Lake District Weekend

From the responses of friends and colleagues each time I mentioned we were heading up to the Lake District in Cumbria (“Oh its beautiful…but it rains ALOT”) I was expecting a very wet Easter weekend. While it wasn't exactly warm, we were blessed with four days of minimal rain and patchy blue skies –you take what you can get in this country. We stayed at Bowness on Windermere, on the shores of the largest lake in the area and a fairly populated and touristy spot, although this didn’t distract from the quaintness of the town. Four days isn’t a great deal of time to spend in the area as there is loads to do and see but having a car meant that we were much more mobile and were able to visit many of the villages: Ambleside (lots of hiking shops), Grasmere (cute, picturesque villages with antiques), Keswick (large towns with lots of walks), Whitehaven (to visit Hansel & Michelle), Kendal (big town, big disappointment!), Cartmel (so cute!). Other highlights included: * Antique shopping at Grasmere * Riverside walk near Grasmere we were driving on a narrow road along the wooded banks of a river and stopped for a stroll (and some fashions shoots!) * View of Keswick from the top of Castlehead * Fresh scones & tea at a little café on the water near Ambleside * The drive to Cartmel Fells and Cartmel, along narrow, winding and wooded roads with spectacular views of the countryside and fields * The walk from Windermere to Orrest Head and back, which took us through open fields and narrow wooded paths.