Real views on UK Outings & Minibreaks
The Lake District Minibreak
Day 2
On our second day, we both got up and went down for breakfast. There is a large breakfast area on the ground floor. Through the double doors you get a lovely view of the river.
At the door, we were greeted and shown to our table. When we sat down we ordered a pot of tea and coffee. The coffee was so nice I kept ordering more.
It's a help yourself arrangement for the food so you can pick and choose the items you want without just getting a set menu. Plus, you can go back as many times as you want.
On long tables there are all sorts of delights. There are sausages, bacon, hash browns, tomatoes, mushrooms, scrambled egg, toast and croissants.
We would have preferred fried egg instead of scrambled. So we asked about that when they came with the tea and coffee. There was no problem and in a couple of minutes there brought them to our table. In fact, every morning after that, they would ask us if we wanted fried egg as soon as we came through the door. Also, worth mentioning, you can also have poached eggs if you like.
If you like cold breakfast foods, they had various cereals, fresh fruit, yoghurt, fruit juices, and some other things. I can't remember everything they had. But there is plenty of choice.
After downing my last cup of coffee, we made a move as we wanted to go out for the day.
Bowness on Windermere
We decided we would go to Bowness and fancied going on a boat ride around lake Windermere. So off we went after we got ready.
When we got there, we found plenty of parking spaces. We parked in a car park along the lakeside road, further up from where the boat trips set off. When walked back down toward the boat trip area, we noticed there were parking bays along the side of the road. But it was ok as Debbie's blue badge meant we got free parking in the car park we were in.
You get a lovely view across the lake as you walk along. We loved that as we enjoyed taking a few photos. Along the lake side, there are several places where you can get food and drink. Maybe we'll go to one of those later. Debbie also saw a couple of gift shops. We planned to look at in those later.
We arrived at the jetty where you could take a boat trip. We bought tickets at the booth and it wasn't long before the next boat was ready to set off. So we joined the queue and followed the other people on.
The day wasn't the warmest so we decided to sit inside. However, Ian thought of taking some photos and wandered outside after the boat set off. He took a few photos which were ok, but said he would get photos from the shore. So he came back inside.
The boat stops at different places around lake where you can get off if you wish to explore. Then you can get the next boat. But make sure you check times so you don't miss the last one. Otherwise, you'll have a long walk back to Bowness. Today we decided to stay on board and just enjoy going round the lake.
When we got off the boat, we fancied a hot drink. There are many places you can go for a drink in Bowness. We found a lovely little cafe called, The Old Pump House Coffee Shop. If you turn right when you come off the boat trip jetty and walk along, you'll see it on your left. We got a couple of hot chocolates with cream on top. Yum! Our favourite. It has a warm homely atmosphere inside. There are all these old fashioned adverts on the walls. We spent a while looking at them all. (Debbie took a photo.) We also noticed there were dogs sat with their owners. So it's dog friendly too.
When we came out, we saw a large number of birds on the grass opposite. I guessed these were Canada Geese. But just to be sure, I checked on my phone. Sure enough. I was right. It said Bowness is known for these birds. I wonder why they like Bowness? Mmm.
If you find you need the toilet, be warned. I had to find one quickly. I spotted a sign saying, Toilets. So off I rushed. When I got inside, there was a turnstile barrier with a machine to take payment. I got change from my pocket only to notice it said card only. It said, 40p. Forty pence to use a toilet!
I had no choice so I waved my card. The machine wouldn't accept it. Grrr. Another man came out and said it's ok and paid with his card. I offered to give him the 40p but he declined. Then I turned round only to see the barrier had closed again. He laughed and waved his card again. This time I quickly went in and thanked him.
So if you need a toilet, look for other places. That's what we did from then on. It's surprising. We found if you are polite and ask in cafe's and bars, most of the time they let you use the toilets even if you're not a customer.
We wanted swimming goggles to use in the swimming pool at the hotel So we went up the hill into Bowness where all the shops are. There are many shops and cafe's. But be warned. The prices are higher in the cafe's as Bowness is very popular with tourists. We also noticed a shop that just sold Christmas goods. Unusual, as this shop was open all year round. As it was only two months till Christmas, we went in and ended up buying some tree ornaments.
There are also several charity shops. Debbie and I had a look in these as you can often get a good bargain and it also helps others through the charity.
We did find a couple of shops that sold sporting goods. Unfortunately, none of these had swimming goggles. However, in one shop, they said we should get them in a shop that sold aquatic goods. They said we could find it if we walked back along the road next to the lake.
After a few more shops, we walked back along past the boat trips to see if we could buy swimming goggles. Along the way, we went into the gift shops and bought a some gifts and also some fridge magnets to remind us of our time there.
At the far end of the road, we finally found the place we were told may sell swimming goggles. At first, we didn't see any and were disappointed. So we ask the woman at the till and she directed us to the other end of the store. Hooray! There they were.
So that evening we both went to the swimming pool. It was also enjoyable relaxing in the jacuzzi, sauna and steam room. We went there every evening we were there.
We also noticed an unexpected benefit from using the sauna and steam room. We both commented later how much better our skin looked. Since our lakes mini-break, we have kept up the sauna and steam room at a local swimming pool near our home.