Half-Term

I would have posted last night, but I was so exhausted that I went to bed at 9pm. It was Lily's last primary school sports day, and I was on my feet for most of the day. I felt so proud though. She came second in the sprint, and took an easy first place in the skipping race. For some reason she is much faster with a rope than without :)

It feels like no time at all since the beginning of the week, and things will only get busier between now and the end of term. I am very aware that these coming weeks are going to require much spinning of plates, and I will definitely feel overwhelmed at times, but there is an end in sight. And that end will hopefully result in a relaxing summer break and some sunnier weather. At the moment, other than a couple of planned activities, I haven't given too much thought to holidays. I'm sure we will get away at some point, but we are incredibly fortunate to live in a very beautiful part of the world, and we do enjoy exploring it. 

Last week, it was our half-term and  we went along to a Herdwick Experience, at Yew Tree Farm, near Coniston. The Lake District is well know for it's delightful Herdies, mainly thanks to Beatrix Potter championing their conservation. As you might expect, they are a hardy breed,  and they usually steer well away from people up on the fells. But at this farm, they hold meet and greet sessions with their very friendly 'ambassador' flock. 

I had expected traffic to be busy, but it wasn't, which meant we arrived far too early for our session. So to pass the time we went for a short walk up to Tom Gill Falls, which lies part way between the farm and Tarn Hows. On returning to the farm, Mel, who was leading the session that day, introduced herself to us and we spent time learning about the farm, the breed, and how their wool is used, before the best part, which was walking to the fields to finally meet the sheep. They greeted us by the gate, which made it a struggle to get through, then after feeding them we sat down on the grass and waited for the sheep to come over to us. And it wasn't long before they did. Lily and I were joined by Pip, Maeve, Sue and Fudge. They were so gentle, and they all had their own distinct personalities. We spent over a hour there simply stroking the sheep and it was the most relaxed I've felt in ages. A really lovely afternoon.

On the Friday afternoon, we set off for somewhere I've been meaning to visit for a long time now, Skiddaw House. This is a small youth hostel, situated at the back of Skiddaw and not accessible by car. It doesn't have phone signal or internet connection and is completely off-grid, which is part of it's charm. We made the 5 mile walk from Keswick, past the lower slopes of Latrigg, around Lonscale Fell, and up the Glenderaterra Valley. It was overcast, but warm and we were looking forward to our mini- adventure. We arrived shortly before 5pm, which is when the hostel opens for the evening, although walkers can call in during the day and make use of their self service honesty cafe. We were greeted by Sue, the manager of the hostel, who booked us in and explained how everything worked. Although the hostel can sleep up to 21, along with another family and a small group of friends, there would only be 12 of us spending the night there.

Skiddaw House in the trees.

We had a twin room, overlooking Great Calva, with comfortable beds and extra blankets if required. There were shared bathroom facilities and plenty of hot water for showers, courtesy of solar panels. Downstairs was a large kitchen and dining area, and a lounge, both with wood burning stoves, and there was even a small shop selling food and drink. We were definitely back to basics, but it was clean and comfortable, and we had everything we needed. 

Dinner was sausages and pasta, and we spent a lovely evening chatting with the other guests and playing some of the games in the lounge. Lily enjoyed reading some of the old visitor books, which is something I also like to do whenever I visit somewhere new. It wasn't a cold evening, but our long walk and the warmth from the stove had us feeling sleepy, so we boiled the kettle for our hot water bottles and went up to bed.

I slept really well, but as usual, I was awake very early. Being very careful not to disturb anyone else, I crept downstairs, made myself a mug of coffee and sat on the small bench outside watching the sunrise. It was so peaceful and still, I could hear only the birds, and the rushing water of the River Caldew further along the valley. 

Then it wasn't long before Lily was awake, and we ate our breakfast, quietly packed up our rucksacks and set off back towards Keswick. It was a bright and sunny start to the day, which worked out rather well, as our trip was timed perfectly for a slight detour up Latrigg so that I could take a photograph. 

