Autumn 🍂…..
October, more precisely.
Where do you wanna go?
We have the world of choices these days; budget factored in.
Can’t do much better on this one than the Lake District.
Watched the Cult Classic movie, “Withnail & I” the night before to get in the mood (an just for the laughs). Also about a trip to the Lake District. Hoping that I didn’t get into the kind of scrapes those 2 guys did!
My uncle has a small place in the lake district, 6 miles out of Keswick. Asked me if I fancied coming down from Scotland to stay for 4 nights. Last saw him 6 and half years ago. Only hour an a half on the train to Penrith. Had never been before, was looking forward to seeing him and checking it out.
He picked me up in his van. We went back to his for a brew an a bacon sarnie. Nice wee gaffe he has. Chatted the whole time, starting to catch up; great guy to talk to, about all sorts of things.
And we were out the door… in his Jeep.. and off already.
First stop was Keswick, closest main town his home. All looked very lovely; Tea Rooms, Outdoor clothing shops for hiking / climbing etc. Took these snaps below 📸 :
First Impressions:
Nice wee place 👌. Went in the local tourist information. Lots of old ordnance survey maps for hikers an climbers.
After a mooch bout we got back in the van and headed up some steep hills through twisty tracks. Fucking rally driving. Uncle had his mind on a good viewpoint. Up Borrowdale.
A short walk to the Borrowdale summits. Worth the steps🚶♀️ 🚶♂️.
Speaks for itself right…?
Pointed to a house that Daniel Craig used to live in. If it’s good enough for James Bond 🤣.
We chatted to a few others that stopped here. Took our time and admired everything.
Then we drove back downhill and to his for dinner. A fat steak pie an mash 🥧 🥔. Read our books for the rest of the evening, drinking bottles of zero beer. Book was a whodunnit set on Scotland’s Isle of Lewis.
Headed to a single bed in the spare room. First night sleep in England in 18 months.
Rose early for a new day 🌄……..
Scottish Kippers for breakfast 🐟.
Decent coffee ☕️.
We headed out and drove off. The destination was Windermere, and it’s famous Lake Windermere. One of the places I’d heard of before here. My uncle hadn’t been there in years, so a big day out for him too.
The biggest Lake in England. Windermere is a nice town in its own right too. We mainly stuck to to the touristy bit by the Lake with cafes, shops etc. Stopped at a wee cafe there for a brew an another decent bacon sarnie. Chatting to my Uncle; bout all sorts. Friendly strangers with nice dogs to fuss 🐕. LOOOVLY!
This felt like a place people came to visit on holiday – and October is peak season for the Lakes. Heard some chatty Yorkshire lasses who were eating a bag of chips. Ice creams for the kids. Not just the kids: “Can I have a flake please 🐶 🥺?”.
But I was one of the lucky boys because we went for a ride on the boat. Not something my Uncle would of done in a million years if alone. We cast off onto Lake Windermere.
Have yourself a look 👀 📹:
https://goessolo.blog/?p=1391&preview=true&_thumbnail_id=1424
Breezy ride….. then it started to rain. No bother for us. Felt Fresh and we were no fair weather passengers. Hardy Toursists: One Ex-Fireman, One younger guy turning more Scottish everyday!
The small islands we passed on the Lake were good to see. The guide talked us through the sites. Including the ruin you can see here on the right:
Damn good fun I was thinking. My uncle too. Interesting information from the tour guide. Talking us through the sites; including some of the luxury millionaire homes sat on the Lake.
We took another walk around Windermere, Before heading off in the Jeep. The next destination was Coniston. And for some real history to get our teeth into…..!
Coniston is a wee village close to Windermere. It has a museum that’s a popular stopping point; mainly because of the story of 1 man…… Donald Campbell. 60s British legend and downright fucking mad man!
Im kind of a museum guy… I mean they hit an miss with me. This was definitely one of the hits.
Donald Campbell broke world land and water speed records. A true daredevil, adrenaline junkie. On the morning of January 4th 1967; Campbell attempted to break his water speed world record by breaking 300 mph on Coniston Water Lake. Tragically the attempt took his life. The museum shows a replica of his Bluebird 7; jet-powered hydroplane that crashed at 297 mph, just shy of the record. The Bluebird lost stability, flipped and crashed.
His body was not recovered until May 2001, with his funeral following on September 11th.
