If you read my photo diary from last years holiday, you would know that things didn't go all that well. I was very ill with obsessive compulsive disorder. It took over my waking life. Along with getting lost, getting locked in car parks and nearly not making it to the ferry at all. Although the holiday didn't start all that well, by the end, it turned out okay.
The Isle of Man was such a beautiful place, and it was so lovely to visit. Likewise, the Lake District was as equally if not more stunning. Surprisingly nothing went wrong on this holiday. We never got lost, the cottage we stayed in was adorable, and we had pretty good weather too.
Everywhere you look in the Lake District your surrounded by incredibly beautiful and picturesque scenery. The lakes and mountains are breathtaking, the wildlife is outstanding, and the villages are so cute. During the holiday we also visited Yorkshire and Scotland. It's safe to say we packed it in this holiday. Here is a run down of what we did plus a lot of photos from the week too.
So on Saturday, we visited some aircraft museum in the morning (not my choice) but it was raining, so I didn't mind. In the afternoon it cleared up, and we went down to Keswick and took a boat trip across Derwent water.
On Sunday, we travelled down to Windermere and got on another boat (you will notice a running theme throughout this holiday when it comes to transport) across Bowness lake to the other side of the Lake District where we jumped on a bus which took us to Hill Top Farm, where Beatrix Potter lived. We then made the whole journey in reverse and made our way to another cute little old farm house.
Monday was by far my favourite day. We went on a mountain goat tour. Mountain goat is a mini bus company that offer tours all over the Lake District. We went on the high adventure tour, which was as adrenaline packed as it sounds. We went over three passes, which are incredibly narrow, steep high roads over the mountains. We also got to stop for photo opportunities.
We then stopped for lunch, headed onto a little train ride, where we then got off and made our way over to a castle before jumping back in the mini bus heading back to where be started through the fells and over the mountains. If you are ever in the Lake District, you need to book yourself a mountain goat tour because you learn so much and experience the sights without the risk of killing yourself trying to do the passes on your own.
Tuesday, another day, another boat trip. This time we headed over to Ullswater, where we caught a steamer boat across the lake for a round trip tour. When we got back, we made the short journey over to Aria Force. Which if you didn't know is a pretty impressive waterfall.
Wednesday, was my mum's birthday. Her treat was a train ride on the Carlisle to Settle line across the Yorkshire Pennines. In Settle, we had a really lovely meal in a cafe decorated with lots of records and classic album art over all the walls. It was all done out in a retro style, which I loved. We then got the train back to Carlisle, where we jumped in the car and made our way over to Scotland. We visited Gretna Green and had a look around the shops.
Thursday, was a lot less action packed. We were staying incredibly close to Dove cottage where Wordsworth lived. We had a tour around the house and visited the museum. We then walked into the village of Grasmere, where we had a bite to eat and looked around the shops. We then looked around another National Trust house called Alan Bank before heading back to the cottage to pack.
We stayed in the most beautiful, quaint old fashioned cottage in the middle of nowhere. What made it even more special was the wildlife we had in the garden. We saw so many different types of birds including woodpeckers, owls and peregrine falcons. We were also were visited by a red squirrel on our last day.
I think this has to be one of the best holidays I have ever been on. There was just something so special about it plus nothing went wrong, and everyone was well. I definitely want to revisit the Lake District, I've fallen in love with it. If you ever get the chance definitely take a visit yourself, you won't regret it.
Thank you for reading, as always X