For anyone who hasn't been reading here long, every two years I take a photograph of Lily in the same spot, overlooking Keswick and Derwentwater. This started out as a happy accident, but is something I will try to continue. At least until she tells me not to :) Here is a link to the previous post all about it.

Then the following morning, I went for a walk with a friend, up Wansfell Pike. This is a small fell overlooking Ambleside, which has some amazing views. We might have stopped off at Force Cafe on the way back down, for coffee and cake. They were delicious. If anyone is visiting Ambleside, then I would definitely recommend it there. 

Then we walked back beneath the trees, alongside the waterfalls and down towards the lake again.

J. X

The Langdale Pikes

As is always the way, it was a relief to reach half-term week in one piece. I am very aware that I'm just about managing to keep going at moment, but that is all set to change, moving forwards. There are seven more weeks until the school's summer break, after which my hours will be reduced, and my working days will become shorter. As much as I am looking forward to feeling more in control of my time, it will also feel bitter sweet, as I will no longer be taking Lily to school each day. Another milestone reached, but how fortunate I am to have experienced these early years with her. 

Anyway, we're not there quite yet, but this week off school couldn't have been more welcome. I had, however, warned Lily that she wouldn't be enjoying a lie-in, that first morning. The weather looked good for Saturday, but rain had been forecast for the following  two days, and I didn't want to miss an opportunity to complete a walk, which had been suggested to me. 

Starting from one of the more popular areas of The Lakes, an early start meant we could avoid the crowds, as it can get incredibly busy here, especially on Bank Holiday weekends. 

It was a lovely sunny start to the morning, and on our first ascent we enjoyed regular stops to admire the views. It was a steep climb but it wasn't long before we could see our first summit of the day, Loft Crag. It took me a little while to figure out my bearings, but I was soon able to recognise the outlines of the more familiar fells around us. 

From here, we could see across to our next fell, Pike o'Stickle. And yes, we did need to use our hands as well as our feet on the final scramble to the top. I do enjoy a bit of variety on our walks :)

The next summit of the morning was Harrison Stickle. And this was where we encountered a rather large walking group. Not being used to busy summits, we quickly 'bagged' this one, before moving on towards the next, Pavey Ark. It was at this point that I realised, most people we came across were walking all the same fells, just in a different order. 

After a brief stop for lunch, there was a short walk over to Thunacar Knott, and then along a grassy stretch, to take in the views from High Raise. Here, we could see right across to the Western Fells, and Skiddaw and Bassenthwaite to the North. Again, we didn't hang around, the hiking group was approaching from the opposite direction!

From here, it was all downhill, with the exception of a brief detour to bag our final summit of the day, Sergeant Man. The path then dropped down towards Stickle Tarn, which boasts the impressive backdrop of Pavey Ark and Harrison Stickle, which we had climbed earlier, before descending Stickle Ghyll, and back to the car park. 

It was an invigorating walk, although the problems with my foot did cause me a lot of discomfort towards the end. Still, that's another seven Wainwrights ticked off, but more importantly, a very enjoyable day out on the fells. 

J. X

A Taste of Summer

It's that time of year again. One moment I'm liberally applying sunscreen, then the next I'm trying to convince myself not to switch the central heating on. I've held off so far. It's still very warm, but it's raining heavily here, this afternoon. I'll probably just stay home and bake cookies :)

Recently, we celebrated a birthday in this house. Lily turned 11! I'm still in denial that she has reached this age, and that she will very soon be leaving primary school. I'll be honest in that I have very mixed emotions about this, but she seems to be looking forward to her transition to high school. We're on half term this week, but after that there will only be seven more weeks until she finishes. It will go by quickly, of that I have no doubt, then hopefully we can enjoy a relaxed summer break. 

Fortunately, Lily's mid-week birthday coincided with a whole class trip out, so it became a sort of mini celebration for her, which, for someone who dislikes being the centre of attention, worked out rather well. 

The following weekend, we marked the occasion in our own way. Having racked my brain for a suitable birthday gift, I finally decided on something I had been considering for several years now - an inflatable kayak. It wasn't the most exciting thing to unwrap on the morning of her birthday, as we couldn't exactly inflate it in our living room, but it proved to be one of the best things she could have received.

