The End of Autumn in The Lakes
Grasmere and the nearby Rydal are truly spectacular – nothing says English Lake District like this area and it’s easy to see why people dream of one day living here – although for most people, the insane house prices now demanded here rule that out, but it’s still lovely to visit nevertheless!
My autumnal exploration ends after these locations as the rich and vibrant colours disappeared almost as swiftly as they arrived, but they were truly beautiful for the two weeks they presented themselves!
I’ll split my shots into two groups in this one post as Grasmere and Rydal are very different, even though they are very closely located; and not wanting to sound like a broken record by as with my previous posts, rather than go into detail about each shot I’ll just let them do the talking; as for locations, if you would like to know the exact spot where I took any of the following images then please leave me a comment and I’ll do my best to describe it for you.
“Even without its connections to the Romantic poets, gorgeous Grasmere would still be one of the Lakes’ biggest draws. It’s one of the prettiest of the Lakeland hamlets, huddled at the edge of an island-studded lake surrounded by woods, pastures and slate-coloured hills, but most of the thousands of trippers come in search of its famous former resident, the poet William Wordsworth, who set up home at nearby Dove Cottage in 1799. With such a rich literary heritage, Grasmere unsurprisingly gets busy.” – Lonely Planet
Grasmere
I don’t think there are enough nice words to describe Grasmere, whilst the village itself has become a little too touristy for my liking it is still very quaint and very beautiful – and the lake, well, it remains as picturesque as ever. You can walk around the entire lake without needing heavy duty willies which makes a nice change, although half of that time is spent by a road, but if you keep looking in the right direction you hardly notice!
For me though, the southern end of the lake is where it’s at so to speak, the photographic opportunities are endless, and I can honestly say that I am extremely excited to head back here when some snow falls and the edges freeze in that perfectly photogenic way – bring on the cold! However for now, here is the lake in all of its autumnal finery:
Rydal
Often driven through and left un-noticed by the tourists heading up to Grasmere and Derwentwater; Rydal has a charm all of its own, and in my opinion, it is just as beautiful as its neighbour – although those heavy duty wellies are required here if the rains have been recent – think very mushy fields and sinking tripods, all worth it though when you capture those “classically Lakes” photographs:
