WEEK AWAY IN THE LAKES
If the phrase 'don't bite off more than you can chew' is anything to go by, on this trip we ate the whole f*cking thing in one unceremonious mouthful. Three days of muddy legs, swollen ankles and insane views before another two chilled out in Windermere.
The week began with a 5am kick-off in Leeds, where we began our drive up to Ambleside in the Lake District. Getting there for around 8:30, we dumped the car, grabbed our bags and took to the tracks. This first day was gonna be our hardest - we knew that - but we didn't fully anticipate quite how far we needed to walk...thumbs up for solid prep! Setting off from Ambleside, we walked around Loughrigg Fell before heading up the Langdale Valley, scrambling out of it, and then making our way through the Borrowdale Valley towards Rosthwaite, where we were booked in for the night. Nigh on 30km and a pint later, we were done.
The second day turned out to be something of a double edged sword - much shorter than the first leg, but substantial on the contours... From Rosthwaite, we headed down over Ullscarf and past Wythburn Fells, then heading on down to Grasmere, getting lost a number of times en route. That evening, in Grasmere, we had a pub dinner that was INCREDIBLE - so good that Molls started feeling emotional about the whole thing.
Next day = rest day. Took a boat out on the lake and spent most of the afternoon chilling, playing scrabble and being accosted by school kids on field trips. Our fourth day saw us walking back to Ambleside in weather that, as I was to discover on returning back to the car, would somehow work its way into my phone's screen, leaving a few nice blotchy patches. From Ambleside, we then drove back to Windermere and headed to our hotel Aphrodites Lodge - a client who offered to put us up for a couple of nights. Once we were there, we spent a couple of days eating out, milling around and enjoying everything that the hotel had to offer!
All in all, a great week in one of my favourite places on the planet (behind only Switzerland, Budapest and The Angel Inn in Leeds) with my favourite person on the planet.
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Ps THIS IS NOT A PAID ENDORSEMENT for Aphrodites but seriously it's a cool hotel and worth checking out ;)
www.aphroditeslodge.co.uk