Zzzz - time for bed!

So – you've come to the end of your tour of the Lake District – and now you need somewhere to have a good night’s sleep – zzzzz

As in many areas which cater for visitors and tourists, there’s a huge range of places to rest your head. You name it, you can find it!

From 5 star hotels, with swimming pools and spas

To bivouacking in the woods or on the fells

In between those two extremes, there are many other alternatives, and all within a very small area. You can stay in a hotel or guest house in one of the towns or villages, or you can choose a farmhouse out in the country. You can opt for having your meals provided for you, or you can self-cater. There are hundreds of cottages and converted barns which are available for families and small groups, and the Youth Hostels Association also has over a dozen properties in the Lake District, offering budget accommodation for individuals, groups and families.



You can hire a caravan, buy one on a site there, or take your own. Many’s the time I’ve been stuck behind a convey of caravans on the road between Windermere and Ambleside, or on the even narrower road to Hawkshead!

And, of course, there’s camping, which again ranges from the basic to the luxurious. Evidently the luxurious style is now known as glamping i.e. glamorous camping, and some site have luxury yurts where you can stay. But even the basic is much less basic than it used to be, with all the modern equipment available, and, of course, most sites now have flush toilets and showers.  

Those of you who have followed my A-Z know that we had a family caravan near Hawkshead for over 30 years. When we first went there in the 60’s, there were just 2 vans in our field. Later that was increased to 5. There were no ‘mod cons’ – no electricity so all cooking, heating and lighting were provided by a large canister of calor gas. No water either – we had to cross 2 fields to collect water in large plastic containers from an outside tap near the farmhouse. And no mains sewerage. There were a couple of flush toilets in a farm outbuilding, and we had a chemical toilet in a small wooden hut near our caravan – not ideal if you wanted to go in the middle of the night when it was pouring with rain! And I won’t even start to describe the worst job of all, which was emptying that toilet after lifting a manhole cover over a cesspit! Gradually things changed – we got electricity, so no more struggling to light the gas mantles, and we could also have a fridge – sheer luxury. We got water too, with a tap only a few yards from the caravan. No mains sewerage though – we still had to empty that damned toilet! Now, 20 years on, everything has changed. There are now 5 luxury lodges in ‘our’ field – and I bet they don’t have to empty their toilets down a manhole!

So - we reach the end of this year's A-Z April Blogging Challenge, and I'd like to thank everyone who has left comments for me. A special thank you, too, to all my friends from the Facebook GBE2 and Writers' Post groups, for your support. I love you guys!
I'm delighted that so many of you have enjoyed my tour around the Lake District.  As a result, I've decided to extend the tour, although not a daily basis! But I'll take a different letter each week, and tell you more about North West England in general. I think I'll make it my 'Thursday Tour'. Hope you'll join me!

Also, now that you know more about the Lake District, you might enjoy my two novels which are set there: Fragrance of Violets, available from Whiskey Creek Press and Amazon, and Changing the Future, which will be released on May 15th. 

Last, but definitely not least, very many thanks to Arlee Bird and all the A-Z team for setting up this annual challenge. It's been a intense month, but I've really enjoyed it! 

Interesting Islands

Several of the Lakeland lakes have islands. As I’m concentrating on the southern half of the area, here’s a brief look at the islands in Windermere, Grasmere and Coniston Water.

Windermere is the largest lake, about ten miles long, and it has eighteen islands. The largest of these is Belle Isle which is about two-thirds of a mile long. It was originally known as Long Holme and it’s said that the governor of the Roman fort at Ambleside had a villa on the island. In the 18th century, the wealthy Curwen family bought the island and it was re-named Belle Isle after their daughter Isabella. In 1774, they built ‘Belle Island House’, which was unusual as it was a circular shape, with 3 floors and a portico with 4 pillars. Wordsworth was pretty disparaging about it, saying it looked like a tea canister in a shop window! Isabella’s descendants lived on the island until 1993, and it is still privately owned.

