2024 Lake District Colors
Phenology – “a branch of science concerned with the relationship between climate and periodic biological phenomena (as the migration of birds or the flowering and fruiting of plants).”
The Lake District
The Lake District in northwest England is one of the most picturesque regions that we have ever seen. About the same size as Mount Desert Island, it shares that region’s geological history, as some prehistoric eruption left a dozen or so large lakes filling the valleys (known in England as “dales”) between long, rocky ridges and summits (known as “fells”). Like Mount Desert Island, the Lake District is a mixture of national park, other conservation areas, small villages, and a couple of larger urban areas. Unlike Mount Desert, it has a landscape dominated by fields and mountainsides dominated by heather and ferns (known as “bracken”). Why? Because the Lake District retains a vast number of sheep who work tirelessly to prevent trees and shrubs from dominating as the mountainsides as they do both in Mount Desert and here in the North Country. As you ride or walk through the Lake District, the typical views are as shown above – rolling lowlands with a mixture of fields and forests and open hillsides liberally laced with small streams, stone walls, and rocky outcroppings. In the fall, while there is some color in the forests, what attracts your attention are deep reds and bronzes of the bracken that carpets the hillsides.
October 19, 2024. The view from Easedale Tarn toward the ridge rising above Grasmere. Some of the white spots barely visible in this photo are the sheep busy working to keep the slopes clear of trees.
Grasmere
The village of Grasmere is located by a mile-long lake with the same name. The village is famous for its association with the 19th century poet William Wordsworth, who lived there for most of his life. Its pubs, restaurants, parks, stone buildings, stone walls, shops, quaint curving streets, excellent bus service, and location within the mountains at the side of a lake make it a Mecca for tourists, especially those interested in walking and hiking. In the fall, the streets are alive with the colors of the many exotic trees that, of necessity, are crammed into the tight spaces of a village defined by stone walls and closely-spaced stone buildings. Cyclists, pedestrians, autos, and double-decker buses share the narrow streets, and everyone enjoys the views and the colors. The following three pictures were taken as we walked from our cottage about a quarter mile toward the center of town.
An autumn walk through Grasmere:
· A brilliant shrub overflowing with lacy leaves barely fits between a stonewall and the stone cottage where we stayed (top left).
· An oak tree shows some yellows and orange (top right).
· A garden shop has a variety of colorful shrubs along a path that serves as a sidewalk in the center of Grasmere (bottom).
From the center of town, it is a two-mile walk to Easedale Tarn, a lovely lake nestled between cliffs and ridges that affords a view toward the town and the fells.
October 19, 2024. The view toward Grasmere from the top of the trail to Easedale Tarn.
Side Trips from Grasmere
About ten years ago, we gave up renting cars in England. Not only was it expensive to do so, but it was also difficult to find parking places, and the narrow roads in the Lake District are best left to the professionals. We take trains to get to Windermere, the largest town in the Lake District, and from there we take a bust to Grasmere. The first few days, we’re happy to walk the colorful streets of the village and the pleasant pathways along the Rothay River and the lake. We also have a choice of many other days out, using the frequent bus service to reach nearby villages and trailheads (and pubs). Eventually we’re ready to tackle more adventurous treks, like the trail to Easedale Tarn.
Holehird Gardens
Holehird Gardens is one of our favorite destinations in the Lake District. The gardens which are part of an old estate, include landscaped terraces, rock gardens, and an enclosed formal garden with extraordinary flowers and a greenhouse featuring orchids. To reach the gardens, we first take the bus from Grasmere to Windermere, enjoying the view from the upper deck across the meadows and lakes toward the hillsides. The two-mile walk to Holehird Gardens begins right across the street from the bus station, and it soon passes through woods and farmyards. The final stretch of this walk takes us across fields with cows and sheep, between a farmhouse and its outbuildings, and down another field to a gate that brings us to the top of the Gardens.
October 14, 2024. Walking through farm fields with views to the heathered hillsides as we approached Holehird Gardens.
Even in late October, the flowers and shrubs in this wonderful garden are spectacular!
A bench at the top of the terraced gardens offered a view displaying all the colors of the rainbow!
Brilliant asters reminded us of the ones crowding trails and roadsides in the North Country.
After spending an hour or two in the garden, we walk down the hillside on a couple of narrow roads to catch the bus back to Grasmere.
Coffin Road
A couple of hundred years ago, in rural England, devout families insisted on burying their loved ones in a consecrated cemetery, such as the one by St. Oswald’s Church in Grasmere. As you would have expected had you ever contemplated the situation facing the bereaved families of that era, there could be considerable difficulty in moving the deceased to the nearest road that could be traveled by a proper horse-drawn hearse. The problem was similar to the problem facing a hiker who breaks a leg high on the side of Franconia Ridge. The solution then, as now, was to have a bunch of volunteers carry the unfortunate individual down the trail in order to reach modern transportation.
Since people died much more regularly in remote areas at the time of Longfellow and Dickens than die today above tree-line, our forebears worked out a way to assist the pall bearers. Trails leading from remote areas to places like Grasmere were enhanced by ensuring that large, flat-topped stones were located every hundred yards or so along the way so that the coffin could be placed on them while the bearers took a rest (and perhaps a swig or two of one of the predecessors of the real ales now on tap in the nearby pubs). One of these trails, now called the Coffin Road, provides us a quiet walk along a hillside above Grasmere and Rydal Water. As we follow this trail, we take plenty of time to enjoy the views from the conveniently placed coffin stones.
October 21, 2024. We enjoyed this view of the hills from while sitting on a convenient resting place along the Coffin Road.
Eventually, we reach the end of the trail at a leading down to Rydal Hall, a tea shop, a couple of stone residences, a highly picturesque waterfall, and, most importantly, the Badger Bar, one of our favorite Lake District pubs. First, we take a short walk along a rushing stream and through the edge of the gardens in front of the Hall.
October 21, 2024. The wealthy owner of Rydal Hall had this little hut placed at the best point to view the waterfall found below the end of the Coffin Road.
We then head to the Badger Bar. After a pint plus a lamb chop or a steak & ale pie, we’re ready to catch the bus back to Grasmere and enjoy the short walk to our cottage.
Rain & Clouds
If you have ever spent a few days in the countryside in Merry Old England, you will certainly have witnessed scenes of hillsides, stone buildings, and little streams such as we enjoyed last month. Unless you were extremely lucky, you would also have noticed the clouds, fog, drizzle, light rain and downpours that make the countryside so perfect for gardeners, tourists and sheep. Thus, in the essay about Lake District colors, it would be remiss not to mention that portions of many and perhaps most days are too cloudy and wet for optimal viewing of autumnal colors. That doesn’t necessarily diminish the beauty of the landscape, however, as cloudy, moist conditions can bring a brooding majesty to the hills seen dimly across one of the lakes or fields.
October 22, 2024. The view from the Keswick across Derwent Water toward the Jaws of Borrowdale, was once described by one of the Lake poets as “the third best view in Europe.” We’re not sure about such high praise, but the view is certainly magnificent, especially in the mood created by the glowering clouds and distant mists.
