Inconceivable!

When looking for a film to watch this evening, we came across The Princess Bride, and although it is not really a British film, it is filmed here in England, so we decided it would be a great way to round out the evening.  The film, a cult classic from the 80s is fabulously ridiculous with everything from eels to giants to miracle pills to six-fingered men to ROUSes (rodents of unusual size).  And of course there is Vizzini who constantly repeats "inconceivable!"

Today we went for a Rick Steves-recommended drive through the Lake District, and well, as typical, Rick did not lead us astray.  We went north just a bit and drove through some incredible valleys surrounded by craggy peaks spotted with waterfalls and sheep.  The views were breath-taking and the roads, well, "inconceivable!"  I'm learning my way around these one-lane-two-way roads, but they still make me a bit nervous.  If the size of the road did not scare you, well, the two rock walls on either side of the road help to keep the width of the road, shall I say, precise?  It is really all fine and well...until another car comes along and one of you must find a place to give way to the other to pass.

The sights along the way though were well worth the anxiety of driving on the narrow passageways.  We started at a stone circle called Castlerigg.  I'm learning that no matter how "inconceivable" these ancient formations are, they are scattered about this country.  In the Lake District alone, I believe there are four that date back to well before a time that we can even begin to conceive.  This stone circle was also very impressive, but it was made even more dramatic by the surrounding countryside and the fact that you can walk right up to the stones.  You can climb on them, touch them, or just walk amongst them, just like people have been doing for centuries upon centuries.

As I have said, the weather has been a bit damp this week, as floods continue throughout the country.  Last night we watched another wonderful movie also filmed here in England, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.  At one point in the film, Morgan Freeman, while trying to decide which way was east, but finding trouble as the clouds were thick screamed, "Is there no sun in this cursed country?!"  We all laughed, understanding a bit of his frustration.  However, because of all of the rain, the waterfalls were almost as difficult to count as the sheep.  They were beautiful cascading down the mountainsides into the valleys below.

Although Rick Steves predicted the drive to take about an hour, our frequent stops for photographic opportunities made the tour closer to four hours.  One would think that being so many miles from home, we would spend our time photographing all of those things that are distant to us, those things we rarely found.  But no, the most common thing we took photos of today were the animals we passed along the way.  One of our favorite stops along the road today was to look at a heard of cows.  I know, I know, "inconceivable!"  To be fair though, these were not the kind of cows we have in our neighboring pastures at home.  These were the great Highland cows, ones with coats so warm and thick that they can withstand the temperatures in this country.

As we continued along the narrow windy road, I noticed a car stopped just up ahead, and after it moved, I realized why it had stopped.  There was an animal in the road.  A sheep we all assumed, as they are everywhere in this area.  But as we drew closer, we realized it was no sheep at all, but rather, a pony.  "Inconceivable!"  This white pony stood squarely in the center of the road and appeared to be quite comfortable there.  He then began to walk towards us where he stood in front of the car for longer than I was comfortable with.  I had no idea what he might do and I was a bit worried that it might involve hitting or kicking the car.  After a minute though, he walked around to the side of the car where my father had rolled down his window.  It appears the pony was in fact collecting his toll.  He stuck his head in the window and thoroughly appreciated the scratching he received.  I have no idea where this creature came from, but he seemed to know exactly what he was doing.  For, after we gave him an apple, he seemed satisfied and so, moved on to the next car approaching behind us.

Up ahead just a little ways was another pull off where we were able to photograph the sheep in the valley.  Most of whom do not seem to like their photograph being taken, nor do they really seem to mind people, but nonetheless, we enjoyed the opportunity.  My favorite sheep was the one who walked across the bridge and scratched his bum on the pole.  He seemed quite pleased with the scratching post he had found, no matter how close the humans appeared.

Contentment

On the road again

Our tour did not end there!  It continued with picturesque little villages, scones with clotted cream and jam, views of the lakes, stone bridges, mossy forests and our own little traffic jam, which I know, seems "inconceivable" in these parts!  I'm afraid we may have caused all of the excitement that created the traffic jam though, so I guess I cannot complain.

It was a day full of "inconceivable" beauty and creatures acting in "inconceivable" ways!