View of Windermere, Lake District, England.

So in the last week, I’ve been in Ambleside, in the Lake District, scaling pike and fell, fording beck and ghyll, skirting tarn and pond, and generally clambering over a number of summits to take in stunning views of Lake Windermere and the surrounding countryside.

It’s a complete departure from my usual intrepid urban exploring through Asian port cities, but every long walk I’ve taken here so far has been every bit as enjoyable, if somewhat (rewardingly) strenuous.

If anything, the long walks have afforded me time to relax and think about what next…now that my Grand Tour II on the treaty ports of China, Korea and Japan has reached its inevitable end here on Dream Of A City; and my first book – based on my Grand Tour I – has been published. [The Romance of the Grand Tour – 100 Years of Travel in Southeast Asia. Check out my other blog – http://www.romanceofthegrandtour.com for more details.]

It has undoubtedly been an exciting three years – I’ve done so much and all my hard work has paid off. I AM, naturally, just a wee bit exhausted.

Which makes this journey out of the ordinary so welcome. I can’t say that I know quite yet what exactly is next for me – I mean I have an idea, of course – but I know I’ve had a good time simply taking in the gorgeous scenery, the wonderfully crisp country air, and imagining how it would be like to move here and settle down in one of the picture-perfect cottages by a river.

And so…after spending the last three years writing posts that count, I think I’m going to allow myself one little doozy of a post that’s really about nothing at all, unless you count walking (and walking and walking and walking) and enjoying the scenery something.

It’s a refreshing change.

Mansion by the Rothay River.

Country lane

Rolling countryside

Atop Wansfeld Pike

Crossing The Hundred.

Distant peaks

Lanefoot Farm, Troutbeck

The summit of Loughrigg Fell.

Clambering down the Fell.

The sun breaks through the cloud cover.

View of Grasmere, associated with William Wordsworth.

Streambed by Rydal Water.

And finally, the town of Ambleside, to the north of Lake Windermere.