Out of office on……

With just over 2 months to go until D-day, we decided to get away and enjoy a last little break before 2 become 3 🙂  Having loved all our previous outings to The Lakes we thought it would be the perfect location for relaxation/activities/eating so we booked a self-catering pad in Windermere. Sunday 7th May - we headed off on the afternoon boat to Liverpool and got up to Windermere about 8pm. We dropped our stuff off at the self-catering property called 'Bede's Cottage' which was right in the middle of town but on a quiet road - great location! Then we headed out for some tea (shared calamari and a chicken ceasar salad) at The Lighthouse restaurant. Food was nice but service was a bit poor (staff didn't seem too bothered about being there). Feeling quite tired after a day of travelling we retired to the pad for the night. Monday 8th May - after breakfast we walked around Windermere and then down the hill to Bowness-on-Windermere where we did a bit of shopping (Fat Face) then enjoyed a Costa coffee sat outside in the sun. We then got a steamer boat up to Ambleside where we walked up to the town via the Roman fort remains. Got a take away ham bap and soup from Apple Pie cafe and sat in the sun, returning to get a vanilla slice and then some gingerbread to take away 🙂 After a wander around the shops we returned to the harbour and got the boat back to Bowness, walked back up the hill to Windermere and went to Crafty Baa (new bar with over 96 bottled beers and 6 on tap) where Glenn enjoyed a couple of schooners of beer, and I had a refreshing alcohol free beer. Had a chilled evening at the house, I got a soup from Booth's and Glenn treated himself to a takeaway kebab 🙂 Tuesday 9th May - what a day! We had arranged to meet my uni mate Mark at the Rheged Centre near Penrith in the morning so set off after breakfast, however it took us longer than anticipated so we were already running late when we missed our turning just before Pooley Bridge. After reaching a dead end we finally got back on track....and the car spluttered and conked out! It was an issue we've had previously, however the car usually starts again after a minute or so but this time it refused. So, as seems to be customary on our trips, we had to call the AA to come out and make an apologetic call to Mark to say we wouldn't be able to meet. Half an hour later the AA man arrived (luckily it was lovely and sunny) by which time the car started. He reckoned the issue was to do with dirt in the petrol tank so put more petrol in the tank, got us to pull into a nearby car park and ran a fault test which came back negative. He suggested we keep the tank filled up as much as possible. After a bit of a chat we said our thankyous and goodbyes and headed belatedly to the Rheged Centre for a spot of lunch (soup and a club sandwich - tasty!) Glenn then had a work call so I chilled out having a read in the sun. It was then 4pm and we headed on to Keswick, parked at the Booth's car park and headed out for a lovely walk up and out of the town to the Castlerigg Stone Circle, which took longer than anticipated but was worth the effort! We then returned to the car and headed back to Windermere via Grasmere. Had another chilled evening at the house (with Glenn getting another kebab!!). Wednesday 10th May - another lovely sunny day. After brekkie we did kept up our tradition while in the Lakes of taking the short hike up Orrest Head at the top of Windermere town 🙂 We then had a browse around Booth's and Lakeland where we bought a few kitchen bits and then grabbed a soup for lunch at 'Fodder's' - a little cafe in town that had wifi so Glenn could do a couple of work bits as he couldn't get his laptop on the house wifi. After a bit of a chill back at the house we drive down to Bowness where Glenn bought me a jumper from Fat Face and then we trundled on south to do a short walk up 'Gummer's How' - right at the south end of Lake Windermere. It was a nice short walk to the summit with great views over the lake. Even though it was later afternoon it was still sunny and warm 🙂 We then headed around the lake and back up the west side - gorgeous views and scenery with the trees various greens and reds (would love a holiday home here!)- to Hawkshead where we had a pint before driving back to Windermere and going to Cafe Italia for tea which was delish! We sat outside under the heaters watching the world go by and shared a tuna nicoise salad and parma pizza, followed by a expresso over ice cream (Glenn) and apple pie and ice cream (me) for pud. Yum! Thursday 11th May - after a brekkie in the house of fruit and eggs on toast we chilled in the sun before heading off int he car and getting the ferry across Lake Windermere to Hawkshead. We then drive through Coniston and continued south and then up the west coast to Ravenglass (passing Muncaster castle on the way!) The journey wasn't that amazing once we'd left the lakes but was good to experience. From Ravenglass we took the steam railway up to Dalegarth and then walked 2 mins to the small town of Boot which consisted of a small shop and a few pubs/inns. It was a lovely peaceful location that felt fairly remote...we intended to do a walk up to a waterfall but ended up sitting in the beer garden of the local pub with a pint and sharing a ham, cheese and pickle sandwich and fries :-)We then headed back to the train and took the return journey to Ravenglass. We had a quick look around..again there was a couple of pubs and a shop (I was expecting a bigger village with more going on!), sat in the sun for a bit and then headed off. After filling up on petrol we took the 'Hard Knott's Pass' route home which was good fun - pretty steep and windy with great views of the surrounding mountains, returning to Ambleside via the Langdale valley (lovely scenery). Once back in Windermere I had a little nap while Glenn went for a pint and then we returned to Cafe Italia for tea and then headed back to the pad. Friday 10th May - first overcast day! After brekkie we wandered down to Bowness, bought a few bits from Mountain Warehouse and then walked up and out of town on a lovely short route up to Brantfell - a small hill with great views over Lake Windermere. After returning to the town we walked back up to Windermere and had lunch at the 'Spice cafe', enjoying a lovely homemade bowl of soup, chicken salad sandwich and slice of Victoria sponge 🙂 By this point it had started to rain so we returned to the house and for chilled for a bit, the first time we'd spent time at the house during the day! Later we went for a browse around Booth's (again!) and got ourselves a takeaway from the local Indian restaurant, having a chilled evening back at the pad. Saturday 11th May - another overcast day with light rain. We had planned to head to Ambleside for a walk up the hills however we got a text from Hoey and Polly saying they were on their way up to join us for lunch, so we took another walk up Orrest Head (returning via a different circular route), had a quick look around town and then met Ho & Pol at 1pm. We went to the Crafty Baa for a drink and catch up and then on to 'Homeground' (recommended by JQ) for brunch which was delish. It was great to catch up with Ho & Pol who left about 5pm to return to Chester. Although we planned on having a nice dinner somewhere for our last evening in the Lakes we were both full from lunch so ended up having a final wander around Booth's and a little walk around town and then chilling at the house. 32 weeks pregnant today - the little one chose to celebrate by moving/kicking/turning more than ever while I was trying to get off to sleep...my whole tummy was moving all over the place! 🙂 Sunday 12th May - last day 🙁 After packing up we handed the keys in and drove up to Ambleside where we bought a Herdy sheep toy and comforter (our little present for babs) and then grabbed breakfast (egg and sausage bap) from Apple Pie cafe. We then got a few takeaway bits from Stockghyll Fine Food (venison and damson roll, sausage roll, egg custard and a scone) before saying our fond farewells to the Lakes as we drove south to Lancaster. we stopped at Asda for a quick shop picking up some baby bits that will get us through the first month (hopefully!) and then on to Heysham where we boarded the Ben my Chree for the afternoon sailing back to IOM. We had such a great trip - the weather was lovely for the majority of the hol and we got out and enjoyed walks and activities we've not done before, making the most of my reduced energy levels and hiking ability! We both needed this little break from the hum-drum of normal life and I think we really made the most of it. Now for the next adventure....bring on July!! 🙂