Wednesday 3rd July - Fine when we left Haltwhistle but after our 60 mile journey it was blustery with heavy showers when we arrived in Braithwaite at just after 1pm. We quickly got set up on this familiar site (we were here 2 years ago), had a bit of lunch and then nipped off to Cockermouth to replenish our nearly bare cupboards. Then by the time we got back the skies had darkened, the hills had more or less disappeared and the wind was wild so rather than any further outings we contented ourselves with a bit of planning for the next few days when our dear friends Sharon and Paul will be joining us at the weekend.
Thursday 4th July - Well, there wasn't much difference in the weather in the morning but the weatherman promised it would get a bit better around lunchtime. But even then we only planed a simple walk into Keswick because this unseasonable weather is still continuing with gusts of up to 45 mph and this has resulted in a lot of the Lake ferries being cancelled due to unsafe conditions.
 |
| Derwent Water |
Our walk of about 6 miles took us into Keswick and then on to the edge of Derwent Water where we sat and watched 👀 large numbers of Greylags and Canada geese while we indulged in a very nice ice-cream 😀.
From our spot we had magnificent views of Catbells, Walla Crag and Friars Crag along with more fells that I can't name but the vista was lovely. Derwent water itself is the third largest body of water in the Lake District and there is a 10 mile walk around its perimeter which we might tackle while we're here.
As we walked back towards Keswick we nipped into Hope Park to have a look at the pretty flower beds and it was there that we also met Max the Miracle Dog 🐕 who was a 13 year old spaniel who was awarded the doggy equivalent of an OBE for his outstanding contribution to society! It seems he helped people with their mental health via live broadcasts of his walks during the pandemic.
Friday 5th July - As we peeked out this morning we were more than happy to see some glimmers of blue sky and also the strong winds that had rocked the van overnight seemed to have abated! Therefore, we were soon setting off for what was to be a 9 mile walk in the National Trusts Ennerdale Valley which lies on the North Western edge of The Lake District.
Our walk was mostly on forestry trails and once we were past Lake Ennerdale we often had the River Liza to keep us company and also towering over the valley were some of the classic 'Wainwright's' - Piller, Great Gable and Kirk Fell.
After we'd been walking for an hour and a half we started to seek a lunch spot and this came in the form of some rocks below 'Middle Bridge'. It was a lovely place but the racket of the water as it gushed over small falls almost totally precluded any conversation 😀.
Our way back was down the opposite side of the valley and as we went we watched the small birds scittering through the trees but sadly no red squirrels today!
Oh, and I think I forgot to mention the several miles of windy narrow single track road with blind bends that we'd been required to negotiate on the way there .... but as the road had been a dead end there was no other choice than to repeat the performance in the opposite direction 😱
Saturday 6th July - A showery morning turned into a pleasantly sunny afternoon and by 2ish we had been joined by Sharon and Paul and we would have the pleasure of their company for the next 3 days😀. For a good couple of hours after they arrived we spent our time nattering and catching up but eventually we roused ourselves to go for a walk from our campsite up to the old Force Crag Metal mine that occupies a dramatic location at the head of the Coledale Valley and which is now under the care of The National Trust. We'd visited before on our previous stay but we were still interested to find it was the last working metal mine in the Lake District and that it wasn't finally abandoned until 1991. The site was first mined for lead in 1839 and then later zinc and barytes (the main element of barium) were fetched out of the ground.
.jpeg)
We lingered within the shadow of the mine for refreshments and from there we could have continued our walk but that would have involved a steep climb and lots more time! So instead we just admired the waterfalls that were racing over huge drops before an about turn to retrace our footsteps home and on the way we had the pleasure of watching a couple of Roe deer 🦌 bounding through the undergrowth.
Our day was finished of with a steak meal cooked by yours truly (for 3 of us and the 4th had some form of vegetarian curry 😶) along with a much requested white choc raspberry cheese cake that had needed slight modification due to being prepared in our wee small abode😋. In the end every crumb disappeared so it must have been good and of course it all needed washing down with a beverage of the red kind 🍷.
Sunday 7th July - We'd been promised rain 🌧 but happily 😊 we got mostly sunshine 🌞 instead. Sharon and Paul weren't staying on the same site as us because when they booked there was no room at the Inn. Therefore, on Sunday morning we nipped a couple of miles down the road to collect them and then travelled on to the beautiful Lake Buttermere for a walk that would circumnavigate it. Buttermere is quite a small lake and the path around it follows the shore with only a few lumps and bumps along it's 6 mile way but the mountains around it sweep straight up from the lake shores in steep dramatic slopes so without even setting foot on a hill you feel as if your right in the heart of the peaks.
