Day 20 A Day in the Lakes

Last night we had all decided on a little sleep in (we are on holiday after all!), so we were all a little bit late at getting up this morning. Outside, the weather looked like it would be nice later on but for now it was foggy and just thick enough to still be able to make out the houses on the other side of the lake. Dad was the first one up, followed by me just a little later, so we took some pictures of the fog covered lake and started cooking some breaky for ourselves and the others. Dad cooked the bacon, eggs and Cumberland pork sausages while I cooked and buttered the toast. As everyone got up they helped themselves to some of the food, slowly began getting ready for the day and played a couple of games of chess. When we had all organised ourselves and were ready to go, we piled into the two cars and headed through Hawkshead, then Ambleside and up 'Struggle' Mountain (yep, that's its actual name!) 

As we drove up the huge mountains, through valleys and past lakes, the scenery was continuously changing, each equally as beautiful and interesting as the last. We drove past farmland dotted with shaggy sheep with energetic lambs and dairy cows all grazing in the green pastures. We were all puzzled at how some of the sheep could climb the slopes to get where they were, and amazed at the rock walls built all the way to the peaks of the mountains! We stopped at every little parking bay we could find for so many amazing picture opportunities, each one presenting us with something new.

My personal favourite stop was at the edge of Ullswater, one of the many lakes in the area. There was a small pebble 'beach' to the side which we walked down to the waters edge. Here dad insisted that I have a drink of the lake water, I was unsure at first but he reassured me that he already had. I cupped a small amount in my hand and took a sip, and it was so delicious! It was clean; and cold; and refreshing; and tasted so much better than any bottled or tap water I had ever tried back in Australia! (I know, big call, but it was!) As we were walking back to the cars parked up by there road, we found a little waterfall, flowing fresh spring water into the lake. We grabbed some quick last minute pictures and all hoped back into the cars and kept going.

When we got to Pooley Bridge, we stopped for a bite to eat, a toilet break and a stretch of our legs. We parked the cars and walked back to one of the pubs we had seen, just down the road, the Crown Inn. Once we had finished our meals, all quite enjoyable, half of us popped next door for an ice-cream, the other half across the road for ice-cream in cones. We walked back to the cars then headed on to Keswick.

When we arrived in Keswick we wandered in search of a co-op, to buy some food for dinner tonight. On our way, the girls stopped in a small corner shop selling little bags, while the boys kept walking to Trespass, a camping and hiking shop. We met the boys in Trespass and we all spent time searching through the discounted clothes racks, shoe shelves, hats and thick, fluffy socks! Uncle Gary needed to spend a little longer trying on trousers and walking shoes, so we left him and Katie and crossed the road to the co-op, almost everyone leaving with a bargain! We got the groceries we needed and wandered down the main shopping street in Keswick, filled with hiking stores, sweet shops, cafés, gift shops and so much more! After walking up and back down the street we went back to the car for another quick toilet break before driving back to our cottage, just past Hawkshead.

When we were home we all relaxed. Uncle Gary, Katie, Kyle and I were outside looking around when a huge fighter jet flew right over the lake, extremely low to the ground! It made a huge noise but was going so fast that it was only visible for a few seconds. Later we went into have a delicious potato and leek soup with spaghetti bolagnaise for dinner, thanks to mum! Then finished it off with some Marvelous Creations chocolate and coffee, before sitting down to watch Brideshead Revisited. Brideshead was the movie filmed partially in Castle Howard, where we visited while we were in York. Mum bought it at the gift shop in Castle Howard for us to watch at some point while we were with Katie and Gary! Well, we watched it. It was terrible. 

"I'm never recommending that to anyone!" - Gary

Yep, it was pretty bad! Dad left about half an hour into the movie and Gary, Katie, mum and I were wishing we had done the same!

After finishing the movie we all headed off to bed, ready for what we all knew was going to be a big day tomorrow!

Highlights & Tips:

* The Lakes District is truly beautiful! It is definately a bucket list location with no photo able to do it the justice it deserves!

* The taste of the fresh lake water was delicious! It is so clean and refreshing!

* The bargains we picked up at Trespass in Keswick were great!

* Never, ever, ever watch Brideshead revisited. I don't think any of us would recommend it at all! It is definately not a good use of time!!

Love Ash 

xx