From Friday, September 20th to Saturday, September 28th, I journeyed across the UK by train, stopping in London, Windermere, and Edinburgh. In this introduction, I will focus on Windermere, the second city on my trip.

September 23rd (Mon)
Today, I departed from London and made my way to Windermere. I hailed a taxi from my hotel to London Euston station, one of the city’s major terminal stations. Upon arrival, I proceeded to refund the balance on my Oyster card and then checked for the train platform. In contrast to Japan, the platform assignment is not announced until shortly before the train’s departure.

I boarded the 10:30 Avanti West Coast train heading to Glasgow Central and alighted at Lancaster to transfer to a train bound for Windermere. For lunch, I purchased a sandwich and a local beer from the train’s kiosk.

The train to Windermere, which I needed to transfer to before alighting at Lancaster, was cancelled because of staff coordination issues. Consequently, I disembarked at Lancaster and inquired with an apparent station staff member, who advised me to catch the next train to Oxenholme and inquire there about a replacement bus. Upon arrival at Oxenholme station, I found the replacement bus already at capacity, leaving me with no option but to hire a taxi to my hotel. Such inconveniences, I suppose, are part of the travel experience.
The taxi driver, a Hungarian, shared that he was a chemical engineer who had journeyed across the globe, with Israel among his stops, before settling here. Prior to driving a taxi, he served as a hotel concierge. He was quite chatty, regaling me with tales of Windermere’s geography and history during the drive. The place I’m staying at today is named Lakes Hotel & Spa.

After some rest in my room, I chose to stroll through the town of Bowness-on-Windermere, where my hotel was situated. Given its association with Peter Rabbit, the town features a themed shop dedicated to the character.

The street is lined with various restaurants as well.

The hotel has an Asian-style restaurant called Mizumi, which is a Japanese name, and today I had sushi rolls and other dishes.

September 24th (Tue)
Today, I embarked on Mountain Goat’s “Ten Lakes Spectacular,” a full-day coach tour of the Lake District. Participants hailed from various countries, such as the US and China.

The car passed Rydal Water and stopped in the town of Grasmere next to the lake. There is a small shop here that is famous for its ginger bread. Although it is called bread, it is a cookie-like sweet. The small shop was crowded with shoppers.

The car departs from the town, cruising along the shores of Lake Thirlmere towards Derwentwater. Derwentwater can be observed from a location known as Surprise View. In the vicinity, there lies a quaint stone bridge known as Ashness Bridge.

We journeyed through Keswick, a town adjacent to the lake, and made a stop at Honister Slate Mine, known for mining slate and graphite. Inside the facility, there was a shop offering souvenirs crafted from slate. Before us lay a desolate valley, shaped by ancient glaciers.

Our next stop was the nearby Castlerrigg Stone Circle, one of the oldest stone circles in Britain, built around 3000 BC.

Although it was well past lunchtime, we went back to Keswick to eat. The town had numerous restaurants and shops, but due to our limited time, I quickly ordered a dish resembling minced lamb meatballs at a cafe.

After lunch we head to Bassenthwaite Lake, the fourth largest lake in the region, before heading back to Windermere.

Running through the desolate land.

At last, we made our way back to our accommodation at Windermere Lake. Along the route, we encountered numerous sheep pastures, each enclosed by stone fences. The construction of these barriers must have required an immense amount of time.

While the brief tour provided a glimpse of the Lake District, I was left wanting more time to explore the surroundings of Lake Windermere. An additional day would likely have been beneficial. Tomorrow, I depart for Edinburgh.