We had to check out of our lovely Keswick accommodation at 10am so there was time for a couple of hours of wandering around Keswick before moving to Buttermere, a lake in a valley to the west of Keswick.
Luke kindly let me drag him around a number of shops in which I bought nothing but we did pick up some fudge, a bottle of Kin toffee vodka and a Lake District book for Sue.
Chicken, chorizo and bacon pastie for breakfast. Goodbye Keswick!A last visit to the cheese counter at Booths for supplies.
The next and last stop is Buttermere. Our house is relatively remote so we need to take everything.
Mark and Sue brought their car so they are taking the bags while the rest of us take the bus. We were hoping for a double decker but ended up with the back seat on a single storey bus.
Epic views down Honister Pass. Pete said it was the best bus ride he’d ever been on.
The bus finished at Buttermere so we walked the last bit until we saw the sign.
Our new home!I picked a bunch of lilac for the table.Our private gate down to Crummock Water.Fleetwith Pike in the distance.
I went for a little walk and found two smashed glasses by the creek so I picked up all the big bits and brought them back.
We came back and took the lawn chairs out. There is a building with a bed and breakfast on the property but I’m yet to see another person.
Once the wind got up we moved to a sheltered spot.
We finished off the evening with pizza, wine and Bananagrams. Sue won two, Mark won one, and I was just happy to play.
Then we were off to bed in our tiny little beds in our tiny little rooms. I’ll post some photos of the inside of the cottage tomorrow. Goodnight!
After realising last night that we were, in fact, not leaving Keswick on the following day, we decided on a plan. We were going to catch the lake ferry to Ashness Bridge and walk back to town via Walla Crag, a walk none of us had done and which seemed reasonably straightforward.
The walk from our apartment to the landing was short and we bought tickets (a steal at £2.70 each) and I took some snaps of the very photogenic row boats.
The boat ride was short but scenic.
We alighted at the first landing and walked the step road climb to Ashness Bridge. I’ve been there twice before, also on overcast days, so if my photos look very familiar that’s why. Or you’ve seen this bridge on the cover of a box of Derwent pencils.
There were a few people around but these girls had decided to have their meal break right in front of the bridge and get in the way of everyone’s photos, which was kind of annoying.
Still, the time of day and light was much better this time. Here’s my very shady photo from 2018.
We were a bit less organised today and Mark, who said he wasn’t in charge, had the route marked out on his phone. We decided to take the path that didn’t look very steep.
Through this harmless-looking, and therefore misleading, gate.
But then it got STEEP!
It’s really hard to capture steepness in a photo, but I had to use my hands on the rocks, the surface was loose gravel and there were blackberry canes, nettles and roses everywhere, which made it all a bit challenging. Mark and Sue leapt to the top like mountain goats while everyone else got caught up behind me. To be honest, if I’d been on my own I probably wouldn’t have done it but, after a couple of uncertain moments, we got up higher where the path levelled out.
Maybe, instead of anaesthetic, in hospitals they could save money and just show people photos of amazing views because it seems to make me immediately forget all the suffering I’ve endured.
Onwards and upwards..Feeling the serenity. We did actually manage to hear a cuckoo today too!From up high we could see the fell we walked yesterday. We saw a bird of prey and our eyes could see more detail than this terrible image shows. We think it might have been a honey buzzard.More dramatic views.Negotiating a rare bit of mud.Me in a group photo. Thanks Mark!An unusual stile design to get to Lady’s Rake above Walla Crag. Stunning views! Lea loves it when I take photos of her unawares.Cotton grass.
The back of Walla Crag is a wide moor space that is very open and covered in heather. My favourite sort of landscape, it sweeps up to some higher fells and I was dying a little inside knowing that it will have wait until next time but I guess it’ll always be there.
After a while admiring the view we headed down again.
Past a field with some fell ponies and down a long hill.
Over a bridge…Past some sheep…Beneath a magnificent oak…Past more sheep…Down a lane lined with flowers…To the stone circle!What a day!Weather this good calls for one thing. Yum.
