I was barely 18 when I moved to Ambleside in the Lake District of England. I started a Bachelor of Education in Outdoor Studies and Environmental Science. The setting was amazing, and Ambleside has to be one of the prettiest and most memorable places I have ever lived. Notice I said “pretty”? Greenland isn’t pretty, it’s breathtaking!
Anyway, I digress.
Mum and Dad treated Jane and me to a trip down memory lane and we spent a long weekend in Ambleside. I could have taken photos of the fells, the lakes, the … yeah, anything. But while M&D had a coffee or three, I dragged Jane past “the sights”.
Such as The Apple Pie Bakery where we students bought way too much caramel shortcake.
Across from the bakery, and running past it, is Stock Ghyll which feeds into the River Rothay. Someone might have suggested it would be fun to do a bit of stealth gorge walking in Stock Ghyll after midnight, and a small gang of us might, just might, have sneaked into the water one dark night to find out if it was possible. 😉
I shared a room in Helvellyn (named after a fabulous mountain in the Lakes) with another student. In fact, that’s my room to the right of the door. (Yes, it’s okay to sigh at this point. Jane did.) The college dorms are prettier on the outside, and sadly (see top photo) a lot of the college buildings we saw on our visit were suffering from disrepair. I didn’t break anything, I promise. But sadly, I think the college has been struggling.
And the all-important fire escape on the side of the next college building where we practised single rope technique, and distracted a few tourists on the road. Oops. Cue “fire escape” photo!
But perhaps the most important place in Ambleside was/is Zefferellis! The place for sticky toffee pudding!
Zeffs is also a cinema. The grand piano took up the bottom right corner of the screen, but they have – since I left – expanded to have another screen in the church around the corner.
That’s it. You’re off the hook. I’ll let you go now. 😉
Chris
P.S.
Still digging through the hard drive. More Greenland soon…
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