Keswick England & The Lake District - We Stayed on a Farm

Note: We recently returned from three MARVELOUS weeks in Europe! Over the next little while, I'll be sharing our adventures with you {as well as some of the things we learned}. We chose to plan our own trip because we couldn't picture ourselves on a tour bus with a bunch of other tourists. Whenever possible, I'll explore the myths & stereotypes that I've always heard & if they are true or not. I'm going to be honest about our opinions & experiences - in doing so, I hope I don't offend anyone.

We had been told how beautiful The Lake District is but I would have to say it exceeded my expectations! 

Here's a sample of one of the beautiful drives we took in the Keswick area . . . 

It is not uncommon for sheep to be wandering - or relaxing - on the road!

Our bed & breakfast in Keswick was one of my favorite places we stayed while in Europe & the UK. Ashness Farm is a 500 year old real working farm with all sorts of awesome animals. 

I fell in love with a sweet little Belted Galloway calf named "Poppet". 

Photo by C. Lunt

He was abandoned by his mother & he has to be bottle fed twice a day. Guess who volunteered for the job?! He downs a bottle of about 2 gallons in about a minute. Here's a video of Poppet following me around the pasture after one of his feedings. Make sure to notice his huge bottle in my hand!

Our rooms were so lovely & clean. {But no televisions!} Hunny & I stayed in the "Catbells" room & the boys were in "Causey Pike" {named for area "fells" which means a hill or stretch of high moorland}.  Anne made us a hardy English breakfast to give us a great start every day. I especially loved the view from our window {lower right, below}. There are very few bugs in the UK & the windows seldom have screens. It's so great.

While in the Cumbria area, we saw the Castlerigg Stone Circle - which we call "Mini Stonehenge". We also hiked round on the "fells" & visited the Honister Slate Mine. {Our Ashness Farm hostess Anne made us a sack lunch to take & we picnicked at the top of a hill}. TIP: If you buy something at the Honister Mine gift shop, you won't have to pay for parking.

- Photo by J. Lunt -

We also enjoyed shopping & eating in beautiful Keswick.

I hope we get to visit this area again some day. 

Want to read more about our adventures? See the links below:

• To read about our visit to Scotland {CLICK HERE}
• Our Stay in Paris {And a Safety Warning}
• {CLICK HERE} to read about our London adventures
• To see what we did in Wales {CLICK HERE}
• {CLICK HERE} for a chuckle about the unusual signs we saw on our trip
• We LOVED Bath! {CLICK HERE} to find out why
• {CLICK HERE} for Manchester England & Christine's Rhubarb Crumble Recipe
• For our visit to Ireland {CLICK HERE}