The Lake District

Fairy Hollow


See the rain? (Ambleside)


On the way up Bleaberry Fell at Derwentwater


The view from the fell


The Feeney kids - Mary, Catherine, and John, at the hostel waterfall

Hello from Glasgow! I have another hour before my train leaves to Oban (on the Scotish Coast) so I thought I'd let everyone know about the coolest place I've been in England! (literally cool as well)
I spent a day in Ambleside and a day in Derwentwater, which are completely different but both amazingly beautiful. I wish I knew some of Wordsworth's poems by heart, because it is easy to see how he would have been inspired by this area. It was pouring rain the whole time (until this morning), but I went exploring anyway and am so glad I did. In Ambleside, I walked a National Trust path through a couple of feilds towards the other side of Lake Windermere. I felt like Anne for a while, especially when I reached a footbridge that reminded me of the one Gilbert proposed on. :) I also felt like one of the Narnia children, waiting for nyads and dryads to appear from the trees and streams - I found a little hollow that just seemed made for fairys, and stayed there a while. I think my dad would have loved this area - all the beautiful green hills, with tiny grey villages lining the shores of deep blue lakes. It certainly made me think of him and how he would love to be at the house in Oregon right now, playing on the river in the boat. But it also made me remember that just as Lake Windermere was more pure and blue than the Willamette (not that that's hard), the lakes and rivers of heaven are bluer and purer still. I can't wait to see him there!
Derwentwater was also blue and gorgeous, but much more rugged. The fells around it were much higher than at Windermere, and there was a waterfall right behind our hostel! I mean, less than a minutes walk away. It was crazy, and still pouring, but of course I had to try to reach the top of one of the fells. The path was well marked until I reached a point about a quarter mile from the hostel, and then it kind of turned into a stream running downhill and I was just following the rocks uphill. There were still gates to cross on the "path", so I knew I was headed the right direction at least. Soon my only companions were the sheep dotting the hillside, at least one of which gave me a queer look, like "what are you doing up here?" So I took a good look around from a rock formation somewhere near the top, watched the clouds gather around the hills, got whipped by the wind and rain, and made my way back down 100% soaked from head to toe. But it was completely worth it! The view was amazing, even though the day was far from clear. The whole hike took only about an hour and a half.
Later that evening, while eating dinner, I met a couple of girls (late teens) who were making dinner for their family. The older one (Mary - a sophemore in college) asked me if I wanted to join them (which of course I did - they were having Indian -style lettuce wraps and nan), then insisted that I join them. I just knew somehow that they were God-lovers, and then they opened dinner by prayer and I was just really excited. They are the Feeney's, from Indiana, and were traveling from Israel to Ireland on a three week journey. We stayed up talking long after dinner, and then they invited me to join them for breakfast as well - and then after breakfast to their family devotions, and then they gave me a ride into Keswick so I could catch a bus to the train station. I was so blessed by these incredibly generous, loving, and wise individuals. They have such beautiful hearts for God and each other. From the soft-spoken dad to the rambunctious 14 year old boy, they treated one another and me with such kindness and respect. I am so grateful to have met them and hope to see them again someday!