If I told you I came here because of a vegetarian restaurant, you would not be surprised.
If I told you I left with the most profound sense of peace and serenity, you might be.
"Here" is Ambleside, at the north end of Lake Windemere, the largest lake in England, in the middle of the "lake district." It's easy to see why the area is so wet -- hilly terrain on the western edge of England soaks up moisture blowing off the Atlantic like a sponge. They had some torrential rain just before I arrived, and everywhere I went water was flowing -- down paths, through walls.
I am here because my work requires me to do a presentation at a hospital nearby. Normally they have me travelling Tuesday through Thursday, so I never get an opportunity to "extend" my travels, but in this case the client requested Monday morning, which meant I had to come up the night before, which meant I came up the day before that. A weekend in the Lake District for £80 is not bad.
Taking the train through the countryside, I couldn't believe it had taken me four years before returning. And I say "returning" because I actually was in Ambleside 9 years ago, although then I didn't get off the boat.
It was 2003 when Dawn and I did a 2-week whirlwind tour of England. We had taken the train but at a connecting junction, I managed to get on the train going the wrong way. I realised it right away, but it was 20 minutes to the next station, a 2 hour wait for the next train, and another 40 minutes to get back to the Windemere. By the time we got to the lake, the last ferry of the day was leaving, so we took a round-trip tour and then left.
So it was with a certain sense of accomplishment that I actually get off the boat today, even though I had no idea why I was there or what was to do. I hadn't done any research, had no itinerary, the only thing I had was a note of the vegetarian restaurant, although I had no idea where I'd heard about it. So I set off on the 1-mile hike into town to find the restaurant (like most of the restaurants there) did not open until 5:30pm. The last ferry left at 5:40pm. Clearly this was not meant to be.
Fortunately, I'd bought some carrot sticks and hummus at the local shop, along with a bottle of water, so I had a reasonably healthy meal. There was a church spire nearby so I followed that; at the church there was a sign for a park so I followed that; past the park there was a road that followed a stream into the hills, so I followed that.
Now I have to mention I was listening to music, and obviously music has an influence on your mood. That last time I had a perfect moment was in 2001 or 2002, driving through the Colorado Rockies. I had just purchased the soundtrack to the "Lord of the Rings" movie, and the music was haunting, which really accentuated the raw and rugged nature of the mountains.
Today I was listening to a CD I bought last week in celebration of the Queen's diamond jubilee. It had a number of patriotic songs such as Jerusalem, Land of Hope and Glory, Rule Britannia, plus songs associated with the monarchy including the national anthem (God Save the Queen) and Zadok the Priest (the coronation anthem). I didn't actually choose this music, it just happened to be playing on my mp3 player, and the combination of walking through such beautiful countryside and listening to such overwhelming music, and feeling such pride in this adopted country of mine, After all the bad news I've gotten over the past three weeks, it just helped me put everything in perspective, to find what was important, and to release all of the stress I'd been feeling. It was amazing.
It was also short-lived. My mp3 player is my phone, as is my sat nav, and the battery died just as I decided to turn around and head back. I didn't bring a map, I had no idea where I was, and every time I came to a fork I was literally scouring the area for clues as to which way I'd come. Amazingly, I did make it make all right, although looking at a map later I realised I could have taken a much more direct route.
No matter, the ferry was pulling up just as I arrived, so I bought a cup of tea and relaxed for the 35-minute boat ride, know when I got to Bowness I would have to walk 1.5 miles
uphill to the train station.
I even lucked out there--the train runs every hour, but I only had to wait 10 minutes. When I got back to Kendal, it was only a 1 mile walk to the hotel, but I had other ideas.
The night before, I had walked through the town center which was all pretty sleepy (on a summer Saturday!) except for a Chinese takeway that was
packed. I thought to myself, "They must be very good" although in retrospect I should have said, "They must be very good or very cheap." As I paid £8 for three dishes, I should have known.
They also didn't give me any utensils, so I was using my fingers to munch on fried tofu (or 'beancurd' as they like to call it) as I walked through a park, over a footbridge, down several side streets, and up a footpath to my destination: the ruins of Kendal castle, on top of a hill and overlooking the valley. There I sat on the grass, enjoying the solitude and the sun that had just started to poke through the clouds, and using my fingers to eat sweet and sour vegetables and rice. That's when a bus-load of Chinese tourists arrived. I think they actually approved of the way I was eating.
When finished, I laid back in the grass and closed my eyes. A moment later I was woken by a small black dog licking the sweet and source sauce off the corners of my lips. The owner was suitably horrified and came running over, but by this time the dog had discovered the bits of rice that had dropped into my lap, and was now burrowing into my crotch.
As the dog was carried away, I decided to get going as well. It was trying to leave a different way than I had come, and got lost a couple of times, but finally found the exit and got back on the right road, which took me back to the hotel. I calculated I had walked 12 miles that day, and could definitely feel it in my thighs.
Tomorrow should be an easy day--someone else is doing the bulk of the presentation; I'm just eye candy--and we should be done by 2pm. I even brought a DVD to watch on my laptop on the train ride home.
Pictures should be posted on Tuesday, and I definitely won't let another nine years lapse before I return. In fact, someone recommended a B&B in the area but it's a "self-catering" service that you rent by the week, with a minimum of 2 people. That is just another incentive to find someone I want to spend time with...
