Friday 21st November

We were up bright and early to set off to the Lake District, a romantic weekend is planned for Andrew’s birthday.

We stopped off at a pretty village pub, the Jolly Thresher in Lymm near Warrington, for an excellent lunch then motored on up the M6 to the Lindeth Fell hotel which perches above Lake Windermere. We finally arrived at dusk it was cold and very misty but the view, even so, was stunning. The hills are in front of us and the lake below us. There are magnificent grounds here with a stream running through the bottom of the garden and a little summerhouse to enjoy the scenery from.

We opened the big front door to see a welcoming log fire with a large tabby cat ensconced in an armchair in front of it. I immediately knew that we would enjoy our stay here.

We were shown to our room, which was large and cosy with roses climbing all over the walls and bed, a little settee sat facing the fire. We idled away the early evening then had a bath and dressed for dinner. The bath was too long for me to lie down in alone.

Downstairs we were shown to the pretty drawing room where we ordered a dry sherry and perused that evening’s menu. The food was delectable smoked salmon in hollandaise sauce, red pepper soup, venison and tiramisu. We were too full for the cheese, biscuits and fruit so settled for coffee and Kendal mint cake which was freshly made just down the road.

Saturday 22nd November

We were up early on Saturday morning for an amazing full breakfast, the water is soft up here so I had tea as I usually do when in Scotland.

We set off to explore the area, Bowness on Windermere was 5 minutes drive from the hotel. We parked & went down to the lake where we discovered they were doing winter cruises, we booked one then went back to the town to explore till we were due to board the boat.

The place was like a ghost town, then we discovered that the rugby was on and all the pubs opened at 8am to show the match.

I was impressed with the many lovely little local shops to enjoy, how good it is to be somewhere that has no chain stores. We found an absolutely stunning purple fur coat in one, which Andrew bought me for Christmas!

Had a coffee then headed back to the pier to set out on our forty minute cruise to the other end of Windermere. It was very cold on the water but the scenery was breathtaking, the trees were so many colours and the lake was shimmering in the sun.

We docked at Lakeside & went to the aquarium for a look around, spend ages watching the otters playing and the diving ducks diving. At 3pm we caught the last boat back to Bowness, and watched the sun go down from the lake.

We strolled around the town again & got a new watch for Andrew & bought Simon & Lucy’s Christmas present, a lovely amber salt crystal lamp, I love the shops here!

We headed back to the hotel for a nice hot bath. Dinner this evening was excellent too, afterwards we had coffee in the drawing room and looked at the various local walks you can go on.

Sunday 23rd November

After a huge breakfast we drove to Skelwith Bridge and parked the car to walk up to the Skelwith Force waterfalls, another sunny if cold day, we’ve been so lucky with the weather this weekend.

The scenery was incredible and changed so quickly as we walked, the hills and the valley below us. The waterfall was in full flow and we could hear it long before we reached it, it’s beautiful, I adore waterfalls and could just sit and watch for hours on end.

We continued walking eventually as there is another fall further on, this is a very steep walk in places made slippery by all the autumn leaves.

Colwith Force is definitely worth the walk, a stunning waterfall that separates into two in places then flows back as one. We sat and gazed at it, I wouldn’t have missed this for worlds. Andrew says that he must take me to see Niagara one day, he may never drag me away if he does!

We reluctantly left the waterfall, walking via a field with a notice saying “Beware of the Bull,” I walk extremely fast, and seem to have suddenly developed an extreme form of nervous twitch. I have been chased by a bull before and have no wish to repeat the experience! Thankfully I dive through the gate without hearing mad stamping feet or fierce snorting bellows.

The rest of the walk was completed in a more dignified manner, and we stopped at a tearoom which was not in view at the start of our walk but helpfully appeared as we finished. It provided a much needed hot drink and an even more needed toilet, walking miles after sitting gazing at two waterfalls can be an uncomfortable experience!

We strolled around the shop revived by the coffee, it’s chock full of pretty things, bought a gorgeous calendar of the district and two baubles for the Christmas tree. We picked up a leaflet on the local slate and stone.

The motorway was horrendous most of the way home, we stopped at the White Hart at Grafton Regis for dinner then home to our cats. A really lovely weekend, we will definitely return to the Lake District.