The original plan for this year was for a solo trip to explore the heritage and natural beauty of the Lake District. Then my parents’ various health conditions stabilised over the winter and they decided they would like to join me at least for part of the time. I don’t drive, so everything had to be by public transport, with occasional use of taxis. I chose June due to unhappy memories of my only previous trip to the area as a child when it rained all the time, as June looked like the best chance of reasonable weather.

My best train route was via Manchester, and it seemed to make sense to break the journey there. That brought in an added option to spend a couple of days there, to explore the industrial heritage of the area. It also meant I wasn’t doing my main journey at the weekend, when public transport is often disrupted, which in retrospect was an excellent idea.

I got a pre-booked taxi to my local station, then the Cross Country train to Manchester on a Friday early in June. It was dry but cold. I splashed out on first class, which was much more civilised and relaxed than standard, but they did tell me off for having too much luggage 😊 OK, I did overpack a bit. I had accidentally booked too early to reserve a seat, and was surprised to find the train fuller than expected even in first class, but luckily there was a seat. They provide free, or rather, included, snacks and drinks in first class. I discovered the hard way that you have to lock the door in the toilet . I read my first book, and found the scenery after Macclesfield was rather pretty.

The first snag occurred once I got to Manchester. The hotel I had booked was the Malmaison Piccadilly, very close to the station, but I had hoped to get a taxi there due to the admittedly excessive amounts of luggage. Unfortunately they refused to take me as it was too short a distance – I would have been happy to pay whatever their minimum rate was, but I had to manage by myself.

I had booked afternoon tea at the hotel to kick off the holiday, so after checking in and depositing my luggage I enjoyed this in the restaurant area. To be honest I wouldn’t have it there again as too many of the savoury items were a bit too spicy for me, and the toffee scone was just OK (I had to ask for it to be warmed, too, which should be standard). I had a little walk around and bought some cold drinks for the room fridge at a handy branch of Sainsbury’s. I had originally thought of going to the theatre that night but didn't fancy what was on that weekend, and in the end just stayed in my hotel room watching the Diamond League meeting.

I would stay at the hotel again. The location was great (too much luggage aside!), and my upgraded room was very nice. Not much of a view, but it was a big room with a very large bathroom with both a good shower and a good sized bath. Negative: the heated towel rail didn’t work. The room itself had a big fridge in the entrance area, but was a bit short on storage for clothes. On the surface everything was spotlessly clean, but I noticed I picked up a lot of dirt on my feet when walking around without shoes, and a grubby corner of duvet poked grimily out from the cover which was rather unpleasant.

Saturday was forecast for rain all day with thunderstorms 11-3 – delightful. I had breakfast in the hotel; I was disappointed to find no plain water available – it was all heavily flavoured with lemon – so nipped back to my room for the complimentary bottle there. The pain au chocolat was delicious, but the cooked breakfast tasted a bit bland and wasn’t as hot as one would like.
Then I walked to the station to get the 9.33 train to Leyland in Lancashire. The train was busy but clean. By 10 the rain had set in, and the sky was a thoroughly menacing dark grey.

By the time I reached Leyland the rain was really heavy; I would have got a taxi from the station if there was one there but it wasn’t too far a walk to the Commercial Vehicle Museum which was my destination for the morning. I was impressed by how clean and well kept all the vehicles were, and what a variety they had, from 19th century buses and fire engines to a 1980 Popemobile. I was mainly interested in the older exhibits.

I had a toasted sandwich in the café there, then squelched my way through the puddles back to the station, and I do mean literally through. I would have quite liked to go to a nice looking stately home at Chorley, but decided I didn’t have enough time to get there before it closed, so returned to Manchester. I got off the train at the Deansgate station as that looked like the closest to the People’s History Museum, but it was more of a trek than I had anticipated.

