As was the case with our 1996 holiday to Snowdonia, Wales, we were in the Lake District to hike the beautiful mountains, lakes, and fells. As we explored this part of England we kept thinking that much of the Lake District reminded us of Wales. Both areas possess extraordinary beauty.

One of the things that stood out during our time here were the many varieties of sheep. While there are certainly a lot of sheep in Wales, in The Lake District we found different breeds of sheep, of all colors, shapes and sizes. Later in the week we purchased a sheep poster from one of the local shops, to remind us of all the different varieties we encountered.

Our accommodation for the week was the Oak Bank Hotel (top left). We has a 2nd floor room facing the street and overlooking a field of sheep. The hotel had a bar and a dining room for breakfast and dinner. There was also a nice garden in the back (bottom left). In the late evening after dinner we relaxed by standing along the stone fence across from the hotel and watching the sheep and their ewes. We enjoyed a pub lunch, pints, and dinner at the Red Lion Hotel in the village (middle right). Bottom right: this was the view just down the road from our B&B. Not bad.

Alcock Tarn Hike

Description: From Grasmere this challenging circular walk climbs to Alcock Tarn, winding through trees and out into open countryside for views of the valley, Lake Grasmere and the surrounding fells. Alcock Tarn is a lake located high in the fells on Heron Pike, roughly a mile and a half east of Grasmere. Although only about a 4-mile hike, this was a long and challenging walk that took us a while to complete. (We took our time.) Started our hike near Dove Cottage. Walked up the trail and turned right going over a bridge. Walked along a wall where the path got steeper. Followed along the wall then climbed a steep zig-zag to a rocky outcrop. Path turned left at the rocks and lead to a Neolithic-Age cairn and eventually a gate leading to Alcock Tarn. Picnic lunch at Alcock Tarn, where we enjoyed the beautiful views. Sandwiches purchased at a deli in the village and a couple pints of ale. There were lots of sheep grazing nearby us as we ate and a couple of ducks came up from the lake to see if we had anything for them. After lunch we continued our hike by following the path through a gap in the wall and starting our descent over a short, rocky section of path overlooking the Vale of Grasmere. The views were spectacular here. Path continued descending and we eventually reached level ground and the A591 across from Grasmere. The Swan Pub was right across the road. We enjoyed a couple of pints here and purchased a color sketch of the pub as a memento of our hike, which now hangs on the wall of our Den.