The other islands on Windermere are much smaller, and are all called ‘holme’ from the Norse word ‘holm’ (meaning island). Maiden Holme is the smallest, consisting of a single tree!

Grasmere has only one lake, known simply (and fairly unimaginatively) as ‘The Island’. Evidently Wordsworth used to row across to this island and one of his sonnets is about the tranquillity he found here.

The largest island on Coniston Water is Peel Island, which is owned by the National Trust. This is thought to be the fictional Wild Cat Island where the children camped in the Swallows and Amazons books by Arthur Ransome. This photo shows their 'secret harbour'. The other two Coniston islands are Oak Island and Fir Island, although the latter only deserves the name island when the water is very high and cuts it off from the shore.

Six Sentence Sunday

I was going to have a break from Six Sentence Sunday for the duration of the April A-Z Challenge. However, after a concentrated week of blogging, I decided I'd probably get withdrawal symptoms if I didn't blog on Sunday (the day of rest for the A-Z bloggers).

So here's another six from my recent release Fragrance of Violets. Abbey has joined Jack for a weekend in Paris but he knows she's still uncertain about their relationship. While she's in the bedroom getting changed, he convinces himself he'll have to take things slowly with her. But he's in for a surprise.

“So how do I look?”

Her voice broke into his thoughts and he looked round, then did a double-take at her. 

She stood in the doorway, her hand reaching up the doorframe as she stood in the most provocative, seductive pose that exceeded even his wildest fantasy.

She’d let her hair loose so that it cascaded past her shoulders in a delightfully unruly mass. Her red chiffon jacket only partly covered her beautiful breasts and, fastened with just one clasp underneath them, offered a tantalising glimpse of the g-string below.

“Wow!” was all he could say.

'Fragrance of Violets' is available from Whiskey Creek Press and Amazon. If you'd like to find out more about the Lake District, where most of this contemporary romance of forgiveness and renewed love is set, do look back at my A-Z posts for this first week of April.

April, A-Z and Ambleside

It’s April 1st which means the start of the 2012 A-Z Blogging Challenge, and this year I’ve decided to have a theme: the English Lake District. It’s a beautiful area of lakes (as its name suggests!) and mountains which covers an area of almost 900 square miles in the county of Cumbria in North West England.

The southern part of the area is about 60 miles from where I live and I know it very well. I’ve been going up to ‘the Lakes’ since I was in my teens. My parents bought a caravan there, which I ‘took over’ from them in the 80’s and I went up there as much as I could, with my own two daughters (and often one or more of my friends or theirs).

I’ve also set several of my novels there: ‘Fragrance of Violets’, published in February 2012 (see left side panel), ‘Changing the Future’ (due for release in June 2012), and my current ‘work in progress’.

So come with me on a journey of discovery around this wonderful area in North West England. I’ll give you some interesting facts about many different places, as well as some personal reminiscences.

Today we start with: Ambleside, a small town with a population of about 2,600, situated at the head of Windermere, England’s largest lake.

To the south of the town are the remains of the Roman fort of Galava, dating from AD79, one of the small forts built to guard the Roman road to the coast. The name of the town, however, comes from the Norse “A-mel-saetr’ meaning river – sandbank – summer pasture.

In 1650 the town was granted a charter to hold a market, and it became a commercial centre for agriculture and the wool trade.

Nowadays, tourism is the lifeblood of the town, which provides a base for hikers and climbers, and it is usually very busy during the summer season. There are plenty of hotels, guest houses and restaurants, as well as 10 pubs or bars within a quarter-mile radius. In addition to the inevitable souvenir shops, there are also a number of shops dealing in specialist arts and crafts, and stores selling clothing and equipment for outdoor pursuits.

One of the most interesting buildings in the town is Bridge House, a small house built over the small river called Stock Ghyll. It’s said that at one time a family with six children lived here, with just one room downstairs and one room upstairs. Later it was used as an apple store, and in 1926 it was sold to the National Trust which now looks after it.