The museum itself has some very interesting exhibits about working class history and protest movements (and is free to visit), with a few lacunae, eg nothing about the role of Methodism, and some simplistic and some slightly earnest captions. Definitely worth a visit though! I got a bus back towards Piccadilly Gardens, and walked from there to the hotel. I was generally quite impressed by how clean Manchester was, and I felt pretty safe there.

I had a drink in the hotel bar before but it was very noisy, much more than the Friday night.

I will try to upload some photos tomorrow

interesting tour

I hope so!

Did you find room for your bags in the luggage rack on the train? It always seems to be a small space that is crammed full and if you can't lift your suitcase up high, it's even harder. I'm going to have to travel very lightly next time I'm in the UK, otherwise it can be difficult getting on and off trains and there's the storage aspect on the train. How many bags did you have?

I always use the bit at the end. I had two suitcases (one with clothes for the Lakes, and a small one with things for Manchester plus books for the entire trip), a small toiletry bag I couldn't fit in the small case, and a picnic bag with lunch, a couple of books for the journey and a bit of overflow. And a handbag. I admit this was at least two too many. I got a bit carried away not having to be limited by plane limits.

Sorry have not managed to get my photos sorted but will try again tomorrow before resuming the report.

Manchester in the 1800s must have been amazing (nice and nasty, see also the Inspector Calls), but a real home to the Steam Engine. I ran a factory in Bolton which had quoted for the boiler for Locomotive Number 1 (failed to get the contract, but still had the drawings).

Manchester and surrounds would have been great if you were a mill owner, but not if you were the poor sods working for them.
Terrible air quality, poisonous rivers, poor housing, hard working conditions.

My husband is from Oldham. His father was a cotton spinner, responsible for four mules. A hard job which gave him deafness and a lung disease. He worked in the mill from the age of 14 until he retired at 65. During the war he was also a volunteer fireman, cotton spinners were a reserved occupation.

DH recently said about a story that he read in the Oldham Chronicle, from their archives. In about 1913 a rag gatherer was going through a tip near a mill, looking for stuff to recycle when he came across a coffin. In the coffin was the body of a baby. He reported it to the police who said no crime had been committed. The parents probably made the coffin but couldn't afford a funeral so the baby was taken to the tip, and covered in some stones. It was common then it seems. They accompanied the article with photos of very young children working in a cotton mill dodging under the mules and looms to fix things. Child mortality was high.

Sorry nonconformist - I didn't want to hijack your thread, which is interesting to read and it is good to hear of people visiting Manchester and surrounds for a change. I just wish there was more history of the poor workers rather than of the rich people.
I know the museum you visited is also called the museum of democracy, though I have never been to it. If we go back to the area maybe we will. DH has no family there now though so not much reason to go again.
His father's mill in Oldham, like so many, was demolished and is now a shopping centre. We went there once when we revisited old haunts. We wanted a coffee and stopped there, and only realised it was where the mill had stood when we saw the name of the café. It has all changed so much.

The original Bolton factory is also now a shopping mall, when demolished they found four human bodies in various cooling tanks, probaby adults and probably petty criminals removed from a life of crime according to the archives now housed in half of Bolton Central Library.

My local village in Yorkshire had a mill owner who, running out of work here sold his apprentices to a mill owner in Lancashire and walked them, in winter, to their new home.

Finally on to day 2, LOL.On Sunday I had decided to visit the National Trust property Quarry Bank at Styal. The original plan had been to go to church there too, but I discovered the night before that the service was going to be a joint one at Wilmslow, and in the event I wouldn’t have got there in time anyway.

