I wrote this a couple of weeks ago but life took over and I never hit publish.
A couple of weeks ago, we headed to the Lake District for one final exhale before emptying our house in Chalfont St. Peter and moving back to Vancouver, Canada. It’s been a long year for everyone and in April, for the first time since December, shops were allowed to open, outdoor dining was permitted and we could finally travel within the country. The Lake District has been on our list for a while, so we pulled the kids out of school and once Ben and I were finished work we hopped in the car with Byron for the 5 hour drive up to the north of England.
We took a bit of a detour on the way and stopped in the Yorkshire Dales to the Aysgarth Falls. You might be able to recognise these scenes from Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. It was hailing as we pulled into the parking lot but by the time we had eaten our picnic lunch, the cloud had parted and we were blessed with blue skies just long enough to explore the falls.
Of course, as soon as we were back in the car it started to pour again.
We arrived at our holiday rental late into the evening after a drive of breath taking views. At every turn, I wanted to stop to take photos. There were endless hills with criss-crossed stone walls and sheep scattered as far as the eye could see. The house sits on one of those hills with a view of the Duddon Estuary and with spectacular views that glowed in the morning sunlight.
We took the morning slow, before heading off to Coniston Lake and then a hike up Gummer’s How. I was amazed at how varied the landscape of the Lake District was. Comparing it to BC, one minute you could be in the desert mountains of the Okanagan and the next, driving through a forest of evergreens next to a lake.
The next day, we drove further north to a town called Keswick (pronounced Kessick) that reminded us of Banff or Canmore and then over to the coast to the sleepy town of Seascale.
As always, the trip seemed too short, but we are so grateful for one last chance to explore the United Kingdom. Thank you so much for journeying with us.
For inquiring minds, we stayed at Gornal Ground House on the south tip of the Lake District
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