Our Lake District Mini Break

It was my husband’s birthday recently so to celebrate we had a few days away in the Lake District, one of his favourite places.

It’s not hard to see why it’s one of his favourites – the scenery is absolutely spectacular.  There are beautiful views everywhere you look and the pace of life is wonderfully slow (for us tourists it is anyway, I’m sure some of the people who work there, such as farmers, must work all hours).

I’m told the Lake District is one of the wettest places in the UK, and we have had trips there in years gone by when it rained non-stop for days on end.  This time though we were very lucky.

My Mum flew over from her house in France and joined us, as did our two youngest now that their university courses have finished, and my son brought along his partner.  

It’s always difficult to pack the car on trips away, but an added difficulty this time round was having to bring along the birthday cake I’d made without getting it squashed on the journey.  Luckily it ended up there still in one piece!  My hubby is quite older than me, and in his own words, if I’d have put a single candle on the cake for every year of his age we’d have to have the local fire brigade on standby as a precaution… so instead I made do with two sparklers.

Obviously I’d made him a birthday card but his favourite card was a shop-bought one!  He liked it so much because he thought it provided a map of what he was going to do over the next few days – here it is:

Hubby has always been keen to get to the very top of Helvellyn, a mountain which is the third highest point in England. Years ago we had tried on two occasions to get there but each time we had to turn back because of the weather. It’s so high that you can get five different types of weather walking up there!  Mum didn’t feel as though she would be able to manage it, and I was more than happy to stay at ground level with her.  My son and his partner and our youngest daughter went with hubby while Mum and I walked round a country house and gardens.  I’m pleased to say they did make it to the top after all these years! Third time lucky! The difference in the weather was amazing.  When they got to the summit the cloud descended; while they were in winds of between 60 and 70 mph, with rain that came so hard the drops stung their faces when it hit, Mum and I were wandering around a garden wearing a light top, in a gentle breeze…

At the summit of Helvellyn - third time lucky!

We went to the Ullswater Country Fair.  The most interesting thing for me there was the Fell Race.  It started and finished at the Fair but runners had to climb to the top of a very steep, massive hill called Arnison Crag and back again.  The record time was just less than 14 minutes, but looking at Arnison Crag I reckon it would have taken me closer to 14 hours!  

Handmade walking sticks at the Ullswater Country Fair

All in all we had a great time – lots of walking, lots of pub meals, lots of laughs.  Hubby didn’t want to come home on the final day, a sure sign that he’d had a great birthday!