The English Lake District and the Scottish Highlands

At Windemere (not Lake Windemere, because “Windemere” means “windy lake”), there was a steam-powered train to take visitors to the sightseeing boats on the lake.  The train zips along at a dazzling 4 mph!  Note:  Beatrix Potter lives on the north shore of Windemere.

Steam train taking off

 

The soil must be horrible in the Scottish Highlands because everywhere you look, there are stone fences and stone buildings.  You’d only use that much stone if it were plentiful.  It made me want to stick a spade into the ground just to find out if there’s any topsoil at all.

Sone house and stone fence

 

William Wordsworth, one of the Romantic poets, is buried in Grasmere, in the Lake District.  This is his family plot in the cemetery.  The poet’s headstone is third from the right.  This was another English major’s highlight on our trip.

Wordsqworth's family graves

 

This statue of the Duke of Wellington stands in Glasgow.  People keep putting a traffic cone on its head and it was costing the city too much to keep removing it, so they decided to let it be.  I’m not sure what opinion this expresses about the Duke.