Grasmere and Daffodils

Spring is arriving at last in the village. We now have a lifeline in the form of a bus link to Keswick so we aren’t feeling quite so isolated, and the work on the A591 needed after Storm Desmond is progressing. We can be easily accessed from the South or by the scenic route over Kirkstone Pass to the North. It is always a lovely time to visit. Snow on the fell tops, daffodils appearing, shops stocked up for the new season and hotels all spruced up over the winter. Some good bargain breaks at this time of year too.

Daffodils and snow in Grasmere

Today we had rain, sleet, snow and sunshine, and that was just the morning!

Wordsworth and Daffodils

It’s a funny thing but I suppose we all have our own idea of when Spring has arrived. The thing I always look for are the daffodils starting to flower at Wordsworth’s grave. Well today there were daffodils appearing everywhere.

Sam Read Bookshop Grasmere

Even in shop windows. This was a lovely Spring window display in Sam Read Bookshop and further down the road Herdy was getting in on the act too.

Daffodil Herdy

Of course the Lake District is always associated with daffodils because of William Wordsworth’s famous poem. Grasmere has it’s very own daffodil garden and you can find part of the poem reproduced there.

Wordsworth. Daffodils poem.

In the garden I would say the daffodils will be perfect just in time for Easter this year.

Grasmere Daffodil Garden

I decided to head round the riverside walk through Broadgate, then to the Mere.

Grasmere Sign Post

The Environment Agency have been dredging the River Rothay since the floods in December and as I approached the other day I was amazed to see that as the digger exited the river, three canoeists appeared and used the slipway to launch their canoes! A nice bit of positive thinking.

Canoeists River Rothay

They paddled along and the next thing I spotted them in the Mere.

Canoeists Grasmere

We might have had a lot of rain over the winter but another advantage is that everything is looking very lush and green at the moment. As you can see Grasmere is ready for the new season, all that is missing are the visitors. Get yourselves up here, you don’t know what you are missing!

Spring crocus