Warwick and Lake District

 Lake District via Warwick

Just a couple of months back we decided to do a road trip to the Lake District from London with a stopover in Warwick. Since we were travelling with two grandchildren, we did not want to do a straight run.

Enroute to the Lake District we stopped over at Warwick, after a brief halt at RHS (Royal Horticulture Society) Garden, Wisley, which is a large and diverse garden covering 240 acres. In addition to numerous formal and informal decorative gardens, several glasshouses and an extensive arboretum, it includes a trials field where new cultivars are assessed. 

It was lovely! After admiring all the beautiful flowers, primarily tulips, on we drove to Warwick.

Warwick is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England. 

It has ancient origins and an array of historic buildings, notably from the Medieval, Stuart and Georgian eras. 

It was a major fortified settlement from the early Middle Ages, the most notable relic of this period being Warwick Castle, a major tourist attraction. Much was destroyed in the Great Fire of Warwick in 1694 and then rebuilt with fine 18th century buildings.

The Warwick Castle is a medieval castle developed from a wooden fort originally built by William the Conqueror during 1068. The original wooden motte-and-bailey castle overlooking the River Avon was rebuilt in stone during the 12th century.

We visited the castle mainly to attend the ‘The Falconer’s Quest’ which is the UK’s largest birds of prey display, located on the Riverside Arena at Warwick Castle. 

The spectacular, twice-daily show features over 60 free-flying birds—including massive Andean Condors and Steller's Sea Eagles—swooping directly overhead while narrating an epic medieval storyline. It is a show worth attending! It was an amazing show and the kids couldn’t stop talking about the birds of prey they had witnessed!

After a restful night in Warwick we moved on to the Lake District!

Finally fulfilled a long standing desire of visiting the Lake District. Possibly it was destined that I visit it with my wife, daughter, son in law and grandchildren though I still wish I could have visited when I was younger so that I could have gone trekking in the mountains there. Now it was different but thoroughly enjoyable too with the family. 

The weather was surprisingly great with just a few drizzles now and then hence could spend time by the Windermere Lake where there were plenty of gulls and ducks demanding attention along with the grandkids.

Apart from spending time by the lake we also visited the very well-maintained Lakeland Motor Museum and the Lakes Aquarium. Both were educative and fascinating visits.

The Lakeland Motor Museum is a museum located at Backbarrow, Cumbria, England which houses a collection of classic cars, motorcycles, bicycles, pedal cars and motoring related items and memorabilia and an exhibition dedicated to the land and water speed record activities of Sir Malcolm Campbell and his son Donald Campbell.

The Museum was established in Grange-over-Sands in 1978 as an extra attraction for the Holker Hall stately home. The museum was created by Donald Sidebottom to contain the collection of cars and related memorabilia that he had been collecting since the 1960s. In 2006, the collection was purchased by a subsidiary company of Winander Group Holdings Ltd, which also own Windermere Lake Cruises.

After more than thirty years at Holker Hall, the museum relocated to the sheds at Backbarrow in 2010. The museum features a unique collection of over 30,000 motoring related exhibits including a 1920s garage re-creation.

The Lakes Aquarium is an aquarium in the village of Lakeside on the southern shore of Windermere, Cumbria, England. It is one of the docking points of Windermere Lake Cruises and also at one end of the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway. It is the third most visited paying tourist attraction in Cumbria.

It opened in 1997 as The Aquarium of the Lakes when the displays followed the theme of a Lake District stream, flowing down into the lake and then on to Morecambe Bay. During 2008 it was re-branded as the Lakes Aquarium, with a theme of the lakes of the world. The attraction is now owned by Spanish leisure company Parques Reunidos, who own and operate 67 parks across the world.

The Lakes Aquarium contains both freshwater and salt water aquatic animals. It was fascinating to watch and learn about fishy tales and their lives.

After spending a couple of fun days in the Lake District we drove back to London without any overnight halts. 