The photo of the right is an old postcard which I kept because the two people sitting near the Bridge House are myself and my friend and I think it was taken in the early 60’s. As the house is probably the most photographed place in Ambleside, we probably didn’t even realise at the time that we were being photographed, let alone that we were going to appear on a postcard! Artistic licence has changed the colours of our jackets to look like the modern, brightly coloured kagools.

We often used to go into Ambleside if it was raining (which it frequently does in the Lake District!) to do some shopping, have a pub lunch, and then spent half the afternoon in one of the coffee shops.

Find the other A-Z participants here

Six Sentence Sunday - Fragrance of Violets

'Fragrance of Violets' was released on February 1st and you can see a preview of the first chapter at Whiskey Creek Press http://bit.ly/yy73N9

Here are this week's six sentences from near the end of Chapter 1, when Abbey meets Jack for the first time since his return to her home village in the English Lake District:

Jack Tremayne stepped into the dim light cast by one of the car park lamps and Abbey caught her breath.

His dark sweatshirt stretched across wide shoulders and broad chest, and mid-blue jeans encased his slim hips and long legs. No longer a teenage boy, but a man whose compelling figure exuded confident masculinity. Something deep inside her turned a double somersault.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Resentment at her involuntary reaction to him lent an extra sharp tone to her voice.

More next week!

Please check out more of the 'Six Sentence Sunday' writers here.

The English Lake District

Thanks to Sylvia Ney for this 'Smart Cookie' award.  I've never thought of myself as 'smart cookie' before LOL

Rules for recipients:

1) Thank and provide a link to the persona who awarded you.

2) Share 4 interesting or little known facts about anything.

3) Pass the award on to other "smart cookies".

Okay, so for my 4 interesting facts, I'll give you four facts about the English Lake District, since my recently released romance 'Fragrance of Violets' is set there.

1. The poet William Wordsworth is buried in Grasmere Churchyard.  Probably his most famous poem is 'Daffodils'

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high, o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw crowd,

A host of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

2. Wordsworth attended this school in the village of Hawkshead, from 1778 to 1787. The school was founded in 1585, but the present building dates from 1675, and it remained as a school until 1909.



Like many schoolboys, he even carved his name on one of the desks (now preserved in a special frame)

3. St Michael and All Angels Church in Hawkshead is on a small hill
overlooking the village.

Wordsworth wrote about it in one of his poems:

I saw the snow-white church upon her hill
Sit like a throned lady sending out
A gracious look over all her domain.

At the time he was at school in Hawkshead, the 12th century church was whitewashed, hence the 'snow-white church'.

4. Near to the village Hawkshead is the small hamlet of Near Sawrey, where the children's writer Beatrix Potter lived.  She bought a 17th century stone house, called Hill Top, in 1905, and lived there for several years. Many of her characters, such as Tom Kitten and Jemima Puddleduck, were created here, and her books contain pictures which show the house and garden.



Now to award some other 'Smart Cookies' - doesn't say how many, so any blogger from The Writers' Post blog group is welcome to pick up this award, since you're all 'smart cookies'!

Six Sentence Sunday - Fragrance of Violets

'Fragrance of Violets' was released on February 1st and you can see a  preview of the first chapter at Whiskey Creek Press http://bit.ly/yy73N9

Here are this week's six sentences from near the end of Chapter 1, when Abbey meets Jack for the first time since his return to her home village in the English Lake District:

Abbey swung her car into the car park and pulled up beside the shop. After she’d unlocked the side door and switched on the light, she returned to the car and opened the boot. She’d just lifted out the first box when a voice startled her.

“Want some help with that?”

It was dark but she didn’t need to see him to recognize his familiar voice.

“No, thanks, I can manage,” she said curtly, even though her hands had started to shake.

More next week.

Please check out more of the 'Six Sentence Sunday' writers here.

'Fragrance of Violets' - my new contemporary romance - released today!

