During my time in Grasmere I have seen a lot of rain but never like last Thursday. Never before in my life have I seen so much rain. It poured all night Wednesday night then continued throughout Thursday causing much flooding. The guesthouse I work at began to get flooded, the dining room, kitchen and some of the rooms were getting deeper and deeper underwater. I spent a lot of time wading through the large puddles to try and clear the drains and build water blocks with used towels and sheets to divert the water.
The roads entering Grasmere were blocked from each direction all day Thursday and most of Friday. Our food delivery vans could not get through and many of our weekend guests could also not get to Grasmere and therefore we cancelled the weekend group and had a a few unplanned days off. The rain did not ease much over the weekend which meant there wasn't a lot to do. So I spent the weekend watching movies and drinking at the pub.
Grasmere actually fared quite well in comparison to neighbouring towns such as Cockermouth and Workington where many homes were destroyed and bridges collapsed. The clean up in some towns will take years to complete. According to newspaper reports only once every thousand years do you get such a large amount of rain in such a short period.
It rains here nearly all the time at the moment. It is very rare to see blue sky and now the sun also sets just after 4pm and it is dark enough to see the stars by 4.30pm.
I am now in my final week in Grasmere, the Glenthorne Guest House closes tomorrow and I will leave a few days later on Monday. I am still not really sure where I will go, I will just wait and see what happens. I have enjoyed my time working at the guesthouse and living in Grasmere but I am ready to move on and start somewhere new.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Hadrians Wall and Vindolanda
Standing, staring at the ruins it was hard to comprehend this village was built almost 2000 years ago. I walked among the buildings or whats left of them and viewed the artifacts at Vindolana, a roman village built around AD100. Archaeologists are still excavating the site and one of their most important discoveries of late is that of a postcard style letter. It is on show at the on site museum along with clothing, jewellery and many other things.
I knew very little about Vindolanda before arriving there. I only stopped there because there was a youth hostel close by where I stayed the night while viewing Hadrian's Wall.
Hadrian's Wall was completed in AD122 under the orders of Roman Emperor Hadrian and spans from coast to coast across the top of England. Only some of the wall remains so I discovered the story of the wall while also seeing some stunning countryside.
I was riding the bus and left from Grasmere in the morning to Carlisle and wandered the streets there for a couple of hours before catching a bus to a Roman Army Museum. The wall was built to signify the most northern point of the roman empire and I was amazed at how well it had survived close to 2000 years.
My visit to the wall was restricted due to the minimal bus services but I still managed to see a lot of the remaining wall and have a good history lesson.
Beside my Hadrian's Wall trip not a lot has been happening. I have continued my work at the Glenthorne Guest House and taking my time off to visit the towns and lakes of the Lakes District.
I knew very little about Vindolanda before arriving there. I only stopped there because there was a youth hostel close by where I stayed the night while viewing Hadrian's Wall.
Hadrian's Wall was completed in AD122 under the orders of Roman Emperor Hadrian and spans from coast to coast across the top of England. Only some of the wall remains so I discovered the story of the wall while also seeing some stunning countryside.
I was riding the bus and left from Grasmere in the morning to Carlisle and wandered the streets there for a couple of hours before catching a bus to a Roman Army Museum. The wall was built to signify the most northern point of the roman empire and I was amazed at how well it had survived close to 2000 years.
My visit to the wall was restricted due to the minimal bus services but I still managed to see a lot of the remaining wall and have a good history lesson.
Beside my Hadrian's Wall trip not a lot has been happening. I have continued my work at the Glenthorne Guest House and taking my time off to visit the towns and lakes of the Lakes District.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Oktoberfest
Return bus Grasmere to London: £44 (A$81)
Tour costs including bus London to Munich: £220 (A$408)
Stein of beer in a beer tent during Oktoberfest: €10 (A$17)
Enjoying that stein and many others among friends: Priceless.