I was not initially too dismayed to find the railway was doing Works on the line, and that there would be a replacement bus from Manchester Airport. However, I found the bus took a long time to show up. Then the driver forgot to stop at Styal altogether; when it stopped at Wilmslow I asked if Styal was next and he admitted he had forgotten to turn off the road. He did then drive me to the right place but I was left distinctly concerned about the pickup for the return journey, especially as he said they might not drive to the actual station but only to the end of the road a few hundred yards away – maybe…

I walked a short distance to Quarry Bank. This is a fascinating site, where there is a cotton mill (with working machinery), the house of the owner, the ‘apprentice house’ where child workers were housed, and a model village for adult labourers, most of which have been modernised and are now let to tenants, but one has been restored for visitors. The village school and churches, all built by the factory owner for his workers, are still in use. Tours of the worker’s cottage and apprentice house need to be booked, but you can do this on the day at the ticket office. It is a really interesting insight into industrial history and its social impact. The tours were extremely informative, and there was enough to see to occupy most of the day. Much recommended if you have any interest in the Industrial revolution!

I should say the weather was not as bad today, but it was fairly drizzly most of the day.

I was so anxious about my return journey I had asked the woman at the ticket office hen I arrived if she could recommend a taxi firm so I could get the few miles to Wilmslow, where I was more confident of picking up the replacement bus. The taxi I booked picked me up OK, but despite being from a local firm turned out to have no idea where the station was in Wilmslow so ended up abandoning me in the middle of the town and I had to make my own way there, passing my replacement bus heading in the other direction on the way….
My luck changed at the station, as I found there were trains running to Manchester after all, possibly on a different line/route, so it was easy from there.

The mill at Quarry Bank

Inside the mill

Hetismij, Quarry Bank would be brilliant for your husband. The lives of the child workers (who they called apprentices but weren't really) are very touchingly brought to life.

On Monday morning it was goodbye Manchester, and on to the meat of the trip. I had pre booked a taxi from the hotel to the airport, and while it was very expensive for the short distance, I was really grateful for the driver’s help with my luggage – money well spent.

My weekend trips had allowed me to familiarise myself with the station, so I knew the platform for the Windermere train was at the far end of the main concourse, then a bit of a trek. There should be a rollator up a slope, but it was not working so I had to drag my excessive amounts of luggage again. I know, my own fault There is an airport style waiting area on this upper level, but I went down in the lift to the actual platform a bit early as I was anxious about potentially missing the train, and no one stopped me. There are only a few direct trains to Windermere each day, but I preferred this option to changing even though I understand it would have been a simple change at Oxenholme with no change of platform. I took the 11.50 from Manchester which got to Windermere at around 2. I was surprised how busy the train was, but most people were using it for shorter journeys, not going all the way to Windermere. There was not much room for luggage either.

I had pre booked a taxi with the Ambleside Taxi Company to pick me up from the station, and I can recommend them unreservedly. I used them several more times during the trip, and they were always efficient and pleasant. It’s a small company with four cars, and the drivers are all Hungarian, and they were all very nice and helpful. I had elected to stay in Ambleside, as a good centre for public transport with plenty of evening dining options, which was also a good choice, and had picked the Salutation Hotel, which was an even better one.

I had booked a single room, which was a significant saving on solo use of a double, but it actually had a small double bed in it. The best thing about the room was the very big balcony which had a great view over the town and the hills behind – slight negative was a very narrow door and high step which made it slightly tricky to negotiate with a drink in your hand. It was spotlessly clean and the bed was comfortable. There was not enough storage, and nowhere to hang dresses, and the bathroom, although perfectly functional was rather small and felt a bit dated. But overall fine.

After checking in, I went out to take an initial view of my surroundings, and had a late lunch at Belli’s Café, a small place not far from the hotel. I really liked this place; I had scones which were regrettably fruit but not too full of them, and there was a nice vibe.

One of the deciding factors for me in picking the hotel was that it has a swimming pool in the basement, and having unpacked a bit, I went down to have my first swim. The pool is really nice, a good size and temperature, with an easy set of steps in. You need to get a pass card each time from reception which was slightly annoying but not really an issue. I may not mention it each time, but I got in a swim each day between my day’s sightseeing and dinner 😊 There is a gym down there as well. The floor lights on the corridor to the pool are covered with little plastic ducks which was quite a cute effect.

