** The Lake District **
GRASMERE!!


This is the 5 January 2005 Edition of this page.

19:September:2004 (Sunday)

I finished my packing after about a week.

20:September:2004 (Monday)


I walked from home at 8.15 am to arrive at the JBC depot in Newtown Road. Being that early, I was FIRST there and greeted by ROBIN, our driver - and said "you've got your normal seat [no.8]". There were names on most seats ! However, not everyone was ready at ANY stop! Most had misunderstood the 'timing instructions', having read the 'blue sheet' instead of their tickets. This meant, in the worst case, that women turned up an hour (plus) late at the car park in Great Malvern.

Frantic calls were made by our driver to JBC's "base" - as he tried to resolve the problem. Eventually, we heard, another driver was to pick them up, and deposit them to us all - waiting in a layby North of DROITWICH. Bad traffic affected US and the 'reserve' coach - but we departed from North Droitwich ONE HOUR late. Thereafter, we made good-time - but by then we needed the 'break' around STAFFORD.

We arrived in the mid-afternoon at the THISTLE HOTEL in Grasmere - and started by 'settling in', sorting out, finding the coffee and the walks around the garden. (I went for the walk straight away - but the rains started just after it - and left everyone else in the lurch for 2-3 days until it stopped!) My 'room- coffee' kept me going until the evening dinner and I got my notes up-to-date.

[Our route, today, was from Malvern via Upton, Worcester, Droitwich, the M5, M6 (using the Stafford 'services' and some further north), the J36 and A590 to the Kendal bypass, the A591 and the Windermere bypass, Ambleside, Rydal to Grasmere.

In the evening, the meal was from 7pm until 8.30pm - and then it transferred to the coffee lounge for chats and discussions. My meal was a 'mushroom thingy' for starters, then pork and 'veg' for the first course with fruit cocktail following for the 'sweet course'.

Bed and TV in the evening went from about 10pm - after a tiring day!

21:September:2004 (Tuesday)


I got an early awakening, by way of rain on my windows - so I made some coffee ('decaf' this time) at 4.45am, followed by some note-writing and map-reading.

I, then, did some sorting and preparing for the day - at KESWICK & DERWENTWATER. Being still early, I went back to bed at 5.30am - for a rest - until woken up by the 'shower people' at 6.30am.. I then got up, made more coffee and got dressed.

I watched the 'News' from 7.00am onwards - and then went to breakfast a quarter of an hour earlier than the scheduled 8am.. There, I got some fruits (unfortunately in a mild state of fermentation!!), some fruit juice, cake, coffee and a small fried breakfast.

I left before 8.30am and returned to my own room (No207) and watched BBC News etc before browsing the rest of the channels.

Then it was time to go down and meet my friends and chat before catching the coach for KESWICK - which we took the A591 to get to. Stopping there for 3 hours, it was a matter of mooching around, exploring, eating sandwiches and icecreams before visiting their MOTOR-MUSEUM. Due to the HEAVY rain, I returned to the coach and waited for the weather to improve!

When it did, I went out with my umbrella (this time!) for a bite to eat - devouring a sausage and an item like a cheese pastie!

At 2pm, it was time to get in the coach and motor to DERWENTWATER where we caught a LAUNCH for a 50 minute ride across and along the lake (about a 6 mile ride). During this rain-free cruise we had a local farmer to relate and amuse us about the many islands on the lake, the history of the area and the 'owners' of various places.

THAT time was the ONLY good weather for the day! We got back to the WATER'S EDGE RESTAURANT (a cafe) for our refreshments (and I had my first DOUBLE ice-cream for many years!) After that 'binge', we got back on the coach and returned to GRASMERE, - and prepared for the evening meal.

The meal was rather fraught, on our table, by its having been 'set up' for MORE people than could be fitted in! It also meant less food for members of the table - and ROBIN (our driver) was rather WORRIED about his MESSAGE, yesterday, having been lost due to staff-movements. We were promised that it'll be solved by tomorrow's BREAKFAST! ("HOW?", we all wondered)

My meal had a 'starter' of DEEP FRIED BRIE with the main course of CHICKEN & vegetables - with a 'sweet' of CREPE SUZETTE - followed by chats in a drink area (where I re-met another couple that I'd earlier seen on the Harlech trip.) We also chatted with a newer couple that we'd met on Derwentwater today!

I left the chat at 9pm for the ITV programme (in my own room) on the ABBA REUNION - lasting an hour and a half! As usual, it was good music and great songs.

