Blogs from Lake District, Cumbria, England, United Kingdom, Europe

With 4 days to spare between my tickets at Old Trafford and My tickets and the Oval I had no real plans until quite recently. There was the possibility of another game of cricket in the UK with Rich, but at the wedding I was talking to one of Richie’s cricketing mates, Brett, who still plays and he said, “Why would you want to do that again? You’ve already played cricket in England.” So, I decided to go to the Lake District up north. I came without any real preconceptions and what I found was a little like the Cotswolds in that there are some very pretty little towns. But that wouldn’t have kept me entertained for the three nights I had booked. There was also a lot to see in the great outdoors. I arranged ... read more

Amy's Mum and Dad have enjoyed trips to the English Lake District for many years, so it was no surprise that Amy would get initiated into the tradition sooner rather than later! We based ourselves in the lovely town of Ambleside, our favourite Lakes town. We stayed at the Rothay Manor hotel, which is well set up for families, with cots and highchairs available in bedrooms. They even have a baby monitoring system set up for every room so we were able to have dinner in the restaurant downstairs whilst Amy slept in the room - perfect as we had recently lost our baby monitor somewhere between Gatwick airport and Cyprus! In Ambleside we discovered a fantastic restaurant called 'Lucy's on a Plate', which does amazing food and provides a nice change from the usual fish ... read more

At the beginning of September seems like an odd time to go to the North of England, what with the weather being so famously dire in the Autumn, but peace and quiet was the name of the game. Grasmere is a tiny village in the Lake District, nestled on the bank of one of the smaller lakes (Grasmere, in fact). There are two main draws to the village for myself and my betrothed, the first of which is a shared love of English Romantic poets. Wordsworth himself lived in Grasmere for more than ten years, after becoming homesick for England while in Germany. He described the village as "the loveliest place that man hath ever found." You can visit Dove Cottage, which is the lovely cottate he lived in. There's lots of info on www.wordsworth.org.uk including ... read more

Yesterday wasn't good. The forecast turned out to be very accurate and the rains just continued. The day was literally a washout and spent on Keswick high street - ironically taking in the outdoor clothing shops in an effort to buy further wet weather gear! Having bought all that was necessary, it was off to the little coffee shop in Grange for a well-deserved strawberry cream tea! Today was a little better ... and a day spent on the High Street, i.e., the highest Roman Road in England. It was also where six Wainwright's would be climbed. Parking in Martindale, the first little issue was not getting lost on the climb up towards Steel Knotts. The little wooden Footpath sign clearly pointed along the stone wall and many others had clearly passed ahead, but sadly, the ... read more

The weatherman said today, there’s a slight chance of rain, I had to laugh to myself ... It was raining when I got up, it was raining when I wandered into town for breakfast, it was raining when I was buying my lunch, it was raining all day! The day dawned ... ... rain fell ... ... waterproofs were donned and two more Wainwrights were earmarked for climbing. Due to the inclement weather, two of the lowest were to be attempted - not difficult but, with the cloud base being so low, two offering the best opportunity. And so, in the driving rain, I drove to Thackthwaite and parked up by the side of the road and made my way past a notice imploring the red squirrels to drive carefully, through a farm yard and onto ... read more