Promenades, Peaks & Pub Food: The Lake District

Despite visiting the Lake District on various occasions, I never had the opportunity to explore it properly, (I spent most of my time there previously, hiking at night, so I hadn't even really seen the Lake District before...) We stayed in a pretty hotel in Windermere, where we were felt most welcome before even stepping through the door. The drive (plus distractions) had taken us four hours, so it was a lot later than the hotel's opening hours, but fortunately, the staff had left us a key nearby.

The hotel was called the Hideaway but seemed to be the complete opposite, it was a large house with a grand entrance. However, as we headed up to our room, it became clear that the name, 'The Hideaway' actually referred to the guest rooms, tucked in beside each other under the sloping roof. We were greeted by chocolate cake in the room - the best kind of greeting in my opinion! 

Breakfast was served at 8:45. Oh, how we were impressed! The chef greeted us immediately, as we headed down the stairs, he was very enthusiastic. We ordered our breakfast - boiled egg and soldiers for me, scrambled egg, beans and toast for my boyfriend (plus the additional yogurt, fruit salad and croissants).

Windermere was already beginning to fill with tourists, as we squeezed through in the car, before deciding to go further afield instead. We drove around for a couple of hours, stopping at various interesting locations and landmarks. Whether it was a pretty bridge or a rugged rock formation, we stopped. The Lake District has some of the scariest roads I've ever been on! I was glad that I wasn't driving (plus I doubt my car's 1-litre engine would have been able to carry us up some of the hills). Being able to stop whenever we wanted gave us plenty of opportunities to visit remote areas and hidden gems - we even managed to find the exact spot where my boyfriend managed to fall off his bike in 2016, a memorable place, unfortunately, not for a nice reason.

The treacherous country roads eventually brought us back to Windermere a few hours later. We decided to park at the hotel and walk back towards the promenade to stretch our legs. We stopped to get a snack from a trusty Sainsbury's, before walking down into Windermere. We couldn't believe that we had thought it was busy earlier at 9:30 am! It was now 3pm and rammed. We decided to escape the crowds by exploring the little shops, selling toys, sweets and chocolate - but we spent the most time in an outdoor sports shop called Stewart's. The walls were covered in photos from expeditions all over the world, this kept me occupied as I circulated the room a few times before braving the crowds again.

Sensibly, we had booked ahead of time to hire a boat. Unfortunately, the staff were rude and ignorant. We put it behind us as we headed out in our little boat, Anne. Windermere Lake is the largest lake in England, with an area of nearly 15km squared! As we sailed North, we were battered by the waves from the nearby ferries and larger boats - we didn't manage to get wet thankfully. The view we got from the lake looked like it should be on the back of a postcard! The stunning mountains and dense forests made for some good photos.

We headed back towards the grumpy staff at the boat rental dock, but our minds were soon taken off the thoughts of them as we debated about where to go for dinner. Italian or pub food? He chose Italian, I chose pub food, he reluctantly agreed to find a pub, and good job too - he later described the food as the best we'd ever had, (women are always right!) We found a place called Bereford's on the way back to the hotel, it was empty which gave us a bad impression, but once the food arrived, we realised that everyone else was missing out! Tomato soup and prawn cocktail for starters, chicken fillet and a burger for mains. We ate so much that we couldn't possibly have another bite until the waitress handed us a dessert menu, then I suddenly felt hungry again! I somehow managed to force down (and enjoy) a sticky toffee pudding. We must have looked like penguins as we waddled home in pain, but pain, from eating too much delicious food is a good kind of pain, I assure you.

After the infuriating crowds of yesterday's adventure, we wanted to go somewhere less touristy for the last day. Our breakfast was the same, bloody gorgeous! We even managed to eat more than the previous day (even after literally stuffing ourselves, at Bereford's, the night before.) We packed our bags into the car, and said goodbye to the wonderful staff, before heading North to Keswick. After a couple of hours of terrifying driving up steep slopes and thin roads, we arrived at Honister Pass. Fortunately, we had both brought our walking boots so a spontaneous hike didn't phase us. We walked for hours in the drizzly rain. The map on our phone said we were somewhere near the peak of the Great Gable, even other hikers, who looked more experienced, were completely lost too! After a couple of hours, we headed back towards the car - it's heated seats were a gift from God at this point!

We drove back into Keswick and found a café to have lunch in. Despite it taking them 45 minutes to make a ham sandwich, a beef sandwich and a portion of chips, we enjoyed it! Needless to say, we didn't leave them a tip for service... We spent the rest of the two hours searching through gift shops for presents for our families, unfortunately, we had to leave due to our parking meter running out of time before we could properly explore Keswick (it leaves more for next time!). On the way back, we remembered about a place that Stewart of Stewart's outdoor sports shop had told us about. We typed it into our phones and found it quickly, the route did include a short but steep incline, and an incredibly thin cobblestone bridge to cross over, but the view was definitely worth it! The viewpoint was known as Surprise View, and it definitely was a surprise, a pleasant one! 

After gushing at the spectacular view of Derwent Water, we headed back to the car to continue our journey home. We both agreed that another trip to the Lake District was a definite, as we had left loads of stuff to do and see for next time! I wonder if I'll end up driving - I bloody hope not!!!