Wednesday 10th July - A special day for us
Happy 70th Birthday to my wonderful Husband John💕💕💕
He does all our planning, all of our driving and mostly he even washes the pots so I really am truly grateful to him for making our lifestyle what it is❤
So how did we plan to celebrate 🍾 🤔! Well John's not keen on big get togethers and sometimes he isn't all that keen on surprises but the one he got today had been planned for quite a while and I'd just been keeping my fingers very firmly crossed that he would enjoy it and that the weather was going to play ball - Oh well at least I got one out of the two!!
I'd booked a sailing and landrover safari tour which took the whole day - our tour guide Ian collected us from our campsite at 10am and then drove us to Windermere where our first stop was at the very lovely grade II listed Langdale Chase Hotel where the cheapest room is £415 per night😱.
Ian treated us to refreshments while he sorted out his little yacht and then it was all aboard for a 2 hour cruise up and down Windermere. John took the tiller all the way and he very quickly 'learnt the ropes', managed his 'two sheets to the wind' and made sure he 'didn't sail to close to the wind'.
As we went Ian told us about interesting features of the Lake such as the fact that it's the largest lake in England at 10.5 miles and its deepest point is 219 feet. The Lake has 19 islands the largest - Belle Island - is home to a luxurious 16th century roman inspired house the view of which is completely obscured by foliage! He also pointed out swimmers with a support boat who looked like they were doing a complete length and we also later learnt about 'Bonessie a 🦕 'lake monster who has been regularly sighted since 1873 but i'm glad to say he didn't put in an appearance today!
We'd managed to set off in the dry and the breeze was happily filling out sails ⛵️ but it also blew in the clouds so a little soaking couldn't be avoided - but the same breeze soon dried us out - but that was only for the time being 😂
Once back on terra firma we jumped into the land rover and headed back to Ambleside and up to Stock Ghyll Force which is a powerful waterfall that splits through several gullies and falls 70 feet, and as there had been plenty of rain recently it was quite spectacular.
Next it was off to Little Langdale and to get there we needed to pass over the 'Struggle' which was another narrow chunk of road that led us past The Kirkstone Pass Inn which is the highest inhabited building in Cumbria. From there we travelled on for a few more miles to visit Cathedral Quarry. Ian dropped us off and told us to follow a track then jump over a style to get to its entrance and there we found a network of inter-linked tunnels that led us to a main chamber which stands 40 feet high. Within the main chamber there is a thick pinnacle of rock which connects to the roof and also a large man made window that lets in light. The whole system was quite awe inspiring and while we were there a group sang 'The Skye Boat Song' (theme song to Outlander) and that reverberated around the walls quire eerily.
By now the rain was pouring and we were soaked but we made one last effort to walk a bit further to see Slater's Bridge - a cute 17th century pack-horse bridge which was built of slate and consists of a 15 foot segmental arch. It was thought to have been created by Miners working in the Tilberthwaite Fells to assist with moving the slate.
After that we were homeward bound and our evening was completed with a rather nice steak dinner with one or two drops of 🍷🍷 all accompanied with peaceful classical 🎶 🎵 tunes by Einaudi.
Thursday 11th July - Today I thought we were going to get away with no more rain - and we did until about 5ish when it absolutely poured again but happily by then we were back home! Today's outing only required a short drive to The National Trusts Ashness Bridge from were we planned to walk up to Walna scar. Ashness Bridge is another pack-horse bridge with a bubbling gushing tumbling stream rushing under it and to get to the carpark we'd needed to cross the narrow low sided structure. Apparently they were built like that to accommodate the caravans of pack-horses that were used to transport heavy loads that bulged out on each side. The low parapets meant the animals wouldn't get stuck if there loads were particularly wide - the loads must have been massive if they equalled the width of a modern day car!
After a bit of a false start were we tried to follow an almost impassable track we soon corrected ourselves and started to make our way up up and up to Walna Crag following a very wet and stony track. Much care had to be taken to avoid slips and trips but the views over Derwent Water and more distantly Bassenthwaite Water and across to Cat Bells, Maiden Moor and High Spy made our efforts very worth while.
Once we reached Walna Crag we had lunch while gazing down over the distant town of Keswick and the Lakes but while we were eating we very nearly got eaten ourselves as the dreaded midges tried to get their blood fix!
After retracing our steps (and admiring the views in the opposite direction) we returned to the carpark but after a quick drink we ascended another half mile up the road to a place called 'Surprise View'. The view from there was once again of the Lakes below but not much different from the ones we'd seen earlier so we resisted the urge to take any more pics 📸.
Our next stop was at Castle Rigg stone circle which is thought to have been built 4,500 years ago by prehistoric communities who settled there. We thought this was our first visit to the site but while we were there John unearthed a pic of us from September 2010 ( when we cycled coast to coast with our good friends the Robinsons ) so as the place was a bit overpopulated today we'll use a memory instead!
By now the black clouds were looming so we were soon homeward bound for a nice cuppa and thankfully another soaking was avoided.
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After we'd dined we stretched our legs with a short stroll through Sheriff's walk and then browsed around a few shops before treating ourselves to a Lake-land ice-cream while watching all manner of water birds trying to scrounge titbits from the many tourists promenading along the lake shore. 😀
Saturday 13th July - just spits and spots of rain today to accompany us on our long walk around Crummock Water which sits next door to Buttermere. However, to get there our sat nav took us on another white knuckle ride down single track lanes where grass grew on the road surface and where passing places were almost non existent 😱 and two gates had to be opened and closed. It was a good job that traffic coming in the opposite direction was equally rare😂.
