Lake District


In the Lake District we stayed at the Lairbeck Hotel just outside downtown Keswick. Recommended ("2 star my ass - more like 5 stars!"). Roger the innkeeper is extremely knowledgeable about the area and batty in that Tom-Baker-as-Doctor-Who kind of way.

There's a restaurant at the hotel but we headed into town anyway that first night.



Packets of England

English Mustard.
Salad Cream.
Brown Sauce.
SNECK LIFTER.

As darkness fell we walked down to Derwent Water, the lake against which Keswick is nestled. We dodged more sheep to get a view of Catbells peak across the lake.

At the hotel lounge (a staple of the Lake District walking experience) Roger recommended Catbells as a high-yield hike. We hinted that we wanted to see the local stone circle first thing in the morning.



Castlerigg Stone Circle

Not quite Stonehenge but at least you can still approach it, and it's in a lovely setting among rolling hills. 5000 years old perhaps.


Before leaving we paused in front of our favorite stones. I chose mine because it kind of looks like it's flipping someone off South Park style.

At breakfast back at the Lairbeck Roger spotted us from the kitchen pickup window and quickly passed a note via the waitress.



Catbells

The Catbells hike was a good choice. Great views of the lake and town, and we even got some sun - the first of our trip. A fighter jet roared past below us as we descended. Score.



Some wiseacre set up a bite-size stone circle along the path.

We still had most of the day in front of us after returning to town so we drove to the Drunken Duck for lunch. We needed some assistance along the way - it's a tortuous route. But well worth it, even if the service is a little spotty.

That sun didn't last too long.

Next time we'll budget more time for the Lake District. Everybody should.


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