19/07/22 - 22/07/22
The Lake District has always been that destination that we would visit as a family every July, but over the past few years life has got in the way and I haven't been able to join them. So, of course this year I had to make the most of the few days I had spare to join them up there!
My parents both travelled to Ambleside on Friday the 15th of July, meaning they had a peaceful few days alone before me and my brother joined them. I got home from Cornwall on the Saturday and had work the following few days, my brother likewise, so we decided the only practical option would be to get the train to Oxenholme station early Tuesday morning and ask for a lift the rest of the way. ( I forgot to mention the fact the train was only £9.50 from Rugby!) Our luck was we'd be travelling on the hottest day of the year, but the air-conned train really wasn't as bad as we expected.
Once we arrived we wasted no time and went straight into Kendal, a town a short drive from Oxenholme. We visited The Bristly Hog Coffee House for a cold drink and breakfast. I had scrambled egg and smoked salmon on toast and it was delicious.
A short drive back to Ambleside, we freshened up and jumped straight back in the car for a few hours in Keswick. We enjoyed a browse around the local shops, drinks and ice-cream at Casa Bella and dad and Tom played a game of pitch and put. Although I love Keswick, the drive there has to be my favourite part, the views through Grasmere and the green scenery the whole way is so refreshing.
After a long morning of travelling, we spent the afternoon relaxing at our cottage ( https://www.wheelwrights.com/holiday-cottages-apartments/overbeck-2/ ) before getting ready to head into Ambleside for dinner at Sheilas Cottage. Of course no evening meal is complete without a pit stop at The Ambleside Inn first for a few games of rummy and few drinks at The Golden Rule afterwards! It was even better this year round as it was the first time I have been able to drink! At Sheilas Cottage I had a pulled pork starter and a chicken tomato pasta for mains, washed down with a healthy serving of Prosecco:)
The next day we woke up and although we had planned to go into Grasmere and walk Higher Ease-dale Tarn, dads arm had swollen from a horse fly bite so he didn't feel like a walk. So, me, mum and Tom decided to go on a little morning walk up Sweden Bridge... safe to say I'm not as fit as I used to be. Though I complained about not being able to feel my legs for a large portion of the walk, the views made it all worth it. It's hard to explain the serenity of being away from busy life for a few hours and just taking in nature but it's something I think we don't appreciate.
After our walk, we stopped for a light brunch, I had a caesar salad. For the rest of the day we relaxed in the garden and then head into town for a few drinks in the early evening. At 6;30 we visited the Jintana Thai Restaurant for dinner and enjoyed a lovely meal. We shared a meat platter that had crispy beef salad, satay chicken, spring roles and ribs and a veggie platter that was full of sweetcorn fritters and to be quite honest I don't know what else! For mains I had sweet and sour prawns with rice and noodles and a sharing of my brothers plum duck, which was to die for!
Unfortunately, my brother had an allergic reaction to something in the starter so once we finished eating we went straight back to the cottage so he could rest. When I'm away sometimes I feel like doing nothing is a waste of the trip, but then I just have to think, a trip is for you and if you need to relax then do just that. I think it's only a waste if you think it is.
On the Friday we decided to walk around Loughrigg Fell and continue on to Grasmere for lunch. The walk was a nice combination of steep and steady, with a mix of stoney trails and fighting our way through the long grass. There were fields filled with sleeping sheep and highland cattle wondering the fell. Did you know highland sheep are not restricted to areas with physical barriers and instead it is bread into them through generations of being in the same area!
22,000 steps later, we stopped at Tweedies Bar & Lodge for a bite to eat. Being the generous sister I am, I agreed to share the meat platter with my brother, containing pigeon, Venison and boar.... I enjoyed the pickled onions and the chips it came with! Thats not to say there was anything wrong with the meat but more to do with the fact it may have been a slightly too adventurous choice of lunch. We spent a few hours wondering around and then got the site seeing bus back to Ambleside... if you do visit the Lake District I wouldn't recommend this bus on a budget.
Anyway... we showered and changed and of course went back to The Ambleside Inn for a few vodka cranberries and a game of cards before we walked down to the The Ambleside Tavern for some dinner. It was a lovely evening to end a nice few days away with the family!
Story time...
I have a few stories from this trip, but the most stressful must be the story of the keys...
Before my parents left we had discussed the fact that I would give my friend Bailie my house keys at work on the Monday night so she could feed our cats and water the plants...I forgot to give her the keys.
New plan, I would leave the keys hidden for her to collect the morning we left...we forgot to leave then hidden.
Once we arrived at the Lake District, we phoned my grandad as I was certain he had a spare key to our house, however he was convinced they didn't have them anymore, so the only thing to do was to post my brothers keys with same day delivery to their house for Bailie to go and collect. One tracked parcel later and my grandad calls back to say they found their spare key!
Luckily bailie gets my grandparents keys okay and goes to sort the cats and the plants, but its now over a week later and we couldn't tell you where my brothers keys have gone and some how I've managed to loose mine too! Moral of the story is not to leave me in charge of the house.
Comentarios