5/14 Drive to Near Sawrey in Lake District

Weak internet, so giving this a try.  I am idyllic Near Sawrey.  Yes, that is the name of the town.  At first I thought this place was near the town of Sawrey, and it is, but it is an extremely small village; just a cluster of houses and farms, and called "Near Sawrey."

I left the busy Stoke-on-Trent this morning and after driving around in circles yesterday and getting lost a few times, I was happy to be on freeways.  Best part of freeways is that the roads are clearly marked and there are rest areas with gas and restaurants about every 25 miles--perfect for me because they have restrooms and restaurants, including fast food restaurants where you can get soft drinks with ICE!  And there are also the super takeout places you find in the UK.  Food includes sandwiches, fresh fruit cups of varying kinds, salads, puddings, desert cups, and a ton more.  For lunch today, I decided I needed some protein, so got a small package of chunks of baked ham.  Very good and price was reasonable.  I was tempted by the fruit, but figured it would not keep well while I was driving.

Anyway, after a few hours and multiple restroom stops, I left the freeway and hit some good country roads.  Except as I drove, they got narrower and narrower.  It was nice to see some hills you could even call mountains and a few lakes.  

My first mistake, if that it what it was, was taking the alternate route suggested by my GPS.  Very scenic and at this point there was still a line dividing the lanes.  

There are absolutely NO shoulders on English roads.  And many in the country also have stone walls just a few inches from the roadway.  

After a couple of miles, they gave up on pretending there were two lanes on this road, although it was still a two-way road.  Or maybe a two-way lane?   

I ended up driving about 8 miles on a road that looked much like this.  When a car came the other direction, one of us, (mostly me) had to back up until we could find a slightly wider area so the other car could get through.  It was very tricky at times, but at least I did not hit any stone walls.

I think "Bucolic" is the appropriate term for this view.  The ancient stone walls contained mostly flocks of sheep.   

  
Drove through two or three small villages on the way.  Most were just a cluster of houses with no shops.  But ALWAYS had those stone walls. 

Problem with pulling over to let another vehicle past on a road like this is that you did not know what was hiding in the grass.  Often there are sharp curbs hiding there. And, yes, I really got past an oncoming car here, but no photos of that as I could not back up or creep over to the side with a camera in my hand.

Love the stonework in these villages.  Many of these buildings were constructed in the 17th Century, and some even earlier, like 1,400s and 1,500s. 

To quote Homer, "Between a rock wall and a hard place."  (Well, it is almost what he said.)

Made it to Near Sawrey!!  And this is my lodging for the night. This house is directly around the corner and behind Beatrix Potter's home, and was the inspiration for some of her drawings, especially in the book about Tom Kitten.

Incredible view of sheep across the roadway.  This land was owned and farmed by Beatrix Potter and is part of the land she donated to the National Trust. 

Village of Near Sawrey.  Maybe a dozen houses, many used as B&Bs, two substantial restaurants, and one tea shop where you ate at tables on the lawn.  No shops, other than the Beatrix Potter gift shop, just a few feet from here.

And not only did my room have a tiny bar of soap and shampoo, it also had TWO washcloths!!  Room was very small, however, and carpet could have used cleaning.

 

Tomorrow, I visit Beatrix Potter's home.