The journey to and from Munich was long and expensive but it was worth every cent. I left Grasmere early Thursday morning and arrived in London almost nine hours later. I dumped my bags at a hostel then went to find my friend Emily who invited me to go and see Aussie band Jet play at the Forum with her and her friends. It was a fun night and the Melbourne boys played all their hits as well as tracks off their new Shaka Rock album.
On Friday morning I went out to South West London and met my mate Ross then we boarded our Topdeck bus. It took us 16 hours to get to Munich driving through five countries. We drove to Dover and caught the ferry to Calais then drove through France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany before reaching Munich early Saturday morning.
We were camping at a site with thousands of other people and unloaded our gear had a quick breakfast and got back on the bus to the city. Ross and I headed straight for the Hofbrauhaus tent were his mates already had a table. The tents were already packed so after spotting a mate from my Pamplona tour I decided to join them on their outside table. On opening day the beers cannot be poured till the mayor taps the keg at midday to signify the start of the festival. We waited till almost one for our first beer but from then on we drank into the night and celebrated being part of the worlds largest public festival. We continued drinking all day and all night and then got some sleep before waking up and doing it all again the next day.
One section of Munich is sectioned off and huge beer tents are set up, each tent holds thousands of people. What surprised me was surrounding all the beer tents were carnival rides and activities for people of all ages. I saw young school groups and elderly people all enjoy the festival.
Throughout the two and a half I spent at Oktoberfest I drank with mates I had not seen in years, new mates, German locals and other people from all over the world. I made an effort to walk through all the tents but spent most of my time at the Hofbrauhaus, Lowenbrau and Augustiner tents, each tent is named by the beer its serves.
I also made an effort to see Munich and went on a walking tour stopping at Marienplatz to view the New Town Hall, the Hofbrauhaus- the site of Hitlers early speeches, as well as finding out my shoe size is the same as the Devil's in the Frauenkirche cathedral.
The long journey back to Grasmere began as we left Munich. We drove through the night back to London where I stayed a night before catching the bus back to Grasmere. It took me longer to get to and from Munich than I actually spent at the festival but it was well worth it.
Tour costs including bus London to Munich: £220 (A$408)
Stein of beer in a beer tent during Oktoberfest: €10 (A$17)
Enjoying that stein and many others among friends: Priceless.
The journey to and from Munich was long and expensive but it was worth every cent. I left Grasmere early Thursday morning and arrived in London almost nine hours later. I dumped my bags at a hostel then went to find my friend Emily who invited me to go and see Aussie band Jet play at the Forum with her and her friends. It was a fun night and the Melbourne boys played all their hits as well as tracks off their new Shaka Rock album.
On Friday morning I went out to South West London and met my mate Ross then we boarded our Topdeck bus. It took us 16 hours to get to Munich driving through five countries. We drove to Dover and caught the ferry to Calais then drove through France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany before reaching Munich early Saturday morning.
We were camping at a site with thousands of other people and unloaded our gear had a quick breakfast and got back on the bus to the city. Ross and I headed straight for the Hofbrauhaus tent were his mates already had a table. The tents were already packed so after spotting a mate from my Pamplona tour I decided to join them on their outside table. On opening day the beers cannot be poured till the mayor taps the keg at midday to signify the start of the festival. We waited till almost one for our first beer but from then on we drank into the night and celebrated being part of the worlds largest public festival. We continued drinking all day and all night and then got some sleep before waking up and doing it all again the next day.
One section of Munich is sectioned off and huge beer tents are set up, each tent holds thousands of people. What surprised me was surrounding all the beer tents were carnival rides and activities for people of all ages. I saw young school groups and elderly people all enjoy the festival.
Throughout the two and a half I spent at Oktoberfest I drank with mates I had not seen in years, new mates, German locals and other people from all over the world. I made an effort to walk through all the tents but spent most of my time at the Hofbrauhaus, Lowenbrau and Augustiner tents, each tent is named by the beer its serves.
I also made an effort to see Munich and went on a walking tour stopping at Marienplatz to view the New Town Hall, the Hofbrauhaus- the site of Hitlers early speeches, as well as finding out my shoe size is the same as the Devil's in the Frauenkirche cathedral.
