We pulled up in the first car park, paid for the parking and checked out the different walks and paths on one of the main maps. We had a quick toilet break before we went, and got going on the decided trail. Not long after we had begun walking we came to a bridge but instead of crossing we continued straight on through a small paddock. As we were walking through the paddock three huge fighter jets, all like the one we saw yesterday, flew right over our heads. The noise they all made was huge, it honestly felt as though they were going to drop a couple of bombs or something! It was pretty scary! And boy did our ears hurt afterwards! They had come and gone too fast for us to even think about blocking our ears! After we had recovered from the experience we kept on walking along the trail.
Not long after we came to another small footbridge crossing over a small weir (a little rock wall built to alter the flow of the running water) and a huge lake called Grasmere. We stopped to take some pictures before walking a little further along the path and taking some more. We then headed up a little slope to get further up the mountain. Some of us, weren't so keen on the trek up that particular track and were very reluctant to go, but everyone did! However when we were up that one, and were faced with the next, a lot of us became a little more reluctant, as it was a lot bigger than the last, and I mean a lot! Driven by the longing to see the view at the top, we all started up the very, very steep hill! Marni and mum stopped about half way up and then made their way back down while the rest of us continued to the top. After a very tiring climb to the top, we were all relieved to see the peak of the mountain! And boy was the view fantastic! We could see mountains and valleys and lakes in every direction.
While at the top we took pictures, caught our breath and even had a chat with a couple of locals! We shared a little bit of mint cake between the six of us to give us a bit of energy and filled up with water, ready for the trip back down! It was a so much easier on the way down and I think we were all both proud and relieved that we had made it up and were back on level ground again! We met up with Mum and Marni who had walked along a different path, and headed back to the cars. From there we drove to Grasmere, the town, for some lunch.
By now we were all getting extremely hungry, and to be honest we could have all used a Snickers! We wandered down several roads looking for somewhere that did more than just sandwiches and eventually found a small cafe called the Potted Out Cafe. We ordered our milkshakes, beers, wines, pizzas, burgers, and risottos and sat inside out of the hot sun. When the food came out, not only did it fill the empty tummies at the table but it tasted pretty decent to! We paid the bill and walked back down the same road to a small Gingerbread Corner Shop, so mum could buy some homemade gingerbread, which she tells me is the most amazing gingerbread she has ever tasted! From there we drove to Windermere for a quick look at the lake from a different angle and for a 'gourmet' ice-cream, with the choice of a huge thirty-six flavours! Afterwards, we had a short look in Lakeland (a store completely dedicated to cooking utensils, appliances and some sweets!). From there it was back to Hawkshead.
We stopped for a final time just before our cottage at Cuckoo Brow Inn, where we had had a lovely dinner the first night of our stay. We stopped for a few pints, some garlic bread and a game of around the world darts. After sitting and relaxing outside there for a while, we piled back into the cars and headed back to the home for a quite night at home.
Katie, with the help of Uncle Gary, cooked up a feast of roast chicken rolls with coleslaw, salad and corn for dinner, which was absolutely delicious! Thank you guys! We cleaned up then sat down with some chocolate and coffee to watch a movie before bed. We were all very tired from our big day in the Lakes District and were all in bed early, getting ready to be up early tomorrow to pack up and head our separate ways, Gary and Katie back to Penkridge and the rest of us to Edinburgh, Scotland!
Tips & Highlights:
* It was so great to make it to the top of the mountain and see the view from the peak!
* The food at the Potted Out Cafe was delicious!
* The choice of 36 flavours of ice-cream was fantastic! There was so many yummy flavours!!
* There were so many swans at the Windermere lake was awesome! The all swim and dive into the lake searching for little fish and food!
Love Ash
xx
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