The North!

Northern England: Vision of Idealism
The moist climate of Northern England makes it easy for plants of all kinds to grow, and I couldn't help but take close-ups of all the vibrantly colored flowers and leaves. Although a photograph of a large piece of landscape is beautiful, I often like to zoom up close and observe the amazingly detailed beauty of each subject that creates a landscape.

The bridge in the Japanese Garden at Adenham Park
I loved all the places we visited while up north, but one of my favorite parts about our excursion was actually getting places. I thoroughly enjoyed sitting in the coach and watching the amazing landscapes rush by. The green rolling hills, trees of all sizes, millions of sheep, and hundreds of miles of stone walls that were hand-built centuries ago captured my attention for many of the hours that we were driving. It amazed me to think about how many hours of hard labor were put into those walls and how hard working the people who built them must have been. I started to reflect on how our society has changed and how things have slowly become easier and thus mad us a lazier generation. We love our modern conveniences now, but are we really better off now than we were 100 years ago? Questions such as these put deep thoughts into my head and caused me to spend some time reflecting on them.

Another one of my favorite parts of the trip up north was the Lake District. We spent one night in a hostel in Browness on Lake Windermere. A few of us woke up before the sun and went for a hike/run around the lake and viewed the lake from the peak of one of the surrounding hills. There was a slight mist above the lake which gave the landscape a picturesque feel and the crisp air sharpened my senses, which made the trip even more enjoyable.

View of Lake Windermere from the top of a surrounding peak

Fountains Abbey was one of my favorite places I have visited since being here in England. I had never seen grass that green in my entire life. The rolling hills gave me a sense of peace and the ruins of the Abbey were extremely intriguing. To see the nature overtaking the structure was very symbolic of the power of nature and of God. He is more powerful than anything us humans can create. We spent hours just taking pictures of the awe inspiring scenery, and could have spent hours more doing so.

Northern England is the most picturesque places I have personally visited and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to witness such beauty.