Saturday August 10 cont.
When I left off, we were making our way down the motorway towards England, in rather wet conditions. We started seeing weather warning messages flash up on screens, warning of flooding. Not long after that, all lanes of the motorway ground to a halt.
As we crept forward at walking speed, the ETA on the GPS extended further and further. By the end, we arrived just over an hour after we had planned.
Our destination was Keswick, a wee town at the northern end of the Lakes District. When we arrived, we decided to stay for a drink and a pit stop. Then we set off on a scenic route around in a big circle. We saw the lakes Derwentwater, Buttermere, Crummock, and Bassenthwaite, which brought us back to Keswick.
Then it was down to Ambleside, passing lakes Thirlmere, Grassmere, and Rydal. We then turn to follow Lake Windermere to the far end. There is a delightful hotel there called Lakeside Hotel and Spa. This place is just glorious. Beautiful food, impeccable service. Just a nice place to relax after the hustle of 14 days on tour. And before we start a self-drive tour.
Most people say you need to spend days in the Lakes District to appreciate it. That’s just the masochistic self-flagellating nutbars who like to row, run, kayak and camp. We saw probably 3 YMCA camps in the area, and a huge number of ‘self-cater’ units. That’s the ones where you need to take everything and do everything. I wouldn’t be surprised if every one of the hundreds of structures has some kind of space for rent. Do you see Sarah going for that? Nor do I.
Online, I saw that the ‘best’ scenic drive in the Lakes District was between Ambleside and Keswick. Sure it’s a beautiful drive, but you only see 3 lakes. On our scenic drive, followed by the drive to the hotel, we saw 8 bodies of water in about 2 hours. And the entire drive was stunning. Sometimes challenging, but always absolutely stunning.
So don’t just drive through and say you’ve done the Lakes District. And please god don’t spend a month there communing with nature. Spend a few hours enjoying a rare drive with stunning views at every turn. So if you’re driving yourself, you will need to spend the night somewhere near. So make the most of it. There is accommodation for all tastes, from the insanely expensive to the smelly shed.
As an aside, gentlemen: when your good lady suggests you take the scenic drive, the correct answer would be “But I always take you with me, dear”.
Then duck.
When I left off, we were making our way down the motorway towards England, in rather wet conditions. We started seeing weather warning messages flash up on screens, warning of flooding. Not long after that, all lanes of the motorway ground to a halt.
As we crept forward at walking speed, the ETA on the GPS extended further and further. By the end, we arrived just over an hour after we had planned.
 |
| Look closely up the road. It’s a car park |
Our destination was Keswick, a wee town at the northern end of the Lakes District. When we arrived, we decided to stay for a drink and a pit stop. Then we set off on a scenic route around in a big circle. We saw the lakes Derwentwater, Buttermere, Crummock, and Bassenthwaite, which brought us back to Keswick.
Then it was down to Ambleside, passing lakes Thirlmere, Grassmere, and Rydal. We then turn to follow Lake Windermere to the far end. There is a delightful hotel there called Lakeside Hotel and Spa. This place is just glorious. Beautiful food, impeccable service. Just a nice place to relax after the hustle of 14 days on tour. And before we start a self-drive tour.
Most people say you need to spend days in the Lakes District to appreciate it. That’s just the masochistic self-flagellating nutbars who like to row, run, kayak and camp. We saw probably 3 YMCA camps in the area, and a huge number of ‘self-cater’ units. That’s the ones where you need to take everything and do everything. I wouldn’t be surprised if every one of the hundreds of structures has some kind of space for rent. Do you see Sarah going for that? Nor do I.
Online, I saw that the ‘best’ scenic drive in the Lakes District was between Ambleside and Keswick. Sure it’s a beautiful drive, but you only see 3 lakes. On our scenic drive, followed by the drive to the hotel, we saw 8 bodies of water in about 2 hours. And the entire drive was stunning. Sometimes challenging, but always absolutely stunning.
So don’t just drive through and say you’ve done the Lakes District. And please god don’t spend a month there communing with nature. Spend a few hours enjoying a rare drive with stunning views at every turn. So if you’re driving yourself, you will need to spend the night somewhere near. So make the most of it. There is accommodation for all tastes, from the insanely expensive to the smelly shed.
As an aside, gentlemen: when your good lady suggests you take the scenic drive, the correct answer would be “But I always take you with me, dear”.
Then duck.
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