Allan Banks view

Another glorious day. Warm enough for us to enjoy two short walks and coffee and tea breaks outside in short sleeves.

After checking out we walked around the Wild Boar Wood above our hotel. Heard a woodpecker and saw several deer but no daffodils in the woods though lots of bluebell shoots  appearing. We walked up to a small tarn where there were facilities for clay pigeon shooting and several models of deer and wild boar dotted around to give the woods a bit of atmosphere I suppose. We did see real deer disappearing in the woods on a couple of occasions.

Very quiet, just one other couple. Chris took a pic of me sitting on a carved bench but used the phone so he could use it for a family What’s app. I put my camera on the seat ( you can probably spot it in the extra) and you can guess what happened next! Luckily we had only just got on the road when I realised I hadn’t got it! A fast walk back up the hill and it was still there thankfully.

We headed to Grasmere and it was just as busy as we’d expected. On a second tour around we did find the alternative car park. It had a nice riverside walk into the village where we managed to get a coffee. The lady apologised as they were so busy and told us two other cafes in the village were closed due to staffing issues.

We came to revisit Allan Banks as it had just been taken on by the National Trust last time we visited. It was open but they were just changing the art display in the atrium so there was not much to see inside but we were assured that they had now painted all the rooms! I remember they had said from the start that they weren’t intending restoration and were actually asking  people for suggestions.
They do have a gardener and we took a walk around the woodland garden. An amazing feat of path and step making up steep slopes through the trees with some great views over Grasmere village, lake and surrounding countryside. This I believe is Helm Crag to the north of Grasmere, I’m sure someone will tell me if I’m wrong.

We again just met one other couple who had come to see red squirrels but had been disappointed. They’d been told they appear early morning and then disappear again.

So despite the busyness of this popular village we managed to find some peace and tranquility and lots of Herdwick sheep!

Got a takeaway cup of tea on our way back to the car and ate some of our afternoon tea leftovers with it sitting by the river.

Home now, having stopped en route at Sizergh Castle to visit the NT shop. Another policy apparently is to no longer have shops except at the larger National Trust properties. Sizergh being one of just two now in the Lakes according to the lady at Allan Banks. I do like my NT marmalade!

We’ve had a truly fabulous three days, couldn’t have requested better weather. Thank you for the lovely hearts for yesterdays blip.