The long journey back to Grasmere began as we left Munich. We drove through the night back to London where I stayed a night before catching the bus back to Grasmere. It took me longer to get to and from Munich than I actually spent at the festival but it was well worth it.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Exploring the Lakes District
In the past two and a half weeks since arriving in Grasmere I have had a chance to explore the town as well as some of the neighbouring towns.
Last weekend was the Grasmere Guzzler, a three day beer drinking festival so I found myself at the pub Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. It was a great way to get to know the locals while enjoying some local brews.
I have taken a few day trips to neighbouring towns. I went to Kendal to do some shopping, to Ambleside to visit the lake and the waterfalls and to Keswick to visit some museums. Keswick is home of the Cumberland pencil museum, the worlds only museum dedicated to pencils. I took a tour of the museum learning the process of pencil making as well as viewing the worlds longest pencil. It is 7.91 metres long and weighs 446.36 kilograms and it is yellow, not sure why they chose that colour. The famous Derwent pencils are made in the factory next door to the museum. The newly opened James Bond museum was my next destination. The museum is home of a large collection of vehicles used in the films. There are a few Aston Martins, some BMW's, the hovercraft used in Die Another Day and the jet used in Octopussy. I then headed to the famous cars of the stars museum which features many vehicles used on television and movies. Their most prized possession is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang but my favourites were a Batmobile, Mr Beans Mini and the Delorean time machine as seen in Back to the Future. While in Keswick I also visited Derwent Water a very picturesque lake and the Castlerigg Stone Circle, another set of stones nobody really knows much about.
The last few days there has been sunshine, something I did not expect to see in the Lakes District after a week and a half of constant rain so I went with my housemates Ben and David in search of waterfalls we could use to jump into water. Ben showed us a couple of places and although the water was quite cold it was a lot of fun.
I also took a tour through Dove Cottage, the home of the famous poet William Woodsworth between 1799 to 1808. It was quite interesting and I learnt a lot about Woodsworth as well as Grasmere in general. Work at the Glenthorne is going well and I am enjoying the relaxed lifestyle of Grasmere.
Last weekend was the Grasmere Guzzler, a three day beer drinking festival so I found myself at the pub Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. It was a great way to get to know the locals while enjoying some local brews.
I have taken a few day trips to neighbouring towns. I went to Kendal to do some shopping, to Ambleside to visit the lake and the waterfalls and to Keswick to visit some museums. Keswick is home of the Cumberland pencil museum, the worlds only museum dedicated to pencils. I took a tour of the museum learning the process of pencil making as well as viewing the worlds longest pencil. It is 7.91 metres long and weighs 446.36 kilograms and it is yellow, not sure why they chose that colour. The famous Derwent pencils are made in the factory next door to the museum. The newly opened James Bond museum was my next destination. The museum is home of a large collection of vehicles used in the films. There are a few Aston Martins, some BMW's, the hovercraft used in Die Another Day and the jet used in Octopussy. I then headed to the famous cars of the stars museum which features many vehicles used on television and movies. Their most prized possession is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang but my favourites were a Batmobile, Mr Beans Mini and the Delorean time machine as seen in Back to the Future. While in Keswick I also visited Derwent Water a very picturesque lake and the Castlerigg Stone Circle, another set of stones nobody really knows much about.
The last few days there has been sunshine, something I did not expect to see in the Lakes District after a week and a half of constant rain so I went with my housemates Ben and David in search of waterfalls we could use to jump into water. Ben showed us a couple of places and although the water was quite cold it was a lot of fun.
I also took a tour through Dove Cottage, the home of the famous poet William Woodsworth between 1799 to 1808. It was quite interesting and I learnt a lot about Woodsworth as well as Grasmere in general. Work at the Glenthorne is going well and I am enjoying the relaxed lifestyle of Grasmere.
