When journeying through England's Lake District, one must adjust to its time-traveling powers. From every angle, it seems you have entered a pastoral painting, with quiet meadows and rolling hills from a different century.
About a half-hour bus ride from Windermere railway station is the town of Grasmere, known as the home and resting place of William Wordsworth. The poet himself described the area as "the loveliest spot that man hath ever found." Indeed, it is possible from his grave to absorb the town's haunting purity, where the only sounds are those of a nearby creek and low neighborhood chatter __ and occasionally, an exclamatory sheep.
Locals might tell you of a popular hike to Easedale Tarn, which can take anywhere from one to two hours roundtrip. Expecting an easy trek, my partner and I were unprepared for the lack of a designated road, which took us through pebbly creeks and Jurassic-like ferns. Still, using the general map we had received from our hostel, we eventually reached the tarn's glittering waters. (Word of caution, the perimeter of the tarn can be extremely boggy.)
In the company of the few sheep who had also made it, we agreed we had never felt more connected to a small town's narrative, especially one as fantastical as Grasmere.
