The Lakes

Continuing the tradition of blogging stuff months after it happens, a few belated notes on our family holiday in the Lakes in early April (Dave has already reported on this here).

General

We have taken a good many holidays in the Lakes as a family, though not recently – it was 13 years since I’d last been there (pics of that holiday, in 2005, here). Lovely to go again in the company of Mum and Dad, Dave and Hazel and the kiddies. Hannah and Henry had been due to come but had to pull out due to Henry suffering a foot injury shortly before the holiday date. Ruth, unfortunately, was apparently traumatized by a wet day trip to the Lakes as a teenager, so had let me know early on that she’d prefer not to accompany us. On the plus side, Ray ended up joining us for most of the days we were there, which was an unexpected treat.

Day 1

Actually I started out on Day 0, as I didn’t fancy doing the whole drive at once so a while back had booked a room at the Premier Inn Trentham Gardens, near Stoke-on-Trent, which looked from the map to be roughly around the halfway mark and at least past Birmingham. Drove on the M6 Toll for the first time. Traffic busy towards the end of the journey but I found the hotel reasonably easily with the helpful directions of Google Maps. Met up with Ray, who had been able to book himself a room in the same hotel, and went for a brief stroll around the nearby shopping village before going to the hotel restaurant for dinner.

My room looked out onto this bizarre round bowling green with sloping edges, which I was reliably informed was for playing crown green bowls, apparently a variant of lawn bowls played in the Midlands and north of England.

Round bowling green

The neighbouring Trentham Gardens looked worth a visit, but we decided we’d get straight on up to Cumbria the next morning. On the Saturday morning we set off separately northwards and met up again briefly at Lancaster (formerly Forton) services, where we had a cup of tea looking out onto rain pelting onto the M6.

Arrived in Keswick early afternoon and located the Low Briery Holiday Park, where I had booked two cottages back in September, and more recently a camping pod. Mum and Dad arrived shortly after us; Dave and family a bit later as they'd been held up on the M6. The mammoth Tesco shop that Hazel had organised duly turned up, and Nia pitched in carrying empty crates back out to the delivery man. Mum had made and transported a cottage pie for the first evening, which went down well.

The cottages at Low Briery. Cottage 4 and 5 (ours) centre and right

Camping pod 2, and my Fiesta

Day 2

The accommodation worked out well, with Dave, Hazel and the kids occupying one cottage, Mum, Dad and Ray occupying the other, and me occupying the camping pod. Here's the view from the pod on the first morning.

River Greta, from camping pod 2

On the first full day we elected to walk along the railway path into Keswick. Dave has already detailed the recent fate of part of the railway path; thankfully the stretch from Low Briery into Keswick remains intact. Pleasant enough walk of a mile or so, though neither of the little girls appeared in the mood and alternated being a bit grizzly (Nia)/bawling (Alys) for most of the time we were out.

Dad on the railway path

We walked into Keswick and stopped at the playground in Lower Fitz Park. Ray and I volunteered to walk into the town centre and purchase Calpol for the girls, as Hazel theorised they might be sickening for something; we duly did and I purchased Calpol and Calpol Six Plus for the first and possibly last time in my life. We had a bite to eat at the café. Dad and Ray then decamped to a nearby pub; poor Dave elected to walk back to Low Briery to fetch their car, as neither of the girls appeared in the mood to walk back. Mum and I stayed with the kids in the cottage while Dave and Hazel went to join Dad and Ray for a probably much-needed drink.

Ray and I went for an evening walk later to view the point where the railway path has been closed off. Hopefully the finances will be raised to rebuild it in due course, but it does look like quite a job.

Dave had the good idea of setting up a 'Family @ Lakes' WhatsApp group, which we used for useful comms throughout the week.

Day 3

A Twirlywoo

I was briefly taken aback to hear both Nia and Alys respond “Brioche” when asked what they wanted for breakfast (tsk, the modern child) but it turned out Hazel had ordered shedloads of both chocolate and vanilla brioche for them. A routine was set of the girls coming to Mum and Dad’s cottage for breakfast, demanding brioche and then abandoning it in favour of CBeebies (BTW, how cute are the Twirlywoos?).