Scaffel Pike and the Great North Swim
With the weekend off work and some sunshine I decided it was a great chance to walk to Scaffel Pike, England's highest mountain. I did a little research and got some maps and set out alone just after breakfast at around 8.30am. I was guessing it was going to take me around nine hours to get there and back but I wasn't exactly sure.
I started off walking over the Langdales up to the beautiful Skittle Ghyll. Then I walked down to Dungeon Ghyll and from there reached a path passing over about six peaks before I reached Scaffel Pike. At one point I almost gave up and turned back because of the time but the conditions were perfect and I was not sure I would get conditions that good again. Each summit had stunning views and there were hundreds of people out enjoying the great weather. I did not reach the summit until just before five and wanted to just sit and enjoy the view but my hours of daylight were decreasing so I headed down. The summit is 978 metres and you can see all the way to the ocean. As you reach the summit you have to clamber up rocks and there are many tracks leading to the top. in my excitement of reaching the top I had forgotten which path I had come up. So I walked around for about thirty minutes before finding it. I found my track and walked back to Dungeon Ghyll following a slightly shorter track and reached the road just before dark.
Luckily I had a torch because I still needed to get over the Langdales and back to Grasmere. I walked up and from the top I could see the lights of Grasmere. I had never been so excited to see the village lights.
I made it back to Glenthorne about 10pm, thirteen and a half hours after setting off. I had quickly stopped along the way for photos and food but I had basically walked non stop the whole time.
I have now summited two of what is known as the three peaks. I walked up Ben Nevis last month, now Scaffel Pike. I still have to do Snowdon in Wales.
Today was another day of sunshine so I went to support a new friend Molly and her friend Holly who were swimming in the Great North Swim on Lake Windermere. The one mile swim on Englands largest lake is held over two days. This year there were 6000 competitors making it the largest open water swim in the country. The conditions were perfect and it looked very inviting until I was told the temperature of the water was 16.3 degrees Celsius. Wetsuits are not compulsory but highly recommended.
Tonight I plan to head to the pub for a Sunday night pint before a few more days work then I am catching a bus back to London, then a bus to Munich for a weekend of beer drinking for the opening weekend of Oktoberfest.
I started off walking over the Langdales up to the beautiful Skittle Ghyll. Then I walked down to Dungeon Ghyll and from there reached a path passing over about six peaks before I reached Scaffel Pike. At one point I almost gave up and turned back because of the time but the conditions were perfect and I was not sure I would get conditions that good again. Each summit had stunning views and there were hundreds of people out enjoying the great weather. I did not reach the summit until just before five and wanted to just sit and enjoy the view but my hours of daylight were decreasing so I headed down. The summit is 978 metres and you can see all the way to the ocean. As you reach the summit you have to clamber up rocks and there are many tracks leading to the top. in my excitement of reaching the top I had forgotten which path I had come up. So I walked around for about thirty minutes before finding it. I found my track and walked back to Dungeon Ghyll following a slightly shorter track and reached the road just before dark.
Luckily I had a torch because I still needed to get over the Langdales and back to Grasmere. I walked up and from the top I could see the lights of Grasmere. I had never been so excited to see the village lights.
I made it back to Glenthorne about 10pm, thirteen and a half hours after setting off. I had quickly stopped along the way for photos and food but I had basically walked non stop the whole time.
I have now summited two of what is known as the three peaks. I walked up Ben Nevis last month, now Scaffel Pike. I still have to do Snowdon in Wales.
Today was another day of sunshine so I went to support a new friend Molly and her friend Holly who were swimming in the Great North Swim on Lake Windermere. The one mile swim on Englands largest lake is held over two days. This year there were 6000 competitors making it the largest open water swim in the country. The conditions were perfect and it looked very inviting until I was told the temperature of the water was 16.3 degrees Celsius. Wetsuits are not compulsory but highly recommended.
Tonight I plan to head to the pub for a Sunday night pint before a few more days work then I am catching a bus back to London, then a bus to Munich for a weekend of beer drinking for the opening weekend of Oktoberfest.
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