Standing in the grounds of the hotel as there’s nowhere to sit. Everything is covered in a fine layer of rain. The air smells clean, earthy, like a box of button mushrooms and the only sound is the wind rustling the leaves on the trees. Even the birds are fed up with the incessant wetness. They sit huddled on branches and dry stone walls, their feathers puffed up.
Is this really summer? The only animals that seem to like this weather are the Llamas in the field next to the hotel. They lay down on the wet grass and click their tongues at each other. I guess if I had a thick wooly coat like that I wouldn’t mind it so much either!
The Lake District…a place loved by writers, poets. An inspiration to artists so they keep telling me. But is that because it just seems so miserable? A place that suits a tortured soul? Perhaps I’m just not depressed enough to appreciate it. I just want to go home now, back to my concrete town where everyone shops at Icelands and where the Llamas would be well advised to wear a bullet proof vest over that warm wooly coat.
It’s not really that rough where I live….a slight exaggeration, but only slight 😉
No seriously, it’s a beautiful place but I didn’t find it as inspiring as I thought I would, or was told I would. Perhaps it was just too cold and wet? It got me thinking, what place would I find inspiring? And it has to be the beach, no doubt about it 🙂
What kind of place do you find inspiring?
Related articles
- Write from the Heart in the Lake District (mufidahkassalias.com)
The View Outside 
I never know where inspiration will strike, and anyway it comes from the mind not the geography. I liked your line Even the birds are fed up with the incessant wetness
There is no place more green than England, though at the moment since we’ve been getting sufficient rain, we’re pretty green too
LikeLike
That’s a good point Sue 🙂 I guess if we’re in the right frame if mind ANYWHERE can be inspiring 🙂
*whispers* green is my least favourite colour so perhaps that was the problem lol
Xx
LikeLike
I’m not really affected by geography in regard to my writing either. But the place where I felt most depressed by my surroundings was the Black Forest. Have to admit I feel slightly the same about the Lake District as you Vikki, beautiful though it is. Even though I live in the Blue Mountains and like writing there, I also like the busy atmosphere of cities.
LikeLike
Really Pauline? Oh, we’ll I won’t go there then lol
There’s such a contrast between cities and the wide open spaces if the country side isn’t there. I LOVE trees, but, I think I need something more as stimulation 🙂
Xx
LikeLike
Well, I do love to write in the rain, so the Lake District might suit me! And strangely, I also like to write while traveling. Something about being in between two destinations frees my mind to go to new places too. Airplanes, boats and buses (although buses can be a bit bumpy!) are great places for me to get some interesting words.
LikeLike
Wow, that’s interesting Kirsten 🙂 In that case, it DEFINITELY would!
Ooooo, not boats, I don’t like large expanses of water lol
Xx
LikeLike
I love being in the mountains. The piney air wakes up my senses. 🙂
LikeLike
Sounds LOVELY Christi 🙂
Glad to hear you’ve found your inspiring place!
Xx
LikeLike
Home is always my inspiration though these days my muse seems to have hidden itself and is hiding in a corner somewhere sulking. The rain is never a worry though it can be a distraction sometimes when you want to write about a sunny day. In a couple of weeks I’m off to York for a couple of days so maybe my muse will tag along and feel like writing about the experience afterwards.
Have a great time in the lakes Vikki ( and no, I don’t mean literally IN the lakes).
xxx Huge Hugs xxx
LikeLike
Oh I don’t mind rain if I’m sitting inside at a window, nice and dry David 😉
Have a lovely time in York, take your notebook 🙂
Thanks honey xx
LikeLike
Hmmmm, well, I love the Lake District but maybe more for running and cycling when I think about it. Maybe my inspired place is all about conditions. My day from heaven writing-wise would be a nice, long run over some hills with my story firmly in my mind because there’s nothing like running for me to sort out creative (and other!) questions and inspire me with new ideas. Then I’d have a short but lovely breakfast with friends who I’d then shoo away back to their own jobs so that I could settle down to write before lunch. Writing would be in front of a real fire in a quiet hotel lounge – that would do just nicely, thanks – and then I’d be so inspired, and writing so fast, that I’d forget lunch and write until 3pm, grab a sandwich and write on until the evening when I’d settle down with friends/ loved ones somewhere well away from a washing machine and hoover.