After a bit of a sit at the stone circle (which I have also photographed before… by now you may be wondering why I’m even bothering to rephotograph all these places.
When we got to the bus stop Mark and Sue decided to walk back the 30 minutes while the rest of us waited for the bus. Which, in the manner of buses everywhere, failed to arrive.
Oh well, Luke messaged Mark and they were at the pub along the way so we joined them at the…
It means ‘two dogs’.
After a drink and toilet stop we walked back to the apartment for a late lunch bite and rest before dinner.
Mark was the taxi for the evening and, as there were six of us, had to take us in two shifts to a pub in the village of Braithwaite. The pub was Mark and Sue’s recommendation.
Always nice to see the pour over the line.Cheese sauce with garlic mushrooms on garlic bread – I’m including this photo to remind me to make this at home.Pork belly, or ‘belly pork’ according to the waiter.
Unfortunately our lovely dinner was ruined by Luke and I sharing the news that we don’t separate coloured and white items in our laundry and I’m not sure the conversation really recovered.
Tomorrow we check out at 10 and have three hours to fill before we can check in at our Buttermere accommodation. The next place we are staying is much more remote than any of the previous so we need to pick up supplies, with cheese and wine at the top of the list!
Today was the day! My guided walk for everyone up Sale Fell then back to the lake station cafe for the afternoon tea I booked months ago. I’d been keeping my fingers crossed for good weather but it was sprinkling just a little when I woke up.
There was one thing to do first: the presenting of the gifts!
Relish, satay spice mix and Vegemite.
If you have family overseas you’ll know that any visitor from home will be asked to bring food items when they come to visit. Luke’s uncle Mark had requested a few of his favourites.
Next we headed to the bus stop and finally managed to be first on and grab the seats up the top and right at the front.
Woohoo!
The slight mist of morning rain had stopped and the day was clearing a bit and warming up.
We set off uphill.
And up.
And up.
If I didn’t explain fully yesterday, Mark is Luke’s youngest uncle (Luke’s mother is the eldest of nine siblings) and only three years older than me. Mark moved to the UK in his twenties, met Sue and settled in Essex.
Mark and Sue come to the Lake District every October with a group of friends for walking holidays. They are both very fit, Mark just completed a 100km walk around the Isle of Wight (in one go, not over a week like I’d do it) and Sue runs marathons. The rest of us were a bit concerned that our pace would be a bit painful for them but they magnanimously slowed down.
Well, mostly.
The walk was a long way to the top but worth it.
Sale Fell is a nice gentle hill with an undulating crown. Good walking for inexperienced walkers and families. Great views and no sharp edges!
Right at the very top are views to Scotland and, extremely faintly if you really squinted, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
Here’s Mark’s photo of ‘Luke and Lea looking like they’re loving life on the lakeside links’. (Say it ten times fast!)
We met a nice older man at the top who told us he’d heard cuckoos on the way up, which we completely forgot to listen for on the way down.
The ubiquitous lambs.
The walk down was lovely.
We decided to stop at the Pheasant Inn for a drink since we were too early for our cafe booking.
It was lovely sitting in the sun and the garden had a lot more flowers out since I’d last visited. All the azaleas and rhododendrons are in full bloom at the moment. Mum, you would have loved it.
But forget about a mere drink, afternoon tea was on the horizon!
The tables I booked were in the train cafe.
Apart from being stiflingly hot, it was delightful.
We weren’t sure how the waiters would fit food onto the tiny tables, but through sleight of hand, and possibly some actual magic, they did it with ease.
What first??
The food selection included tiny Yorkshire puddings and roast beef, delicious sandwiches, cheesecake, profiteroles, salmon and avocado mousse, deep fried Camembert and more! Lea had, rather unwisely, claimed at the pub that she would be capable of eating everything put in front of her at the tea.
Don’t underestimate the way a dozen small things can be extremely filling!
Thanks for taking this photo, Sue!
