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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
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The gang |
Ala Dawson Creek |
Up the tree yo!
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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.
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Coniston Town
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Coniston Town Street
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tie your dog here
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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.
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The gang @ Coniston Town |
me @ Coniston miniature town
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Me |
Sheep dung..euww |
Me on top of the world! |
The place we stopped |
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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
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.
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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.
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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
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.
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makan time |
alex and his newfound buddy
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