In our continuing quest to see the beautiful sites of England, we spent a weekend to the north in the Lake District at the end of August. We had only been for a quick weekend before, in February of last year. (Here’s the recap of that 24-hour visit!) They must have missed the memo that we were requesting sun and heat this time, but we had a lovely weekend.
We started our trip in village of Ambleside, where we parked, ate our packed lunch out of the back of our car and laced up our hiking boots. We finally had new pairs for the boys, after realizing we had been cramming their feet into the same boots we bought when we moved two years ago, whoops. (Spoiler alert, it didn’t make hiking any more exciting for them.)
We walked out of town and along the well-worn path to the Stock Ghyll Force waterfall. The walk was simple and pretty, and our spirits were high. The mist from the waterfall felt refreshing. I mean, look at these optimistic smiles!
We continued on, with the goal to climb nearby Wansfell Pike, guided by Tim. He insisted the distance was not that far, and it definitely wouldn’t be the highest peak we’ve climbed. The views of the lakes and surrounding villages were supposed to be beautiful. But on this day, it felt hard… steep, rocky, more climbing than walking. Then the rain and wind started. 😳 And by started, I mean it went all out.
We persisted, but the boys became less enthused the higher we climbed. I didn’t blame them. At a certain point, we knew that even if we got to the top, we couldn’t see much anything with the amount of cloud cover. Not all fells are meant to be conquered, I guess – at least not on any given day. We decided it was good enough, took a few photos and started our way back down. Along the way, we ran into a mom and her teenaged son thoroughly having a terrible time. We chatted for a bit, and as the teenager whined away, we realized that our boys were actually doing pretty good. Or maybe that’s just life with a teenager?! (Don’t tell me.)
We walked through the town before taking shelter in a pub for refueling with a hearty early dinner. The boys were troopers and back in great spirits, but practically hugged their Nintendo back at the Airbnb.
The next morning, we visited the World of Beatrix Potter in Bowness-on-Windermere. The impact of local author Beatrix Potter is everywhere in the Lake District, from art to shops and galleries, and other points of interest including her farmhouse. The World of Beatrix Potter is walk-through exhibit that brings the scenes of her famous storybook characters to life. It’s geared for younger children, so it was a quick tour for us. But it was a cute little museum, providing us lots of opportunities to quote Peter Rabbit (the movie not the book, sorry Beatrix). 🐇🦔🦌🐖🦡
We booked our boat ride on Lake Windermere on a hot and sunny day a few weeks in advance. We said at the time, “I bet it will rain,” trying to use reverse psychology on the universe. It didn’t work. We were a bit grumbly as we walked in the pouring rain to the boat, but Tim, ever the optimist, told us it would be fine. I hate it when he’s right, ha.
It was still raining when we started, but the boat had a top, and eventually slivers of sun came out from behind the clouds, so we took the cover off. We cruised like it was hot outside, I played Jana Jams™️ like it was 2003 and the boys ate snacks like they hadn’t had lunch an hour before. Beautiful lake and scenery, especially for Bennett to really make the most of his ALDI-purchased sun hat.
The next day we crossed the lake on the ferry, ready to explore elsewhere. We found the perfect roadside park and pulled over to let the boys pay some football and play on the equipment. We then arrived at Wray Castle. The interior was closed, but it had a great outdoor adventure trail, cafe and view. The boys might just like castles after all…as long as they don’t have to set foot inside one again!
After Wray Castle, we headed to Keswick to visit the Castlerigg Stone Circle. Our sat nav took us down an extremely narrow lane, causing us to fold in our mirrors and apologize to any passing walkers who had to hug the hedge row as we crept by. It was not the correct way, but it got us there.
Castlerigg is a 38-strong stone circle in an open field with tall hills in the background. It’s one of the oldest stone circles, built 4000-5000 years ago, older but much smaller than Stonehenge (but free and open to explore!) Bennett and Nate chased each other around and played a Pokémon battle, which I’m not sure is how the ancient people envisioned it being used.
From there we headed north to Housesteads Roman Fort. It was built in 124 AD as an auxiliary fort, part of Hadrian’s Wall. The wall stretches across the country, from North Sea to Irish Sea, and formed the northern border of the Roman Empire. We saw the ruins of the sleeping quarters, hospital, main hall, and the communal latrines. The boys told us all about how they would use brushes to wipe after doing their business! Yay for history and teaching moments.
We then walked the wall for a bit, navigating peaks and valleys and wayward cows before calling it a day. But not before wood-fired pizza in the beer garden at the nearby Twice Brewed brewery and enjoyed the last of the summer sun, and the last of our summer explorations.
Tosa to Tarporley 
Another adventure! You all will have so many stories to share and remember! You make me feel like I’m there, Jana! Love, Mom
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