England Explorations Day 2 (Lake District)

We had a delightful drive through the countryside. It was incredibly green and beautiful and we all fell in love with the pastures full of sheep.

The roads were narrow and winding and it was very fun navigating our way through the tight corners and skinny roads. Jeff was a professional at driving on the left side of the road.

Our first stop of the day was at a church in Crosby Ravensworth. There were some Braithwaite ancestors buried at this church. We spent a long time searching the cemetery for their headstones, but sadly, we couldn't find them.  

 A highlight of our visit to the church was our conversation with Judith. She was so sweet and we talked to her for quite a while. She does the flowers for the church. We gave her a Book of Mormon before we left the church, after talking to her about what we were doing there and why. 

 

The stone walls were a favorite, every place was just so green and beautiful. It all felt like a garden adventure. 

Braithwaite Village

Our next stop was Braithwaite village. Many of our ancestors lived in this area so we felt like we were coming home, not really, but I wished the whole time that it was my home.

We wandered through the village and shopped at the store there, we even found Braithwaite fudge.

We walked along the little Braithwaite footpath, which was gorgeous.

More sheep, we fell in love with the sheep.

And then back to the village for a few more pictures, a little shopping at an art gallery, and then we were on our way to the next stop which was in Grasmere. We stopped there for gingerbread at the Grasmere Gingerbread shop. The shop has been producing gingerbread since 1854 and it was a delightful mix between a biscuit and a cake. It was delicious. 

Braithwaite Bridge, Ambleside (National Trust)

Ambleside was a treat to visit. The houses were made of  Brathay formation silt stone and the dark gray color was charming, if a little somber. 

Our stop in Ambleside was to visit Braithwaite bridge. This bridge was built to avoid land taxes by the Braithwaites that lived in Braithwaite Hall. Over the years it has been used for an apple-store, tea room, weaving shop, cobbler's shop, and also a home for a family of eight. You can go inside if you can find someone from the National Trust to let you in, but we weren't able to locate anyone so we just contented ourselves with looking at the outside.