The journey to Windermere
Today, Saturday, we set off for our weeks stay at a timeshare exchange in the Lake District. We have some general observations about the road system in England. First, you have the Motorways, or M’s as they are called over here. They are like our freeways or Interstates and are high speed and very nice.
Next, there are the A roads. We have decided that not all A’s are created equal. We feel that there should be different classifications of A’s. First, there are the “A+” roads. These roads have a center divider and two lanes in each direction, and a wide shoulder. They also have right turn off lanes not left like in America. A regular “A” road would have a single lane in each direction with a center line. There would also be wide shoulders and roundabouts. Now this leads us to the “A-“roads. They are narrower and do not have much of a shoulder. We have decided that the person who categorizes the roads needs to have his head examined. Howard kept insisting that we were not on an “A” road. According to the map, it was designated “A” for that area. However, we feel that if anything, these “A- -” roads are really “B’s”. The lanes are generally very narrow, without shoulders, and possibly have rock walls or hedge rows. In addition, they usually occur on very windy stretches of road with blind curves. It is most interesting to say the least.
The “B” roads are generally less developed “A’s”. Quite often you have to straddle the center line in order not to hit the walls or go into a ditch. As for “C” roads, they truly are country lanes. No lines and barely wide enough for two cars to pass.
Now then, on A, B, or C roads you may be slowed down by a tractor or pony cart. You have to wait patiently until the road allows you to cross over onto the lane of oncoming traffic. Furthermore, you may have to abruptly slow down as you travel through a small village. You also have to cross over into the oncoming traffic lane to get around the cars that are parked half on the road and half on the sidewalk. Of course, each country village does have its local pub. Many of these houses and barns are built right on the edge of the road. If you took a large step out the front door, you could shake hands with the occupants of the car going down the road.
Our trip from York to the Lakes was a journey of 152 miles but took us 5 hours (including a midway stop for lunch at a cheese factory). We could have taken a quicker route, but wanted to travel the scenic byways. Lynda was finally able to see and experience the grey, windswept moors described in her romance novels. Neither of us has figured out what the difference is between a dale, a moor or a fell. It all looks the same to us. At one point, we traveled over a cattle grate and came upon a large herd of grazing sheep right along the roadside and in one case the middle of the road. This must be a communal pasture since the sheep were marked with various color splotches to differentiate ownership. Howard has decided that the reason that the English call a sweater a wooly jumper is because they are made from wool and sheep jump.
At one point Howard needed petrol (gas) for the car. He stopped in a little village, pulled up partly out of the roadway on the sidewalk, and had started to fill the car. Up walked grandpa in his pinstriped suit, shirt, tie and wool hat. He said he would do that for us and proceeded to act as the station attendant. He had come over from his house next door when he saw us. He also was the owner of the used car lot that the pumps were in front of. Americans should not complain about the cost of our gas prices. In equivalent U.S. prices the petrol cost us about $65 worth to fill up the tank – about $7.00 per gallon. Fortunately, the car we are driving gets about 40 miles per gallon in good conditions. Who knows what type of gas mileage we are actually getting, as we go over these interesting roads.
When you finally reach a larger town, you may find yourself stopped by a traffic signal. They are very civilized here. Not only does the yellow caution light come on to warn you that the light is going to turn red, but it also comes on to let you know that is going to turn green.
We finally arrived in Windermere and Bowness-on-Windermere (don’t know what the difference is between the two). The town sits on the edge of the largest lake in England. It is another tourist destination. The streets are narrow, lined with shops, restaurants and pubs which are all crowded. Hopefully, it will quiet down during the week. The timeshare shares the property with an upscale hotel. The “cottage” we are in is a multi level. Entry, ground floor level, has the kitchen- dining area. You go up a short flight of stairs (6 to be exact) up to the living room, another short flight up to the bedroom/bath. The second bedroom/bath is a short flight down from the entry level. There are two cottages in each building and our car park is right outside our front door. The complex is beautiful and the trees are just starting to change color. We have access to the hotel’s gym, pool, spa and laundry facility. Town is just a short walk away – a good thing since there really isn’t any place to park.
After checking in, we set off to find the grocery store. It was a large store that is every bit as nice as our own chain stores back home. It was interesting finding products similar to what we use. They tend to call things by different names. You know what you want, but just need to figure out where they are hiding it and what they call it. For instance, milk comes in skim, semi-skim, and whole. The semi-skim never did say if it was 1% or 2%. Crackers for our St. Agur Cheese (only $10/lb not the $20/lb we pay at home) are found in the biscuit (cookie) section. In the meat counter you can find duck and gammon (ham). Bacon is unlike anything we have seen in America. It is a cross between a strip of bacon and Canadian bacon. Very little fat if any. Howard has decided that he will forego his martini. Bombay here is considerably more expensive than at home. However, we have found some good wine buys. Hopefully, the taste will be okay. Howard was finally able to find some dark roast coffee of his liking. He is finally happy with his morning brew.
One last aside for today, regarding electricity in the unit. We are charged for the amount of electricity we use. All wall plugs have a switch on them which you need to turn on before any power is generated. Of course, if you forget to turn off a light or plug when you leave, you can avoid running around turning things off by just flipping off the main power switch by the front door. In the living room alone, there are 14 different switches to deal with. Also, major appliances have these same on/off wall switches.
We are going to just take it easy today for a change. We will do some laundry, read a book and eventually walk into town to find an internet café. Unfortunately, they don’t have wireless at the timeshare.