I had prebooked dinner at the hotel that night, and it was good. There are several discrete lounge areas leading off the bar, all quite pleasant. There is a computer with internet for the use of guests, and a pretty good wifi provision throughout the hotel for one’s own devices. There is a very small library/book exchange (just a couple of shelves) of other guest’s unwanted books; there was nothing I fancied, but over the fortnight I donated quite a few of my books to clear space in the luggage going home.

The best thing about the hotel though was the staff who were all really lovely. I can’t imagine wanting to stay anywhere else in the Lake District.

Ambleside and your hotel sound lovely. It was June this year you visited? What was the weather like overall? I enjoyed a stay in York last year and since then have been making note of any towns that might be good for a few days or a week long stay. As much as I love London, it feels very hectic as I get older.

Yes,, it was. The weather was mixed - some gorgeous days, some drizzle, only one day that was really bad rain. I was lucky, but also I had selected June as better for weather than later in the summer. A friend went last year in August/early September and it was torrential rain every day, and they were stuck in a small rental cottage with young children, so I think it was pretty awful. It was also not as busy in June as in really high season - pleasantly bustling, I would say, in Ambleside, but not crowded.

I had a good night’s sleep but was disturbed in the morning by a wasp which has somehoe managed to sneak into the bathroom. I managed to trap it under a glass, and let the reception staff know it was there. I went down to breakfast. There were lots of options, both hot and cold, which I explored during my stay, but one failing was no proper pains au chocolat, just twist things which are not the same at all.

Today’s plan was to visit Grasmere, and I had prebooked a ticket for admission to Dove Cottage, the first Lakes home of William Wordsworth, at 11.20. The bus stop was a short walk downhill from the hotel (there is also a stop right outside but it only stops going one way). The main bus stop is opposite the local library and an unpretentious little Italian restaurant called Luigi’s, and caters for buses going both ways. The bus was already waiting when I got there, so I got on and enjoyed the pretty ride to Grasmere, passing sheep and lambs in the fields and getting a glimpse of Rydal Water.

The bus journey was about 20 minutes, and the Dove Cottage stop is clearly marked. I got there at 9 am - far too early, not just for my appointment but as it turned out an hour before opening; I had intended to do the new museum first but was there before it opened, so I sat outside at a cafe table, and read in the sun for a while. It was not that warm but lovely and bright. When it did open I went into the museum, which is in a separate modern building. They display various memorabilia and manuscripts relating to Wordsworth, and have a lot of explanatory material too – all very well presented and very interesting. The small café is over the road – not much on offer but I did have a cold drink there.

Once my slot was ready I joined the group of fellow visitors and we went over to the house. I should say it may not have been essential to pre book, as there were a few getting same day tickets, but it would be risky as some people were disappointed, and in high season I suspect they are packed out. The cottage is charming and you can also see the rather neglected garden.

I then got the bus on to Grasmere village – it wasn’t far so would have been an easy enough walk but I wasn’t quite sure which fork in the road to take, so the bus was just easier. I had lunch there at Heidi’s Café which was small but quite nice, but there are loads of places in the village to choose from.

After my snack, I walked up to Allan Bank, a National Trust property where Wordsworth lived for a period. It’s quite a steep walk uphill, but passing some adorably cute lambs on the way. Once there, the house itself is not particularly attractive, but there is a glorious view looking down over the lake (Grasmere). The house doesn’t have a lot inside (none of the original furniture) but there are some nice pictures and other exhibits. After going round, I sat in the garden for a bit in the warm sunshine; I was hoping to spot a red squirrel, which are said to frequent the grounds, but no luck.

I walked back down to the village and wandered around the shops for a bit, then got the bus home. This time I was able to get off right outside the hotel, but walked back along the road to have a piece of apple pie at the Apple Pie Bakery. Then it was back to the hotel for a swim and then dinner.

Dove Cottage

Inside Dove Cottage

View from Allan Bank