Ambleside 2023 - Caves, Poetry and Gingerbread (Day 3)

 

After another delicious breakfast, for our last day of our holiday we decided to go to Grasmere. We had seen online the walk to Rydal Cave which we fancied trying. This is a walk that took us from the centre of Grasmere, along the main road and then off onto a track past Rydal water and up to the cave. Parts of the walk were slightly steep and challenging, but it was definitely worth the effort once you reached the cave. You can head across the stepping stones inside the cave, which is the only real way to admire all its beauty.

After our walk, we headed to the Wordsworth Museum, which tells you all about the lives of William and Dorothy Wordsworth, and there is an opportunity for a tour of their house in Grasmere. We got ourselves booked onto the tour for just after lunch as there were several coaches already booked on in the morning, and spent some time exploring the exhibition.

We headed into Grasmere for lunch and found a small café called Greens. This offered a wide variety of lunch items such as toasties, sandwiches and cakes. We both enjoyed a toastie which came with some homemade coleslaw, salad and crisps. They were excellent at catering for vegans and the chef personally came out to ask about extras that Nicole may want to have added to her sandwich.

We then went back to the museum for our allocated time slot for the tour of Dove Cottage. Neither of us really knew anything about Wordsworth before visiting, so it was interesting to find out more about one of our country’s well-known poets. There was also chance to explore the garden. If you are local to the area, the visit is made even more worthwhile by being able to return more than once on the same ticket within the 12 months following purchase.

Once we had taken in everything we could at the museum, we went back into Grasmere for some afternoon cake and a milkshake, and to buy some of the famous Grasmere gingerbread from the Grasmere Gingerbread Shop. The queue for this shop was consistently long, but after trying some of the gingerbread we understand why! Now it was time to head home after a busy few days.