Wordsworth's Prelude: Summer Vacation

Saturday found us following in Wordsworth's footsteps as we descended into Ambleside from Kirkstone Pass, with Lake Windermere spread out beneath us.

Bright was the summer's noon when quickening steps
Followed each other till a dreary moor
Was crossed, a bare ridge clomb, upon whose top
Standing alone, as from a rampart's edge,
I overlooked the bed of Windermere,
Like a vast river, stretching in the sun.
With exultations, at my feet I saw
Lake, islands, promontories, gleaming bays,
A universe of Nature's fairest forms
Proudly revealed with instantaneous burst,
Magnificent, and beautiful, and gay.
It was so beautiful from such a wonderful vantage point, and peaceful after the crowds we had encountered around Ullswater.