On the Sunday morning, and with big sister to lend a hand, we set off to one of our favourite parts of The Lakes, Ullswater. And we couldn't have chosen a nicer day for it.

 

It was beautifully quiet, and the views are spectacular. You can see why we love it there so much. 

Once the kayak was inflated, which was far quicker than I'd anticipated, the morning was spent gently floating along the lake. Paddling wasn't too difficult, as the water was so very calm. I even considered enjoying a quick swim while we were there, but after wading in until the water was up to my waist, I thought better of it. The water is still very cold at this time of year and I didn't relish the thought of the drive home while wearing a wet swimsuit. And I also need to buy some new water shoes - the stones can be rather painful, and they are slippery to stand on when getting in and out of the lake. Still, there will be other opportunities before long, I hope.

J. X

Restorative

I didn't sleep well on Friday night. I'd had another busy week at work, and for one reason or another, my mind simply refused to switch off. I do have a lot going on in the background just now I suppose, and there's also Lily's SATs coming up this week, which even though I am not too concerned about, I am worried that she might be. On top of all of that, I am thinking about all the activities going on at school, between now and the end of term. July will be here before we know it, and a lot of changes lay ahead for us both. Then there's also the small matter of Lily's birthday, this month, but I think that's all in hand now.

Even after a restless night, I still managed to wake early. The promise of  glorious sunny day usually has that affect on me. And I quite like to walk out into the garden first thing in a morning, and check on the plants. I don't really know why, as it isn't as if they've grown suddenly overnight, but it's something I've always enjoyed doing. When I got home from work on Friday, I'd weeded the raised bed, thinned out the beetroot seedlings and cut the grass, so it felt rather satisfying to see the results of my hard work. 

The potatoes look to be growing quickly, so I'll need to remove their protective netting very soon. The beetroot seedlings are coming along nicely, but I'm unsure as to what happened to the carrots. After showing signs of life, they simply disappeared. Not to worry, I've used the empty space to plant some pumpkins instead. The apple trees continue to thrive, so they might need repotting later in the year. And the lemon trees have finally been moved outdoors, where they will stay until the weather turns cooler once again. I've pruned them, just a little, as the branches had become a little overcrowded. They still haven't flowered, but I'm hopeful that they might next year.

Another r reason I wanted an early start to my day, was so that we could go for a walk. I have been so focused on running recently, that my walking boots have been, sadly, neglected. Seeing as we've been out of practice, and with Lily's tennis lesson starting at one o'clock, I knew we couldn't be out for very long, so I chose an old favourite, Silver How. This was one of Lily's very first ever fell walks, and it isn't very high, but has some lovely views.

I hadn't  realised just how much I'd missed being up on the fells. While I'm running, my mind works overtime, going over things I need to do, shopping lists, work, the mental load of running a home. But when I'm out walking, I'm more concerned about what I can see, which fells I am looking at, and more often than not, which is the best route around the bog :)

The weather was gorgeous, yesterday. Not too warm, no chance of rain and barely a breath of wind. We took the lane out of Grasmere, then turned up a small, steep track which led away from the lake, and very soon onto the fell side. It was incredibly quiet, then all at once we heard a cuckoo. It's always a delightful sound, but especially as it's the first I've heard this year. 

We went the long way round towards the summit, avoiding the steep climb and enjoying a more gentle approach. For a long time it was as though we had the fell to ourselves, but we soon got chatting to a lovely lady, who arrived at the summit shortly after we did. We only passed a group of three fell runners on our way up, but as we headed back down towards the village, it was quite obvious that it would be getting much busier as the day went on.

We  took the slightly indirect route back into the village, just so that we could cross the stepping stones over Easedale Beck. Then, of course, no visit to Grasmere would be complete without a visit to the Gingerbread Shop. I bought a pack of six slices, and a bag of coffee. 

Today isn't going to be quite as enjoyable. Ì have a list of chores to work through, I need to do the weekly shop, then it's back to work again tomorrow.

At least the forecast is looking good again for next weekend. 

J. X