Arrival to Grasmere, Hiking in the Rain, Rydal Hall & Gardens, and Rydal Mount

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

I ate breakfast downstairs in the dining room -- my last breakfast at The Edwardene in Keswick. I finished getting ready, tidied my room, and gave it one last glance before I was out the door to catch the 9:30 am bus to Grasmere. I really enjoyed the bus ride. It's just such an incredibly beautiful area. I arrived in Grasmere in approximately 30 minutes.

Here is a map of pretty much everywhere I visited in the Lake District on this trip. In the top right corner, Penrith. Take the main road from Penrith over to Keswick. Then take the main road from Keswick down to Grasmere (at the very bottom of this graphic).

My bed and breakfast in Grasmere was Heidi's Grasmere Lodge and it is just the cutest. The first floor is a cafe and it was open when I arrived. The sweet girl at the counter showed me where I could store my bag since check-in wasn't until 3:00 pm.

The Lake District and Grasmere, in particular, are associated with the poet William Wordsworth. He was born in the Lake District and lived nearby to Grasmere from 1799 through his death in 1850. After dropping my bag, I was off to one of his favorite homes and the place of his death, Rydal Mount & Gardens. It was about a 50 minute, wooded walk.

You can see Grasmere below and I took one of the green dotted paths down to Rydal Mount & Gardens.

If fairies exist, this is where they are.

The rain started and only let up momentarily for the entire walk. It drizzled, it downpoured, and everything in between. I overheard the dad of a family passing me make a snarky comment about "hiking with an umbrella." Yup! I would've been soaked through without it. I wasn't trying to look cool.

I arrived at Rydal Mount and walked through the garden first. On a sunny day, it would've been glorious. What a spot to write to poetry.

I guess I didn't take a photo of the outside of the house itself, but I found this from the internet. Just quintessential English.

I headed inside and was charmed.

Don't you wish you lived here? Don't you wish
you could set up a desk here and write a novel?

There were many other rooms and bedrooms and I loved it because it had creaky, uneven hardwood floors, low door frames, and a hodgepodge layout.

Around the corner from Rydal Mount was Rydal Hall. Rydal Hall dates back to the 1400s, but what we see in the photos below is from the 1700s. It's now a conference center and hotel.

Nearby to the hall, there was a very beautiful series of waterfalls.

Silver lining with so much rain is... rushing, gorgeous waterfalls.

From here, I was hiking in a somewhat remote area around Grasmere Lake and the River Rothay. I was on the south side of the two bodies of water in the map below, making my way back to Grasmere.

I was trying to find Rydal Cave but took a wrong turn and didn't come across it. I could've turned back, but I was pretty far out and was ready for some food back in Grasmere.

This is one of my favorite photos from the trip.

I made it back into Grasmere and it seemed like every food establishment was filled to the brim. When I walked into Mathilde’s Cafe I was able to tell the counter girl that I was sitting at table 7 and luckily no one sat down there before I was able to make my way over. I got a latte and some soup and, after a drenching day, it soothed my soul.

It was then time to check into my bed and breakfast! I was given a code via email to enter a back area of the property. There was a table in the foyer with a series of envelopes and one had my name on it with a welcome letter and further instructions. On a wall nearby there were little cubbies and I was told which cubby my room key was in. I then headed up!

I splurged on this room in Grasmere. It was just so cute. I mean, look...

Grasmere is a tiny town. You can easily walk from one side to the other within like 10 minutes. There is really only one road through it.

I got myself settled into my room and went out later for dinner. Right around the corner from my bed and breakfast was a restaurant called Tweedies. I got a burger and fries and it was pretty good! It smelled a little like piss in there, though. 😬 But the staff were quite nice.

Even though this was the rainiest weather so far, I really enjoyed the day. I love a historical house. I love a stately garden. I loved the hike out in the middle of nowhere along the lake. It all just felt very English and I love when things feel English.