Alan had told us he had planned a surprise for Tuesday, which turned out to be an overnight stay at a cosy guesthouse just out of Bowness on the banks of Lake Windermere in the Lake District. Since we were all married in 1969, this was a double anniversary celebration of 45 years together. We were greeted with afternoon cream tea and a glass of Prosecco in the beautiful gardens sloping down to the lake, with views to the distant mountains. We took a walk down to the lake shore down the narrow twisting road, but were stranded by a sudden downpour and had to call a taxi. But hey this is the Lake District, greener than any grass ever seen where we come from.
Dinner was a very special treat, starting with tantalising morsels of goats cheese, prawns and salami in the lounge, looking out on the misty hills and lake. In the dining room which was full but not crowded, we had an intriguing 'amuse bouche' of tender shredded duck with a light hazelnut crumble, all sitting on a tart apple aspic jelly. Delicious! After that the three course meal! Cold carrot soup with coriander and coconut, tender thick slices of lightly roasted beef fillet, then a custard raspberry cream dessert were my choices, all scrumptious, and served by attentive (and numerous) mature aged staff.