Aswell as the Bluebird there was the Water-Jet Powered Speed-Boat. And other info about Campbell and his story.
We also took a drive around the very pretty (but very tourist busy) village of Ambleside. Some super pricey houses here aswell. Saw what we could in a half hour.
After all that we drove back to my Uncle’s. Had some food and read our books with a bevvy 🍺.
Woke early again Wednesday. Some more of the smelly Kippers left for breakfast 🐟.
Windermere was my choice, so this was my Uncle’s turn. And he was keeping it quiet 😂. He said he would be doing a lot of driving today. We left the lakes completely. This is where the “and more” comes in!
We saw plenty more beauty countryside on the drive. Our destination was the Vindolanda Museum at Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland. Going much further back in history.
A Roman wall to keep out those Barbarian Scots and control their trade. First stop was a mooch around the Roman village itself. Roman Soldiers lived here from 85 AD to 370 AD approximately. Totally Fascinating. All of it.
There were boards to explain which rooms were which and what they used for then. From lower rank latrines, bathhouses and the Officers quarters.
Explained and showed the life of this Roman village back then vividly. The Walls and supporting information really take you there. Walls started with mud, clay and straw. Progressing to Stronger Timber and Sandstone Blocks. Slate Stone and ceramic tiles for roofing. Luxury for the times.
And the Roman soldiers themselves… Whatever vision you have of them before will be enhanced and brought to life. You will see that they lived, worked and commanded here 🫡🎖.
There is also the Fort to look-out for enemies approaching 🏰:
State your business and your homeland!
Hadrians Wall itself is just a short walk uphill.
Stunning 😍 as you can yourself.
Watchtowers called Turrets. We loved it and you could really get a sense of what the Romans looked out over to these horizons. Even now this view is not man-made.
We took a longer slow back to the Vindolanda museum. Lots more absorbing history. After that all that we needed a sit down in the cafe and an end of the day brew. The drive back was just as scenic as coming out.
Amazing day! We had some food an a couple of beers when we were back. Chatted about all sorts again before calling it a night.
Next day…. was Yorkshire day! North Yorkshire. I And in my 36 and half years kicking about the Rock, I had never been. I’m reminiscing on it with you now drinking Yorkshire Tea 🫖 🤣.
Breakfast: No Kippers this time. We had eggs, toast an coffee. Then we boosted. Drove outside the Lakes for the 2nd day in a row. Villages and Woodlands. First up was the wee village of Clapham.
Crunching lots of crispy brown leaves. Muddy Wellies. Class! Clapham went the woods, gates and fields. Through Ingleborough Estate Nature Trail. This in turn lead to Clapham Beck River and this lovely bench stop and view below. Had some from tea our flasks with cheese sarnies.
Onto the Yorkshire Dales. Hills, Canal systems and viaducts aplenty.
The 2 villages that we stopped to explore were Kettlewell and Hawes.
Kettlewell had a nice cafe that we had lunch in. Talked to this lady who was also passing through. Cracking local cake. If you an image in mind of a a village in Yorkshire Dales: it was Kettlewell. Close-nit with charm.
Next up was Hawes. More village to see here because its bigger. Walking on cobbled streets. The kind of shops you would expect to see in Last of the Summer Wine or a Wallace and Gromit animation. We even drove through the village of Wensleydale; where Wallace’s favourite cheese takes its name 🧀 😂!
What a fucking lovely place… with lovely people.
Took a leisurely stroll through the village and popped our heads in a few local shops. Can see the appeal.
One final road-side stop with a view out across farmland all the way to the horizon. No snap of this.
Then a leisurely drive back to the cottage. For the last night we went out for a pub meal and pint (real stuff this time) close by. Only way to end this day.
The final morning we took a trip to Lake Buttermere. My uncle told me a story of a local man who murdered his wife here and dumped the body in the lake. Police got him in the end. This was a quiet and peaceful location and chance to see 1 more lake.
Absolutely Breathtaking Stuff!
We bumped into families, people taking their dog for a walk and even some youngsters taking professional photographs. The stillness with the spectacular: thats the real gift of this place. I would say that about the Lakes as a whole.
We ended it all back in Keswick; stood outside a chippy having Fish & Chips out of the wrapping for lunch!
My Uncle then dropped me back at Penrith and we said our goodbyes.
Then I headed home on the short train journey back to Glasgow.
If you have enjoyed reading please like, share or drop a wee comment.
Safe Travels