Great post Vikki although I do still feel the urge to try to convince you of the beauty and serenity of the Lakes. That said, sometimes it’s just way too busy and so I did smile at your reference to having to stand outside the hotel. I think North Yorkshire is just as beautiful (slightly biased as I live here) and it’s much easier to avoid the crowds. And it doesn’t rain quite as much here as in The West – if my few years living in Wigan are anything to go by.
LikeLike
Oh Jackie that sounds like HEAVEN, if I substitute the hills for a beach, and the running for a walk 🙂
Ahhhh, so next time I should try Yorkshire 😉 I might just do that!
Thanks honey xx
LikeLike
Love being outside for the inspiration of the greenery, smells, sounds, whatever the weather – although set the limit at snow, rain, sleet, hail & sunshine on same day as = mud. BUT being wheelchair bound restricts me to indoor inspiration these days… dreams etc
LikeLike
I love being outside too Roland, when it’s warm and sunny he he he 😉
Awwwww, honey 😦 Is there no one who can take you out and about?
Xx
LikeLike
Wife tries – like today – but I’m a pain to get out as wheelchair hard to transport. Need new vehicle that I can drive into.
LikeLike
Oh dear (((((hugs)))))
Hope you manage to get the new vehicle at some stage xx
LikeLike
I’ve heard that Autumn is the best time to visit the Lake District, although to be fair there’s not much difference in the weather at the moment! (But you do get the colours in Autumn!) I like wide expanses, cliffs and sea, wind whipping my hair and taking away my breath – in other words, Cornwall! My spiritual home without a doubt! Never fails to inspire me.
LikeLike
Ahhhh, now there’s an idea Linda 🙂 I would like to go back, but I just want some nice weather while I’m there lol.
Ooooo, yes, Cornwall 🙂 I’ve been a couple of times and I can understand why you love it!
Xx
LikeLike
Mornings in my back yard is a great place to write. It’s not fancy or special but I love listening to the birds and the quiet before the world wakes.
LikeLike
That’s lovely Jai 🙂
I used to do that on a Sunday morning, but haven’t for a few years as its just not warm enough 😦
Xx
LikeLike
Oh yes, the beach! I’m with you there, it’s so relaxing and beautiful 😀
LikeLike
Ahhhhh, another beach fan!
Thank you Dianne, it seems I’m not alone 🙂
Xx
LikeLike
Sorry it didn’t live up to expectations. Anywhere on the west coast of Ireland is breathtakingly beautiful and they have some of the best beaches in the world, not to mention the pubs…and I once went on a brilliant writing retreat on the Beara peninsula (in South west Cork) that was both productive and relaxing. On second thoughts if you’re not keen on rain or the colour green perhaps it’s not the best suggestion…
LikeLike
Thanks Bridget 🙂
It wasn’t THAT bad, I would definitely go back!
Ha ha ha, it sounds lovely, but yeah, perhaps I’ll just stick to the beaches 😉
Xx
LikeLike
I hiked in the Lake District but didn’t try to write there. It was beautiful when I was there, rare sunshine, blue skies. Perhaps with a bit more gloom I would have wanted to take up my pen. At least down a dram or two 🙂
LikeLike
Oooooo, I wish it had been like that when we were there….I think I would have appreciated it a lot more 🙂
Thanks honey xx
LikeLike
I seem to get fresh ideas when I travel *anywhere*, but especially at airports and on planes. Maybe because it shakes me out of my routine, or perhaps because it’s such good people watching.
Oh, and I served on a jury this week… that triggered a few plot and character ideas, for sure!
LikeLike
Oooooo, now I bet THAT was interesting Pauline! I hope you took your notebook?
Xx
LikeLike
Hi Vikki – I love the llamas! Although I find landscapes inspiring, and fantasise about living in the countryside, I am definitely a city girl at heart. I tried a weekend retreat in a lovely forest with healthy vegan food once, tranquil and calm, but within 24 hours I was heading out in the car with my friend for coffee and cake in the nearest village! We have just returned from Guernsey and spent a lovely day on stunning Herm – very peaceful and inspiring, but I wouldn’t want to live there. I like the contrast of feeling safe in my home space while the outside world bustles and I am only a 5 minute walk from the corner shop that is open all hours. Oh dear, not very spiritual, am I? I’m having trouble writing anywhere just now, although I also get lots of ideas on journeys, especially on the train.
LikeLike
Ha ha ha, I would be EXACTLY the same Jane…it would be “where’s the nearest Costa/Starbucks?” 😉
Well, in that case, buy a travel card and just go round and round on the train all day? Lol 😉
Xx
LikeLike