About halfway up Great Britain, in the upper reaches of England and just before the border with Scotland, lies the Lake District.
It is a stunningly beautiful landscape of lakes and "fells" (mountains), old stone walls and rolling green countryside. It's a rural paradise, like Switzerland with lower mountains and (charmingly) lower levels of perfectionism.
William Wordsworth, one of the premier poets of the English language, is a product of the Lake District. This is one of his most famous poems. Wordsworth's residences—Dove Cottage in the village of Grasmere (his home from 1799 to 1808) and the nearby Rydal Mount (1813-1850)—are both open to visitors.
The poet is buried in the graveyard of St. Oswald's Church, where tourists hungry for more than just literature can stop by the adjacent Grasmere Gingerbread Shop to partake in traditional gingerbread made according to Sarah Nelson's 19th-century recipe.
Groups traveling on certain EF Educational Tours will drive through the Lake District and take in the views; some itineraries include a visit to either Rydal Mount or Dove Cottage.
Photo: magnusfranklin via Flickr (CC license)
