Friday, August 29
Our day started with a drive to visit a 17th century farmhouse. Townend was built in 1626 and remained in the hands of the same family for eleven generations (more than 300 years) before it was taken over by the National Trust in 1943. The house is considered an extraordinary relic for its architecture and furnishings. There were also 300 years of written records that came with the house. This included bills and family letters that provided a unique look into daily life across those centuries. We also learned that Woodrow Wilson was a paying guest at the house (before he became President of the United States) while doing family genealogical research in the area.
Then we stopped off at the village of Hawkshead for a walk in its pedestrian-only city center of white-washed buildings before continuing on to Tarn Hows. Tarn means "small mountain lake" and Tarn Hows was donated by Beatrix Potter (The Tale of Peter Rabbit) to the National Trust in 1930. The area is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is home to some of the few remaining native red squirrels. We did not see any red squirrels on our walk around the Tarn but we did see some interesting cows.
Afterwards, we took a ride on the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway steam train. The round-trip ride started at Windermere Lake and went along the Leven River.
Then we stopped off at the village of Hawkshead for a walk in its pedestrian-only city center of white-washed buildings before continuing on to Tarn Hows. Tarn means "small mountain lake" and Tarn Hows was donated by Beatrix Potter (The Tale of Peter Rabbit) to the National Trust in 1930. The area is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is home to some of the few remaining native red squirrels. We did not see any red squirrels on our walk around the Tarn but we did see some interesting cows.