The van was abuzz with talks of what was seen and done during the extended weekend well spent!

Dear Mrs.Bird - Book review

Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pearce
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Very well written tale about how people carry on with their lives during war.
This story is based in London when the Germans are bombing the city all over the place leaving behind scenes of absolute destruction. In this scenario you will find the residents resilient to all the destruction around and do fall in and out of love, have parties and run to and fro to work in whatever means of transport available without giving a second thought to 'what next'.
It deals wih the role of an agony aunt during the war.
The author has maintained the stiff upper lip humour right through the book which doesn't bore or depress you with the rigours and tragedies of war alone.
Loved the description of the prevailing architecture.
'It was a dear little Georgian house, surrounded by weeping willows and with such symmetrical windows it looked as if a child had told an architect exactly how a house should be designed.'
The horrors of war are brought forth brilliantly in this sentence - 'A man was slumped over a table as if he was drunk. I didn't see his face, but I saw that his hands were gone.'
The author very succintly explains why life seems casual - 'If Hitler had his way, no one would ever care about anyone, or anything other than him and his appalling ideas. Well my dear, You must know that that is fascism and Hitler is a fool. The day we stop caring or showing we are human is the day we mght just as well give in.'
The characterisation is on the spot and like everything else in the book the author maintains a level headed approach to all situations without going overboard.
For a debut novel it is excellent and a must read if you like British humour and writing.

View all my reviews

Christmas in London

Christmas in London is a treat for the senses – sight, sound and taste buds – all are stimulated during this week of hedonism.

Had read about it, seen pictures of the festival and now finally experienced it!

The city of London is literally lit up like the proverbial Christmas tree. 

Mulled wine and Beer

There is a fun festival at the Hyde Park grounds called the Winter Wonderland, a festival for the children and adults too. It has some amazing rides, a skating rink and the usual shooting stalls and ring the gift stalls

The pubs and restaurants have Christmas decorations too and on the way to these on the streets you are bound to see Santas in a hurry to go somewhere or the homeless spreading some Christmas cheer.

The streets and buildings along the street seem to compete with each other to outshine each other!

Then you have the glow taxis or the glowing cycle rickshaws playing lively music to attract customers for a ride around the tourist haunts.

On Christmas day all public transport comes to a halt and you have to make do with taxis or private cars to travel around.

Overall it is fun times for all!

Streetart, Graffiti and murals.

Whenever you visit London do remember to visit Shoreditch and Bricklane for the amazing Streetart, Graffiti and Murals there. This area now has become a great tourist attraction and Bricklane has plenty of Asian cuisine restaurants too! So food for the mind and body is guaranteed!

In the nineties this area was not a place for ‘art’ and was frequently in the news for wrong reasons. It saw the rise of warring gangs which led to graffiti whereby each gang marked their territory by spraying the walls with their signatures. Graffiti was and even now is illegal though the rule is overlooked in this part of London.Gradually it evolved into political statements and gave rise to a now prominent artist ‘Banksy’ whose work is unfortunately no longer there. But there are famous artists from all over Europe leaving their mark on the walls there. This has also led to a lot of purists complaining that Street art is now more of a platform for artists who want to become famous. Have compiled a short video of the Streetart, Graffiti and murals that I shot there.

Do remember that these might not be there when you visit as the art keeps changing and evolving.

You can either take the many walking tours that take you there or if you wish to do it at your own pace you can check this out. We took the Strawberryfree walking tours and were not disappointed. Either which way do visit it for a fun day in London!

A visit to Camden Market, London

A visit to Camden Market in London is a must! It is fun! You can shop for all types of handicrafts, beauty accessories and while shopping if you feel hungry there is a wide variety of food to choose from. 

We even spotted the town crier!

If thirsty go drink that glass of mulled wine!

Or maybe pick up some books to read on that rainy day!

This is one market that is a place for a day out with the family! Fun for all!

If you are interested in the history of Camden market, click here