I'm from the south-east of England, which is, in many places, lovely, bucolic: small country lanes, pubs and beer gardens, footpaths, villages that are hundreds of years old, and, in places, some rolling hills. But as you head north, things get more rugged, windswept, hilly and spacious. This is a generalisation: there are huge cities north of London and there are wild places in the south. But head to Northumberland, and visit your friends in the countryside (as we did) and you appreciate the openess and opportunity of our northern counties. It did rain a lot, including throughout our surfing lesson in the North Sea, and for some of our bike ride to the village hall/cyclists' cafe.
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Heads down, into the rain, off to the surf
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A bleak but invigorating day on the North Sea
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More rain, big smiles
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It's all about the tea room
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| Bacon sandwich with brown sauce |
After Northumberland we headed west, across the country to the Lake District. If I had to pick one area of the country (maybe the world) to be stuck for the rest of my life, this may be it. There are plenty of places with bigger mountains and wilder spaces, and the Lakes towns are overrun with tourists, but for pure beauty, variety and endless mountain walking, the Lakes has it all. Plus no short supply of pretty tea rooms and cozy pubs. A lifetime of walking, climbing, mountain biking, road biking, watersports and even some beachgoing could be had here. A trip to the west coast of Scotland may make me re-think, but the midges would soon send me scuttling south!
We had beautiful weather in the Lakes. We stayed at the YMCA (it's fun to stay...) which is in a brand new building on a fairly remote part of Lake Windermere's shoreline. From here, we met up with some old Leeds Uni hike soc friends and walked up Old Man of Coniston, in all its sun speckled, mist tickled glory. Once up high, the temptation just to keep romping along the ridge all day was great, but we dropped down to Goat Tarn (Goat... Greatest of All Tarns?) and completed the loop before heading to Coniston village for a well earned pint and dinner.
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On our way up Old Man of Coniston
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Summit cloud effects looking down along the ridge
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| Spotting climbers above Goat Tarn |
Another day, another blue sky, and a visit to Wray Castle to hang out by the lake and make new friends with kayak owning holidaymakers from Shropshire. Simon escaped for a quick run up the hill, and we were a little suprised by an RAF jet fighter buzzing low over the play park on one of its customary training exercises. This left most of the under 5s in tears, and most of the over 5s in awe.
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The view from Latterbarrow
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| Wray Castle, Lake Windermere |
Our last day in the Lakes allowed for an easy morning, an afternoon stroll to a cool cave, an early dinner at a great Italian restaurant (when in Rome?), and, a highlight of the trip, meeting up for an evening paddleboard/(Canadian) canoe on Lake Windermere with some more of the Leeds uni hikesoc crew. Have I mentioned the great times we had in hikesoc? Adventures aplenty in the Lakes and in Scotland, often wet, often cold, always with beer, and always with friends. Friends who have remained to this day. And so it was that we headed off across the lake, pitched up at a tiny beach, and caught up while the kids took the paddle boards out and had the time of their lives messing about in the waves created by the wake boats.
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Paddleboard passenger
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Paddleboard pilots
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Sun sets on a fantastic paddling adventure
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| Spectator witnessing a final foray into the countryside |
Another day on the British motorways followed, traffic and all. Never gridlocked, just always start-stop. We ended the day in the village of Hambledon with the Aneja family who are in the middle of renovating a house, a flat and a garage conversion as well as chasing a two year-old. Maybe we can be helpful? I hope so.
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