Dave and Hazel went off for a day’s walking around the Buttermere fells. Ray went off for a bike ride. Mum, Dad and I stayed with the kids. Nia started work towards a Rainbows task she’d been set, to do with healthy eating. She also started work on a jigsaw depicting a map of the world – unfortunately Alys became interested and her attempts to help involved variously standing on the jigsaw and attempting to put pieces in so violently that they dislodged half a dozen other pieces. Nia wasn’t too happy with this and there were loud references to ‘My Sister the Destroyer’. Ray attempted to peacemake by attempting to enlist Alys’ help finding certain pieces. Later the girls tried out the new scooters they’d acquired for their recent birthdays.

Nia preparing healthy food

Alys scooting

Dave on a fell somewhere

Day 4

Ray and I did the walk around Derwentwater reported here. Mum and Dad took themselves off for a walk up around the Castlerigg Stone Circle, though unfortunately the inclement weather cut things a bit short for them.

Dad at the stone circle

Dave and Hazel took the kids out for the day to Wray Castle, on the shores of Windermere – the day seems to have included a boat trip, ice creams and lots of dressing up.

Day 5

All of us except Dad (who stayed in the cottage for some peace and quiet) went out to Whinlatter Forest, where Nia and Alys did the Highway Rat Activity Trail. I'd never been to Whinlatter before; it seems to be described as ‘England’s only true mountain forest’. We had tea at the Visitor Centre. Thankfully the kids are too young for things like 'Go Ape', as I can't say I'd be all that keen.

Dad cooked us all a curry in the evening.

Day 6

Dave and Ray went out for the day to ‘do’ Scafell and, it turned out, also Scafell Pike. Dave's write up here.

Mum, Hazel, Dad and I took the kids to Mirehouse, on the shores of Bassenthwaite Lake.

The girls and Dad investigate a stream

In the walled garden

Mirehouse

We had an initial pootle about and a look at the walled garden and maze, then Mum and Dad walked down to the lakeshore while Hazel and I went to one of the adventure playgrounds with the girls. Initially I minded Huwie while Hazel went round the circuit with Alys, Nia racing ahead; then Hazel suggested that I have a turn accompanying Alys round. Which I did – Alys was adorable running up planks and then waiting to be lifted down; I managed to heave myself variously over and under the obstacles, though not sure it would have been a pretty sight for anyone watching. We had tea and cake at the Old Sawmill Tearoom, just making it in before closing time.

Dave and Ray on the summit of Scafell

The adults had a takeaway evening (apart from Dad, who doesn’t really do takeaways and ate up the leftover curry instead). Ray and I drove into Keswick to collect them: fish and chips for him, Mum and Hazel from The Kingfisher on Main Street – seemingly a quality establishment judging by the long queues and all the signs around noting that they cook stuff fresh to order; pizza for Dave and me from LB's.

Day 7

On the morning of our last full day, Ray and I drove up to the Castlerigg Stone Circle for a pootle around the stones, and I went for a solo mooch around Keswick.

At the stone circle

To mark our last day, we all went for lunch at The Horse and Farrier at Threlkeld. On a previous holiday we had walked there along the railway path, but not on this occasion due to both the presence of little people and the collapse of part of the path in the interim. Hopefully it will be fixed at some point though I imagine that would be an expensive business.

Huwie made progress with his crawling over the course of the week, and with the pulling himself up on furniture.

Persuaded Ray to enable Google location sharing prior to going out for his bike ride on the Monday, so that in the event of e.g. unforeseen freewheeling over the edge of a precipice, we'd know where he'd last been. He kept it enabled for his subsequent walk up the Scafells with Dave. It's a useful service, though the jury's out on how reassuring it actually is, as it can take a while to update and occasionally comes up with worrying "cannot refresh location" messages, making one think that someone has been unmoving in the wilds for the past four hours just as they in fact walk in the door.

Sharing Ray's location on his bike ride

Verdict on the week: it was lovely to be back in the Lakes again, and there are rumblings about going again next year.