!
The place we stopped
Everybody looked like this when i was up there

We then stopped by a stream that flows down from HardKnott and Wrynose Pass. Cold crystal clear water. CM and I took a sip of the water. It was really, really fresh and cooling.

The stream...

The road has loads of sharp turns and narrow lanes. Wen Dee vomited after our trip.

Short trip to Ravenglass
I’ve no idea how we ended up in Ravenglass. I think we were looking for a toilet. Ravenglass is the only coastal town in Lake District National Park and lies on the estuary of three rivers - the Esk, the Mite and the Irt. Ravenglass became an important naval base for the Romans in the 2nd century. However, the estuary was dried up and all we could see is muddy ground and ships trapped. We spoke to one of the locals there, an old lady, she said that the water will only be back on October.
 

Ravenglass town
The estuary

Bootle beach
The entire Bootle beach was covered smooth pebble. There weren’t many building around Bootle Beach. I guess it’s not a commercialised area as all we see is a public toilet and a warehouse. We managed to catch the sunset and took couple of photos there.

Clouds
Bootle Beach
Lovely Beach

Beswick for dinner
Beswick is a 16th Century town. I’ve no idea why we headed there for dinner. Unfortunately, most restaurants and pubs don’t serve food after 9PM. We reached there at 9:30PM and ended up driving back to Windermere for dinner. Before that, we went to a pub to ask whether do they still serve food. The bartender, with a labret piercing, said that most shops here stops serving food at 9PM. We left the place with a hungry stomach.

There’s a pub called Black Cock Inn, we were so amused with the name. It sounds really vulgar. Hehe

Black Cock Inn

Alex birthday dinner
After 9PM, most of the shops were closed. We decided to have dinner at a Chinese restaurant next to Windermere Lake. The price was moderate but since Wen Dee was paying, we chose that restaurant (it was a thank you present from Wen Dee’s parents for taking care of her and Wen Kim when she was in the hospital).

While we were eating, the waiter who served us gave Alex a Chinese crafted ribbon and a plate with 2 boiled eggs (decorated with cucumber and a skilfully crafted tomato sliced in a shape of a fish, initially we thought that the tomato is a octopus). Our waiter, a Chinaman from Fukien province said that the eggs and fish symbolises peace and longevity.

We left the place after we realise that we stayed in the restaurant for too long. The Chinese instrumental music was playing even louder (probably to annoy us away). As we leave the place, our Chinese waiter shook all the guy’s hand and thanked us.

makan time
alex and his newfound buddy

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