... We set out for home, opting for a route that took us through the Yorkshire Dales again, instead of through several genuine, but rather large English cities. This "highway" was slightly less slow than our previous Yorkshire Dales excursion, and we enjoyed our lunch break at Aysgarth Falls:
We had the path through the woods mostly to ourselves:
Since a walk in the woods is a good time for reflection on other things, I may as well admit that despite our distaste for the Lake's commercial, over-populated feel, tourist traps sometimes exist for a reason. Though unpleasant in the moment, our day in the "Lakes" did more to prompt new and stimulating avenues of thought than our more pleasant outings in Yorkshire.
Still checked out from the library, for example, is the (decoded) Journal of Beatrix Potter, as well as the National Trust's Beatrix Potter (1866-1943): The Artist and Her World. The lavishly illustrated second volume has helped me appreciate Beatrix Potter's children's book illustrations as serious art, and led me to admire the industry and skill of the author, artist, sheep-breeder, scientist, and conservationist:
“Her stories began as picture letters for real children; they ended as tributes to real animals. In the years between she painted and wrote to please herself. ‘The more spontaneous the pleasure – the more happy the result. I cannot work to order; and when I had nothing to say I had the sense to stop.’” (68).Still, if we ever have the chance to vacation in England again, it will be Yorkshire not the Lake District that makes it on our list of places to settle into.
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| A cow-free public footpath in Yorkshire Dales |
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