22:September:2004 (Wednesday)


I had a good night's sleep, only toiletting once during the night - and even LATER than when at home! I got up and did my daily preparations from 6.25am..

The seating arrangements, for our table, had been solved by their creation of a third table for our GROUP. For example, instead of there being 7 or 8 on each side, - on our new Table 11 there were only 4 on each side!! It was a good breakfast, also because we were now much closer to the buffet-style servery! I got hot and cold items into the meal.

Then we were into our coach for the 9.30am departure via AMBLESIDE, WINDERMERE, A592, KIRKSTONE PASS and PATTERDALE to PENRITH (for 3 hours plus) where we did shopping, sightseeing and eating before the return to RHEGED (for 2hours) for the 'big screen' (not GIANT SCREEN - that description has to be reserved for the IMAX system -which has better size, resolution, sound and everything!! T'was a kinda-letdown after the excitement!)

The return route via the Kirkstone Pass was far better than on the way up, because this time it had no clouds and rain to spoil the viewing in this wild country! Within an hour and a half, we were back fordinner - having completed a 58 mile round-trip. That dinner was good, involving a starter of vegetable soup, a first course of TURKEY & vegetables, the sweet course of "Bread & Butter Pudding" (a less fattening version!) - before we went to the 'chat-room' for our coffees, where some women had saved a seat for me with them!

Back in my room later, I found 'bulb and fuse failures' (which I then reported to reception). The girl there, with an impressive response said that she'd send a guy round 'straight away'. It was no idle boast - he caught up with me on the way back to my room!! His service was even more IMPRESSIVE - even curing two more faults that I didn't know about!!

23:September:2004 (Thursday)

I had another good night's sleep - and got up at 6.30am to prepare for the day! This included 'decaf' coffee in my own room. Next, it was a cooked breakfast, with all components in an unusual order!

Then, I walked to GRASMERE village (just 6 minues from the hotel!) and moseyed around until others arrived later. I chatted with each, individually when they got to the village. Thereafter, I made two to three laps of the village, looking at everything - before having a BLUEBERRY scone with butter at a little 'eatery'.

Following that, I walked back to the hotel via the famous DOVE COTTAGE. Then I relaxed in my room with some 'decaf' and some note-writing, map reading and a bit of research into Maryport.

I, then, caught the coach to RYDAL MOUNT - for the group to visit Wordsworth's House whilst I went on my own walks to Rydal and some Rambler's Paths. In these paths I found a TeaRoom (for ice-cream!) - before my return to the coach for its onward journey to AMBLESIDE, where I had another walk and a meal. The waitress in this small emporium heard what I had ordered (a Cornish Pastie) and input it to her palm-held computer (evidently connected direct to the kitchen).

This produced an impressively past response. After that pleasant surprise, I chatted with our group whilst waiting for Robin's coach - and this took as directly back to our GRASMERE HOTEL. Arriving back there well in time for dinner, I rested on the bed - when, soon, a very FAST JET skimmed over the hills (frighteningly so!)

This being the final day of this trip, it occured to me that I hadn't taken any photos - even here in the 'Lakes'! That was sure unusual!

24:September:2004 (Friday)


After a good breakfast from about 8am, I relaxed in my room (having, already, put my case OUT at 7.35am) and watched TV. However, from 9.30am (after our cases had been loaded, I could see that Robin had completed this from my first floor bedroom window), I went down to the foyer to join members of our 'group' and to saunter across the 'drive' and load ourselves onto the coach.

We were to depart from there just before 10am, via Ambleside, Windermere and by exactly the same route (naturally going the opposite way) as our route here on Monday.

A single "motorway services area" stop was made after some horrendous traffic on the M6 - but the 2nd stop (on the fringes of Birmingham) was avoided to keep Robin's "hours" and the 'tachograph' legal. Thus we had to have an extra quarter of an hour 'hold' at WORCESTER before progressing (unfortunately, the "rarely open cafe" let us down again - so no refreshments!!). The toilets WERE open so part of the stop was not wasted! Because of the lack of the 'refreshment-facility', we departed 10 minutes earlier than our modified plan.

That meant that we could be home in 'good time' and that I could 'fire-up' the Zanussi and generally start my unpacking! Once home, I could calculate my 'trip expenses' and enter them on my 'retiress.123' spreadsheet and the total miles (from Autoroute on the 486 computer) before doing the 'totmiles.123' updates.

I could then just relax with my 'video recordings' of what I'd missed on TV whilst way.


Return to The year 2004 index-page
Return to Roy's home page for full list of books, travelogues etc either finished or under preparation.