Happily my excellent driver negotiated it all safely and once we arrived at our road side parking spot we soon had our boots on to commence what was to be an 8.5 mile circumnavigation of the Lake. Mostly the trail was fairly flat and only one big hill needed to be conquered BUT it was also rough, rocky, muddy and in places very wet so at times it was quite slow going over slippery surfaces and in the end it took us a little over 4 hours.
We set off walking on the road side of the Lake and headed towards Buttermere and that was were we were robbed! By the time we got there we'd already eaten our picnic lunch but with another 5 miles to go we felt we might need some additional supplies so we stopped at the cafe in Buttermere to collect some. There we were charged £1.50 each for 2 small Mars Bars!😂
Having said that we were quite glad we had extra sustenance because the second half of our walk was tougher than the first and stopping for a snack gave us an excuse to wander onto the 'almost' island of Low Ling Crag where we sat and gazed at the majestic mountains around us!
Sunday 14th July - O'dear! Another rainy one. Our plan had been to catch a bus to Buttermere and then to walk back over the hills to the campsite but we were still a bit weary from yesterday's long hike and the pitter patter on our roof sealed the deal for a day of not doing much 😀. However, we did nip into Halfords in Penrith to have a look at folding E bikes and that confirmed the one that I want which we will order when we get home next week.
In the afternoon we visited John's sister Ange and husband Kev who are staying here in their caravan for 3 nights and we spent a happy couple of hours catching up and nattering about on going holiday plans amongst lots of other things.
Monday 15th July - At last - a sunny 🌞 day but not without some heavy rainfall at it's end! Today we went back to Elterwater where we undertook a 6 ish mile hike that took us back to the Cathedral Quarry. On our first visit our time had been very limited and it was pouring with rain but this time we were able to explore more extensively and mostly we enjoyed some pleasant rays while doing so.
However, when we first arrived in the area we thought our trip was going to end in disappointment because after visiting 2 car parks there seemed to be no room at the Inn but then John whizzed around a corner very near to the village of Chapel Stile and dodged into a rough lay-by that sufficed perfectly! And that had the added bonus of only being a hop skip and a jump from the Wainwright's Public House where we partook of our lunch and a refreshing glass of cooling beverage!
Then once that was consumed we walked up past the Elterwater slate Quarry and on to Slater s Bridge before ascending back up to Cathedral Quarry. On this occasion we had the main chamber completely to ourselves and we were able to spend time admiring the colourful strata of the huge cavern and later more of the tunnels that have been blasted through the rocks to retrieve slate.
From there our walk continued along very rocky paths and eventually we popped out beside Great Langdale Beck which we mostly followed until we got back to our car.
Our evening was later spent very pleasantly with Ange and Kev and they very kindly treated us to dinner as a late pressie for John's 🎂 birthday.
Tuesday 16th July - Our last day of this tour😟 but 'hey ho' all good things have to come to an end! Our morning was spent tidying up our pitch and putting things away while they were still dry, then after a quick lunch we ventured out for a walk by The River Greta. We'd been there before 2 years ago but it wasn't until we got to the start of what was to be a 5 mile stroll that I could recall it. To start with we walked through Fitz Park which had been devastated by flooding when Storm Desmond hit back in December 2015. The info boards told us that December 2015 had been the wettest month on record for the UK and that had resulted in the highest ever flood levels for the River Greta with the River depositing large amounts of gravel, boulders and trees in the Park, but looking around today there was no trace of any of that!
Our walk then took us onto the Keswick to The Threkeld Railway Trail but we didn't quite walk all of it's 5 km smooth surface. Along its way there were loads of info boards describing its history, animals and fauna and for most of the time the River Greta rushed along beside us. And it was within the deep chasm that the river displays evidence of Storm Desmond in the form of massive uprooted trees and erosion of the river banks.
Our walk took us through The Bobbin Mill Tunnel which was infilled in 1970 to prevent damage to the Viaduct above which carries the A66. The route was then maintained by a stepped boardwalk which was put in place in 2000 but Storm Desmond disposed of that as well. So next it was decided to reopen the tunnel which required 4000 tonnes of material to be removed from it 80 metre length, but in so doing the route has became more accessible for everyone to use.
So on we went pottering through the tunnel were we spotted recesses in the walls that were used as safety shelters for the railway men when the trains rumbled through! Our final stop was at White Moss Bridge, the original of which was another casualty which Desmond swept away. Today's bridge is a completely new structure which was installed in March 2020. After a little rest on a very convenient bench we retraced our steps, did a bit of shopping in Booth's and then it was back to the van for some R&R before our journey home tomorrow.
Wednesday 17th July - well, now its time for us to go home the sun 🌞 has finally decided to come out to play! We were all sorted and on the road by 10.30 and as I'm writing this we're whizzing down the M1 with about an hour to go. So for now it's goodbye 👋 from us but we'll hopefully be back in mid August when we'll be visiting the Camping and Caravan Club's club 🎶 Festival of Light at Walesby xxx
PS
So, just a quick PS from Walesby! We landed on the ultra organised site on 15th August and although out good friends Keith and Jacky had come from the completely opposite direction to us we ended up parked directly opposite to each other!
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| Toyah |
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| The extremely High Energy Sea Shanty Band |
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| And the rather miserable Heather Small who seemed as if she really didn't want to be there! |
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