We left Kendal soon after breakfast Tuesday and headed for Ambleside, home of the adorable Bridge House and the Armitt Museum, whose holdings include many of Beatrix Potter's botanical paintings. We spent some time in the museum, then continued to Grasmere where we toured Wordsworth's Dove Cottage and the adjacent museum. All this in the company of plenty of tourists like ourselves, in spite of it being off season.

We had spotty drizzle and sunshine throughout the day, with the sun breaking through now and then to highlight the spectacular fells. In late afternoon we headed to Patterdale, our next B&B, with only a slight diversion to Troutbeck -- truly picturesque but with roads I'd rather not share with anything bigger than a bicycle.