Our walk was quite a lazy one with a tranquil stop for lunch and once it was finished we headed for another attraction - The Bowder Stone. The rock is thought to weigh about 2000 tonnes and is about 30 feet high, 30 feet across and 90 feet in circumstance and it balances on a bit of a flat face all by itself. John and Paul scrambled to the top but not quite so dramatically as it may look - in 2019 a metal ladder was placed there that goes nearly to the summit so from there they only had a short slippery scramble to conquer the beast!
From there it was home to get ready to go out for supper at a local Indian restaurant in Keswick. Once there we all chose our meals and tucked into our starters but once they were finished a very nice waiter returned to our table to inform me that my tandoori chicken 🐔wasn't quite cooked properly in the middle so they wouldn't charge for it! He added that as I hadn't eaten the raw bit he was sure I would be okay - I didn't quite have his faith and laughingly told him I'd be back if he was wrong! The rest of the meal was lovely and luckily I came to no harm! Then it was back to our van for more chatter and a night cap - maybe it was the sterilising effect of the gin that saved me from any ill effect 😜 .
Monday 8th July - turned out to be another day when the weatherman lied. He said rain but we got more lovely 🌞. Today we collected our mates again and set off for the Langdale Pikes but not to climb any of the towering four summits - our plan was to walk through the valley from Old Dungeon Ghyll to Chaple Stile but before we got there we had a little adventure when our Sat Nav took us along Side Gates Road! However, I think maybe 'road' wasn't quite the title it deserved 🤔! It was windy, rutted, steep both up and down and it required that our car was greased on both sides so that it would slip through the constant narrowness between sharp stone walls, grassy banks and hedgerows and that was along at least 7 miles! Sharon sat in the back looking out of the side window so she didn't see what was coming up and I was in the front cringing 😬 😳 as we went but out expert driver negotiated it all without any signs of stress 😩 and secretly I'm fairly sure he actually enjoyed the challenge!
Once we landed in the National Trusts car park our boots were soon on ( well mine and John's - Sharon and Paul wore flip flops) and off we went spotting climbers clinging high up on the rock 🪨 faces above us. Our path was flat easy to follow but quite often our breath was taken away by the magnificent views or maybe it was by trying to dodge what we thought might be bitey insects that we needed to flap and dodge away from - the only thing for it was to spray all exposed skin with a coating of Lemongrass and that must have worked because we all made to The Wainwright's Public House unscathed!
In times gone by The Wainwright's Inn was once a farmhouse, gunpowder factory, and after that a petrol station ⛽️ and a hotel but now it's mostly an eatery that on this bight sunny day was very popular. Once we perused the menu the girls partook of fish/whale and chips and the boys pie 🥧 and chips🍟 all of which was delicious 😋, and afterwards to walk it off we headed uphill to The Burlington Stone Quarry that was established in 1843. Apparently the use of this high quality stone can trace its history back to the time of Henry VIII and even the Romans, and more recently it's been used for bespoke interior and exterior designs. However today all was quite but we were entertained by a screeching buzzard doing flybys in the depths of the quarry.
Our return journey followed much the same route as our outbound one but if anything the views were even more majestic, and once we neared the end of our walk we sat outside what used to be the Sticklebarn Tavern for further refreshments (but ours, not theirs). The National Trust used to own it but recently it changed hands and it now has the strange name 'Lanty Slee'. It seems this is because Little Langdale was the home to the notorious 19th century smuggler Lanty Slee who had loads of stills for distilling moonshine. Apparently he hid them in caves and quarries in the area!
Our journey home was via a much better route and on the way we stopped at the Posh Booths supermarket for goodies for tea. Tonight was the last one for now with our friends but it was another were we were all fed and well oiled and where we provisionally planned another get together soon.
Tuesday 9th July - well, the weatherman certainly got it right today - rain 🌧 rain 🌧 and more rain so we awarded ourselves a day off. While dodging heavy showers we've managed to do essential jobs such as shopping and washing but mostly we've had our feet up in preparation for a busy day tomorrow. Its someone's special birthday so a surprise outing has been arranged but we'll tell you all about that in our next episode.
👋 👋 👋 for now xx
No comments:
Post a Comment