my heart leaps up
I don't have a whole lot to say about Newcastle upon Tyne, really. It was pleasant, but didn't offer too much in the way of things to explore or examine. If I had more time/a car, I could see the Newcastle would be a good base for treks about Hadrian's Wall. As it was, though, I enjoyed my day in Newcastle, but the only real thing that I was able to explore was the Great North Museum. That said, the Great North Museum was very interesting. There is an excellent overview of the cultural histories of the area, of the construction and society surrounding Hadrian's Wall, and the animal life in the area. Since I was largely unfamiliar with the flora and fauna of the area (weasels are much smaller than I had imagined), this was pretty intriguing. I did meet a girl and her dad who had cycled across from the east coast. He was a British immigrant to Canada and she (born and raised in Canada) had been transferred to Bristol for her job. They were both kind and interesting, and I had a nice tea, dinner, and breakfast with them. Jen also offered to meet me for a drink or dinner in Bristol, but I didn't take her up on the offer due to my utter and complete exhaustion by the time I got there. haha. At any rate, my moderately uninteresting day in Newcastle was certainly made up for by my exquisite two days in Keswick.
I find it quite difficult to describe Keswick and the way it infuses you with majesty and beauty. Honestly, I would be flinging adjectives and adverbs around in a most irresponsible way were I to attempt it. Therefore I suppose you'll be forced to wait for the photographs. There are two things that can best convey the absolutely devestating beauty of this area: even grey, misty rain could not quell the effect, and I finally understand Wordsworth's muse. It was an enchanting place to be and to walk around. And walk around is definitely what I did. It rained much of the afternoon I arrived, so I found a couch in the hostel on which to curl up and read while my various batteries recharged. The rain stopped around 8 or so, so I headed out to take a look at Derwentwater, the lake against which Keswick sits. I happened upon a lovely older couple from Yorkshire and had a little chat before going separate ways to explore the shore. The lake is lovely, ringed by mountains and surrounded by a rocky shore. I was completely unable to find a good skipping stone, though, despite a very focused search. Ah well.
The next day I struck out upon two separate walks. After a lovely breakfast (by the way, yogurt is...odd here, at least all the yogurt I've had...rather more 'slimy' than creamy), I set off to the tourist info to find two walks for the day. The morning involved about a 3 mile venture to the Stone Circle and back. I found it all quite interesting when I discovered that a significant part of my walk involved trekking through sheep feilds. Of course, that then involved some avoidance of sheep droppings as well, haha, but it was really a nice, countryside experience. Not only did I have my first sheep-field trek on my way to the Stone Circle, I also climed a step-stile for the first time. I'm sure everyone wanted to know that. :-P When I returned to town, I grabbed a sandwich and took a few minutes to find some slightly travelled Beatrix Potter books at a bookstore. After catching up on my necessary internet tasks, I embarked on my second trek of the day: scaling Latrigg. Not as impressive as it sounds. Haha. It was a mediumish climb. Nothing like climbing Skiddaw, a thing I for which I was not prepared, thus the more accessible climb. I chanced to meet a lady from theeast coast (Norwich, maybe?) and her dog Buster who were also climbing Latrigg. We had a lovely walk and chat. She (and family) had been to the States several times, so it was interesting to compare travel notes and experiences. I ended the day's trek with stop at the Cumberland Pencil Museum. Despite how silly that might sound, it was rather interesting. I learned quite a bit I didn't know about making pencils, and I got a free pencil as a souvenir. Score! :-D There is also a James Bond museum there that I was unable to see, unfortunately.
And I'll close with a very interesting experience I had that evening. I grabbed the rest of my sandwich from lunch and an apple and headed to the 'telly lounge' to watch the news and eat. I was far too tired to entertain thougts of going out for dinners and was rather uninterested in the hostel's restaurant offerings. After a bit (and following a lovely chat with an Australian lady which involved showing each other different monies haha), a man comes in and asks if it would be all right if he were to bring in his instrument and practice. "Sure. That's no problem." A few minutes later he returns with a case, opens it, and produces...a hurdy gurdy! It was quite fascinating to see one (I had never see one before) and to watch/hear him play. It's a very intriguing and just-plain-fun instrument. It was a lovely close to my time in the Lake District.
***This description is entirely unworthy of what Keswick was like. I urge you to click below and enjoy the pictures. :-)
Photos of Keswick