We caught the bus back and are currently collapsed on the couch, digesting!
For those who have asked me if Bonnie is missing us, here’s today’s upload from her host family.
We were up and out at the crack of 11am, ready to hit the rail trail.
Most definitely our easiest day’s walk for the trip but no less beautiful for that.
Well, not all of it was beautiful. Some of it was more striking than beautiful.We took many photos!I mean, a lot of photos.I’m not kidding, ALL the photos.We saw a very cute retro ice cream van.So much sunshine!
I did this walk about six weeks ago and it has changed quite dramatically.
NowThenAnyone know what these are?Some almost tropical sections with mossy walls and ferns.We made it to Threlkeld a little early.Enough time to take some more photos.Luke thought he could take a better photo of bluebells than me! Tell him he’s dreaming.Threlkeld sits in the shadow of mighty Belcathra.I refuse to apologise for all my photos of gates but I am aware I’m overdoing it slightly. Still… how good are gates??More delightful outdoor craft.Back to The Horse and Farrier. A long, hot walk means a nice, cold cider!
I had skipped breakfast so I could have a two course lunch. I know you probably aren’t interested in what we ate but the photos turned out so nicely I’m posting them.
I had pea and broccoli soup. It was lovely. Lea and Pete shared a coronation chicken baguette and a sausage roll.Fancy sausage roll, which Luke also had with bruschetta.I won’t post all the desserts, but this was mine and it was amazing. We sat in the beer garden in the sun for 20 minutes waiting for the bus.
A lovely walk in the sunshine! I feel pretty lucky to have done the walk twice and gotten perfect weather both times.
On the way home I took a photo of the front of our apartment. It wouldn’t take much to turn it into a pretty excellent haunted house.
This evening Mark and Sue are arriving and we are looking forward to seeing them!
My phone setup at the moment makes it difficult to communicate directly with my parents, so I haven’t spoken to them directly since I left. My brother recorded Mum sending me a little message, which was very nice to watch!
Also apologies to all the people who get email notifications, I’ve uploaded a few old posts out of order so if yesterday’s updates were confusing, that’s why.
Today we left our cosy apartment in Ambleside and moved to Keswick. I phoned the owners of the property to see if we could be let in early to drop our bags off and she said it was fine.
Out the door with all the bags.
We caught the bus and Luke and I minded the bags so Lea and Pete could see the view from the top. We’ve taken the route before so we don’t mind not having the best seats.
Wedged in.
The bus was a bit delayed and we ended up taking longer than expected, but the walk from the bus stop to our new place wasn’t far.
The place is lovely and very central, with one bedroom and the living area at ground level then two bedrooms and a bathroom below. We access it from a little door in the car park out back but the front is a traditional Lakeland guesthouse.
Not quite as charming as the front… which I’ll take a photo of tomorrow since it’s dark now.
We went for a walk into town while the cleaning was being finished. We looked through a few shops and walked down to the lake.
A somewhat grey day and a somewhat wonky photo.
There were food vans and a start/finish line for a race all being set up, part of the Mountain Festival that is happening this weekend. There are fell races happening tomorrow (where people run over the fells) of between 5k and 50k. If I hadn’t booked us a pub for lunch tomorrow I’d seriously (not) consider joining in.
We stopped at The Wainwright for lunch.
Pickle Pete! (He was sharing Lea’s burger).
Afterwards we had a bit more of a wander through op shops and bought some lemon cake for our afternoon snack.
We had a bit of quiet time in the afternoon before going to Booths to stock up on breakfast food, crackers and alcohol.
We tried a sample of blue cheese at the cheese counter and ended up bringing several cheeses home.
Before we could contemplate cheese we had to have dinner (it feels like all we did today was eat) and after asking for a table in several restaurants, we ended up back at The Wainwright, where we all had the steak and ale pie.
Marvellous.
Our accommodation has a little patio so we finished off the evening with cheese and wine outdoors. The sky put on a lovely show for us.
The company and cheeses made up for the car park views.
Here Comes The Planet 