Friday, July 30, 2010

The Lake District and York Trip

This week was our trip to the north of England.  We went up to the Ambleside in the Lake District then made our way down to York, and then back to London!  We of course made some pit stops on the way to see some other things.

First we stopped at Chatsworth.  This is the house where the Duke and Dutchess live, but more importantly, it is where they filmed the scenes for Pemberly in the new Pride and Prejudice!









We also went and visited the Preston England Temple for a little bit.



Finally we arrived in Ableside!  We were staying in a hostel that was right on a lake.  It had a beautiful view, but the rooms themselves...not quite as beautiful.  The day after arriving we went on a 4 mile hike to Dove Cottage.  It was an excellent and gorgeous hike.  Dove Cottage is where Wordsworth lived while writing some of his most famous poems.  We then went and got lunch at a cute cafe called the Giggling Goose.  Afterwards, we went and looked at shops - my favs:  the Beatrix Potter shops (Peter Rabbit) and the wool shops (from Scotland).  When we came back from the town, we went on a fun boat cruise around the lake, went on a little walk on the other side of the lake, and came back for dinner! It was a fantastic day!

Our Hostel.  It's deceivingly cute. 

The Giggling Goose Cafe - how cute!

The next day, we travelled to York.  On our way, we stopped at Bede's World.  What is Bede's World you may ask?  Well, my professor looooooves this guy named Bede.  Granted, Bede was pretty cool and important in history in Britain.  However, I don't really think they needed to make a whole WORLD for him!  This place had a medieval farm, a museum, a cafe, and an old church.  I'm not too sure why we thought it so necessary to take our time and go see a big medieval pig in the middle of no where and eat gross food, but we did!  I will definitely not be forgetting my stay at Bede's World.
If you can't tell, we are all super stoked to be at Bede's World!

We also stopped in Durham to see the cathedral there.  This stop really was cool.  The cathedral was awesome!  Unfortunately, we didn't happen to get any pictures!  Sorry Mom and Dad!  

We arrived in York, and if you can believe it, our hostel was even more gross than the last one!  I went to the local Marks & Spencer (kind of a European Super Target) and bought a pillow so I didn't have to use the one from the hostel!  York, however, was a really cute city.  They had some really fun shopping areas, a beautiful Minster, good food, street performers, markets and more!  
  The city of York.  The sunset made the Minster look gorgeous!

On our day in York, we went to Fountains Abbey.  This is a place that has, along with many many other places, fallen victim to the Dissolution from King Henry VIII.  I explained what that exactly was in previous blogs.  The old Abbey was giant, and in incredibly beautiful country side.  We went and saw the ruins, then went on a little hike up to see the grounds they have made.  They have a lot of rivers and moats and great views from the top of the hills.  





And finally, we ended up back in home sweet London!  I loved my trip up north, but am so happy to be back home in London!

4 comments:

jane sorensen said...

Wow, Ali, what a wonderful trip! Obviously, there is so much more to see in England than I ever knew! Everyone here is jealous!

Elder and Sister Sorensen said...

the "Venerable Bede" has his own world. WOW! What's a "minster?

Unknown said...

K so these pictures are gorgeous!

Brooke Boren said...

its so beautiful there!! Still wishing I was there with you!