Lake District

The Lake District is somewhere that I have always wanted to go but for some reason always felt like it was too far away so had not yet bothered. Also, I am very much into going abroad as often as possible so when Adam and I decided to do a UK holiday this year it had to be the Lake District.

We had planned it quite some time in advance so it felt like a long time coming but eventually we packed up the car and off we went. We were staying a ten-minute drive away from the town centre of Windermere (so we were very well located) in a lodge on a farm. Getting to the lodge was a little bit of a mission up quite a few back lanes only wide enough for 1 car (every time we went anywhere we would pray that no one came the other way!) but once there we were very happy that we had booked it. The lodge was located on High Barrans Farm and there were about 5/6 lodges in the same place which all seemed relatively new. The location was great as it was very quiet – just what we wanted for our chilled few days. The lodge inside was very nice and well decorated and much more spacious inside than how it looked from the photos – I was impressed and happy with our choice.

We had wanted a chilled couple of days and I had envisioned going for long walks with picnics etc – this did not really happen! On our first evening, we went into Windermere and had a stroll around then a nice meal in a local pub, which was ideal. The second day was the day for our walk. I had tried to search for a walk in the weeks leading up to our trip but there were so many options and we weren’t sure how far we wanted to do so we had not planned this yet. A lot of the websites and blogs I had read advised going to the tourist information centre which was not far from us so we headed there – only to find we could not park anywhere! Adam ended up dropping me off and driving around when I went in. What I expected from the tourist information and what I got were very different, it was basically just a shop. Maps for walks were available but you had to pay and thinking I was just popping in for some advice I had not taken my purse. Also, it seemed that most walks started from the centre and with having the car and nowhere to park this was not really an option. In the end, we went back to the lodge and went on a walk from there. We just went with it and ended up doing around 3 / 4 miles before the rain started. Once it started it did not stop! We could see a pub in the distance so headed there whilst we waited for it to ease off, which it did not! Eventually we gave in and walked back in the rain, it is safe to say we were soak by the time we got back. We spent the evening in the lodge watching films which was nice, but the great walk with fantastic views and a lovely picnic did not quite pan out as expected.

The next day we went exploring a bit more of the Lakes. We visited both Kendal (which I was so happy about as I have always loved Kendal mint cake – I bought loads!) and Ambleside, both of which were really nice. We then went back into Windermere and went for a boat ride on Lake Windermere. The lake is gorgeous and it was really nice to get out on it. There are such great views from here! For our last evening, we went to a local Thai restaurant which was brilliant, we even bumped into someone we knew, what are the chances!

As much as I had a nice, chilled few days and as much as the Lakes are truly beautiful, I must admit I was a little underwhelmed at my stay there. Maybe it is because I had overdone it in my head but I thought I was going to be amazed and awed but I did not find that to be the case. I enjoyed my time but I do not think I would be heading back in a rush. If anything, I was a little bored!