We love England and we like spending our holidays across the Channel. I cannot but emphasize how beautiful this country is and I cannot but try to convince everyone that London definitely is not England… at all!

So when we went to the Lake District years ago (way back in 2011, can’t believe it’s nearly 6 years ago!!), we were once again in awe of England’s beauty. The Lake District is one of the regions where the English like to go on a holiday themselves so it tends to get quite busy in high season. But I like the fact that it’s not overloaded with Belgian, Dutch or German tourists to be honest!

It was quite a long ride for us as the Lake District is situated in the north of England, near the Scottish borders. We rented a self-catering cottage in the south of the Lake District and every day we visited another part. Today I will tell you a bit more about that day we went to Grasmere.

Grasmere is one of the most popular villages of the Lake District and it all has to do with one of England’s best known poets, William Wordsworth. In the quaint little village are many art galleries, gift shops, tearooms and restaurants.

In the  churchyard you can visit the graves of William Wordsworth and his wife Mary and the grave of Wordsworth’s sister Dorothy.

Near the churchyard is a small building which used to be the village school. These days it is home to the famous Sarah Nelson’s Gingerbread shop. Of course we made a stop inside to buy this famous gingerbread!

We just strolled around a bit, but the main reason we were in Grasmere was, because it was the start of a walking tour we would do: the Coffin Trail.

This trail would lead us up to Rydal Mount, a house Wordsworth once lived in, after which it would take us back down to Grasmere. I had heard that this Coffin Trail was an easy walk, not too strenuous which would be perfect for us… 5 non-trained hikers, the youngest being only 8 at that time!

This walk is called the Coffin Trail as the path was used to convey coffins on their final journey to St Oswalds Chuch in Grasmere… and if someone could do this tour carrying a coffin with a dead body in it, it couldn’t be that hard, could it?

It really was a beautiful walking tour. We were astounded by the breathtaking scenery… so green, so lush, so serene! We had several stops to take plenty of pictures.

About halfway we visited Rydal Mount, the house where William Wordsworth used to live. I can really recommend a visit. The house is lovely to walk around in and the location of the garden is just superb.

After our visit to Rydal Mount, we went to a nearby pub to have lunch. The tour (about 9 km) turned out to be a bit too long and too hard for the two youngest and as there was a bus stop near the pub we decided to take the bus back to Grasmere. We could sit on top of the red double-decker which gave us some lovely views over the countryside.

We thoroughly enjoyed this day in the Lake District… and seeing all these pics again, makes me want to do it all over again!

Below this post you can read a poem by William Wordsworth.

Love, Kathleen

Here you can read a travelpost about Brighton!

The Daffodils

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed–and gazed–but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

William Wordsworth

Published at Rydal Mount, 1815