That’s it for now – T&T at the lake.
Next, there are the A roads. We have decided that not all A’s are created equal. We feel that there should be different classifications of A’s. First, there are the “A+” roads. These roads have a center divider and two lanes in each direction, and a wide shoulder. They also have right turn off lanes not left like in America. A regular “A” road would have a single lane in each direction with a center line. There would also be wide shoulders and roundabouts. Now this leads us to the “A-“roads. They are narrower and do not have much of a shoulder. We have decided that the person who categorizes the roads needs to have his head examined. Howard kept insisting that we were not on an “A” road. According to the map, it was designated “A” for that area. However, we feel that if anything, these “A- -” roads are really “B’s”. The lanes are generally very narrow, without shoulders, and possibly have rock walls or hedge rows. In addition, they usually occur on very windy stretches of road with blind curves. It is most interesting to say the least.
The “B” roads are generally less developed “A’s”. Quite often you have to straddle the center line in order not to hit the walls or go into a ditch. As for “C” roads, they truly are country lanes. No lines and barely wide enough for two cars to pass.
Now then, on A, B, or C roads you may be slowed down by a tractor or pony cart. You have to wait patiently until the road allows you to cross over onto the lane of oncoming traffic. Furthermore, you may have to abruptly slow down as you travel through a small village. You also have to cross over into the oncoming traffic lane to get around the cars that are parked half on the road and half on the sidewalk. Of course, each country village does have its local pub. Many of these houses and barns are built right on the edge of the road. If you took a large step out the front door, you could shake hands with the occupants of the car going down the road.
Our trip from York to the Lakes was a journey of 152 miles but took us 5 hours (including a midway stop for lunch at a cheese factory). We could have taken a quicker route, but wanted to travel the scenic byways. Lynda was finally able to see and experience the grey, windswept moors described in her romance novels. Neither of us has figured out what the difference is between a dale, a moor or a fell. It all looks the same to us. At one point, we traveled over a cattle grate and came upon a large herd of grazing sheep right along the roadside and in one case the middle of the road. This must be a communal pasture since the sheep were marked with various color splotches to differentiate ownership. Howard has decided that the reason that the English call a sweater a wooly jumper is because they are made from wool and sheep jump.
At one point Howard needed petrol (gas) for the car. He stopped in a little village, pulled up partly out of the roadway on the sidewalk, and had started to fill the car. Up walked grandpa in his pinstriped suit, shirt, tie and wool hat. He said he would do that for us and proceeded to act as the station attendant. He had come over from his house next door when he saw us. He also was the owner of the used car lot that the pumps were in front of. Americans should not complain about the cost of our gas prices. In equivalent U.S. prices the petrol cost us about $65 worth to fill up the tank – about $7.00 per gallon. Fortunately, the car we are driving gets about 40 miles per gallon in good conditions. Who knows what type of gas mileage we are actually getting, as we go over these interesting roads.
When you finally reach a larger town, you may find yourself stopped by a traffic signal. They are very civilized here. Not only does the yellow caution light come on to warn you that the light is going to turn red, but it also comes on to let you know that is going to turn green.
We finally arrived in Windermere and Bowness-on-Windermere (don’t know what the difference is between the two). The town sits on the edge of the largest lake in England. It is another tourist destination. The streets are narrow, lined with shops, restaurants and pubs which are all crowded. Hopefully, it will quiet down during the week. The timeshare shares the property with an upscale hotel. The “cottage” we are in is a multi level. Entry, ground floor level, has the kitchen- dining area. You go up a short flight of stairs (6 to be exact) up to the living room, another short flight up to the bedroom/bath. The second bedroom/bath is a short flight down from the entry level. There are two cottages in each building and our car park is right outside our front door. The complex is beautiful and the trees are just starting to change color. We have access to the hotel’s gym, pool, spa and laundry facility. Town is just a short walk away – a good thing since there really isn’t any place to park.
After checking in, we set off to find the grocery store. It was a large store that is every bit as nice as our own chain stores back home. It was interesting finding products similar to what we use. They tend to call things by different names. You know what you want, but just need to figure out where they are hiding it and what they call it. For instance, milk comes in skim, semi-skim, and whole. The semi-skim never did say if it was 1% or 2%. Crackers for our St. Agur Cheese (only $10/lb not the $20/lb we pay at home) are found in the biscuit (cookie) section. In the meat counter you can find duck and gammon (ham). Bacon is unlike anything we have seen in America. It is a cross between a strip of bacon and Canadian bacon. Very little fat if any. Howard has decided that he will forego his martini. Bombay here is considerably more expensive than at home. However, we have found some good wine buys. Hopefully, the taste will be okay. Howard was finally able to find some dark roast coffee of his liking. He is finally happy with his morning brew.
One last aside for today, regarding electricity in the unit. We are charged for the amount of electricity we use. All wall plugs have a switch on them which you need to turn on before any power is generated. Of course, if you forget to turn off a light or plug when you leave, you can avoid running around turning things off by just flipping off the main power switch by the front door. In the living room alone, there are 14 different switches to deal with. Also, major appliances have these same on/off wall switches.
We are going to just take it easy today for a change. We will do some laundry, read a book and eventually walk into town to find an internet café. Unfortunately, they don’t have wireless at the timeshare.
That’s it for now – T&T at the lake.
posted by Toot and Teaser | 9:17 AM
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