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April 2009 saw unusually glorious weather in the English Lake District. We just caught the end of it when we visited it again for a few days. We took full advantage of the sun and set off for Coniston Water and Brantwood, the lakeside home of John Ruskin.
John Ruskin was an interesting fellow. Among other things, he was an inspiration for the Arts and Crafts Movement and the founding of the National Trust. Brantwood, his house, has extensive naturalistic gardens overlooking Coniston Water, very much in keeping with his outlook on life.
Yew Tree Tarn, on the road from Ambleside to Coniston
The beautifully restored Victorian Steam Yacht Gondola on Coniston Water, a great way to view the lake and its surroundings.
Aboard the whisper-quiet, eco-friendly steam-powered Gondola...
...which burns logs made from compressed sawdust...
...in a beautiful steam engine that hardly makes a sound even when you are standing next to it.
Coniston Hall, a 16th Century farmhouse. The chimney extensions were added to prevent the farmhouse filling with smoke when the wind poured down over the mountain.
The left-hand boathouse is still used to take away slate mined on Coniston Old Man
North of Brantwood on the east bank is Bank Ground Farm, the model for "Holly Howe" in Arthur Ransome's "Swallows and Amazons" (this picture is from the farms's web site)
[Continues in Part 2]
John Ruskin was an interesting fellow. Among other things, he was an inspiration for the Arts and Crafts Movement and the founding of the National Trust. Brantwood, his house, has extensive naturalistic gardens overlooking Coniston Water, very much in keeping with his outlook on life.
Yew Tree Tarn, on the road from Ambleside to Coniston
The beautifully restored Victorian Steam Yacht Gondola on Coniston Water, a great way to view the lake and its surroundings.
Aboard the whisper-quiet, eco-friendly steam-powered Gondola...
...which burns logs made from compressed sawdust...
...in a beautiful steam engine that hardly makes a sound even when you are standing next to it.
Coniston Hall, a 16th Century farmhouse. The chimney extensions were added to prevent the farmhouse filling with smoke when the wind poured down over the mountain.
The left-hand boathouse is still used to take away slate mined on Coniston Old Man
North of Brantwood on the east bank is Bank Ground Farm, the model for "Holly Howe" in Arthur Ransome's "Swallows and Amazons" (this picture is from the farms's web site)
[Continues in Part 2]