My contemporary romance, Fragrance of Violets, is now available as an e-book or paperback from Whiskey Creek Press http://bit.ly/AnU6qV

“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds 
on the heel that has crushed it."
(Mark Twain)

Set mainly in England's beautiful Lake District, Fragrance of Violets is a story of two people who need to forgive each other and also deal with other issues in their lives.

Abbey Seton distrusts men, especially Jack Tremayne who destroyed their friendship when they were teenagers. Ten years later, they meet again. Can they put the past behind them?

Abbey has to forgive not only Jack, but also her father who deserted his family when she was young. Jack holds himself responsible for his fiancée’s death. He’s also hiding another secret which threatens the fragile resumption of his relationship with Abbey.

Will Abbey ever forgive him when she finds out the truth?

Six Sentence Sunday - Fragrance of Violets

My new contemporary romance, 'Fragrance of Violets' set mainly in England's beautiful Lake District, will be released next week by Whiskey Creek Press.

Here's more of Chapter 1, after Abbey has heard that Jack Tremayne has returned to the her Lake District village home.






Abbey knew her mother’s resentment, and that of many people in Rusthwaite village, stemmed from an article Jack had written for the local newspaper eight years earlier.

“He won’t be welcome here,” Mrs Garside said. “I bet Mike Barron won’t even serve him with a pint at the White Lion. No-one here has forgiven him."

No, probably not, Abbey thought. She hadn’t forgiven him either, but her reasons were different.

More next week!

Please check out more of the 'Six Sentence Sunday' writers here.

Six Sentence Sunday - Fragrance of Violets

My new contemporary romance, 'Fragrance of Violets' set mainly in England's beautiful Lake District, will be released next month.
Here's more of Chapter 1, after Abbey has heard that Jack Tremayne has returned.

Jack Tremayne back in the village? A confused mish-mash of feelings threatened to shatter her into as many pieces as the small figurine she'd just dropped. Feelings she thought she’d long since submerged; happy memories of the fair-haired good-looking boy who’d been her inseparable childhood companion.

No, she told herself firmly, she had to forget all that. She had to think only of the night he’d tried to seduce her and then had the nerve to blame her for leading him on. Her jaw tightened as she thought of the bitter fight which had followed, when he’d said so many hurtful things.

More next week.

Check out the other 'Six Sentences' here.

7 Things About Me

Many thanks to Jarmara Falconer for this award.

To earn it, I have to tell you seven things about myself, so here goes:

1.  My favourite part of England is the Lake District (have set my second novel 'Fragrance of Violets' there) - love the mountains, lakes, villages and small towns.

2.  My favourite country is Ireland - went there in 2007, fell in love with it, and have been back 8 times since then.  Going again later this month, to Galway for 5 days and Bray for 2 days.

3.  My favourite city is Berlin - love the sense of history there, covering so many different eras.

4.  My favourite colour is blue - my eyes are blue, my school uniform at both junior and high schools was blue, and I was a Girl Guide leader for many years, with yet another blue uniform.  And whenever I'm shopping for clothes, I always seem to be drawn to anything blue.  Love blue skies too!

5.  My favourite actor is Martin Sheen (and has been for over 30 years).  Loved his portrayal of Jed Bartlet in 'The WestWing' and have just seen his latest film 'The Way' about a group of pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago in Spain, which I really enjoyed.  Don't miss it!

6.  My favourite book is 'The Sunne in Splendour' by Sharon Penman.  For me, it is THE definitve book about Richard III and the Wars of the Roses, meticulously researched and bringing all the characters to life.

7.  Last but not least, my favourite food is English fish and chips - with mushy peas of course.






And now I have to pass on this award to 7 more bloggers - but how to choose?  I can't possibly choose from among all the friends I have made during the A-Z Challenge, so if you make a comment here (and you don't already have this award), then please pick it up from the sidebar - and remember to earn it by listing 7 things about yourself!