Hi all. Mid-August my son and I went to The Lake District, staying in Kendal. Some members of this forum were kind enough to give me a few tips on the area so figured I'd write this TR to let them know how I got on.
We got the train to Manchester then straight on to Kendal, arriving there around 3pm-ish. After settling in I decided to go for a short walk to the castle. This is the route we took.
It was a nice peaceful walk, especially beside the river. The walk up to the castle became a little steep, with the sun beating down on us, but the view from the top was spectacular. The castle itself was very interesting and we enjoyed reading about the history of it, as well as exploring the features, like the poop chute.
I was definitely a lot more scared than my son was, watching him climb up that mound. It was a lot more steeper than it looked on the photo.
There and back worked out around 5 miles when you count our wander around the town centre after our walk. Kendal was a nice little place, and the Premier Inn worked out good value for the summer holidays.
The second day we got the bus to Ambleside from Kendal. I couldn't believe how expensive the cost of the ticket was. £20 for a day rider ticket! The day rider was only about a pound more than a return. We could have travelled quite far with it, up to Keswick I think which would be good value, but not to Ambleside. Next time I am in the area, that ticket will be something to consider if I plan exploring further afield, especially since you can get one that lasts a few days. Talking about the cost of the bus, it was actually more expensive than the train, to get from Kendal to Windermere, which was surprising.
Ambleside was lovely. My son wanted to look in every single chocolate shop lol, but I dragged him past most. He did buy some buttons and I picked up some chocolate coated coffee beans, figuring he wouldn't like them (he did like them and stole most of them). We continued through the town and I realised I'd forgotten my trekking pole. I looked in some of the shops there but didn't fancy paying out the over-inflated prices when I had one back at the hotel room, so didn't bother. Leaving the town we headed up a main road until we came to a public footpath through a field. It carried on over the river via some stepping stone. I think this was the first time I'd actually gone across stepping stones and to say I was nervous, is an understatement! It wasn't the thought of falling in and getting soaked I was worried about, it was the drenching of my tech gear that I was thinking of. The stones started off ok, large enough to not worry about, but then in the middle they became narrower and narrower, to the point where the length of my foot would barely fit. Add to that my son, stopping in front of me asking if I was ok, stressing me out even more. Thankfully, I made it to the other side dry, but coming back I decided not to go that route lol.
Venturing along the road by the river, we came to an ice cream van so took the opportunity to rest in the heat, watching what I think was maybe a buzzard. It was a large bird, with rounded wing tips, soaring in large circles. Carrying on uphill, we followed the path to Rydal Water. It was very busy with walkers and families coming and going. We stopped by the river and had a paddle, spotting the tiny fish. A group of young men stopped near us, with a few swimming over to a little island. Somebody was already there though as a dog barked constantly at them so they soon came back. We timed it perfectly too as the RAF were on a training exercise in the area so my son was in awe at the planes zooming above us.
Photo from Rydal Water showing the many people.
View from above Rydal.
Leaving the water, we headed up, following a higher path to a couple of caves. My son really loved these, although one was a bit difficult to get to but he managed it.
Didn't see any fish in the caves?
Tracing our steps to the first cave, we headed upwards. I wanted to climb up and get to the other side to see if we could see Windermere. The weather was hot, very hot and the climb was long. We must have thought we had reached the top about five times, only to find we hadn't. When we had reached what I think was the top, I felt it was becoming a tad late to be carry on ahead, so we went down the way we went up. I am disappointed that we didn't do it, but it was my first time in such an area and I didn't fancy getting stuck up there when it was getting dark. Maybe next time. That night had a massive thunder and lightning storm too so it's a good thing I was cautious.
The third day was spent around Windermere, but it felt like a wasted day really as I didn't have anything planned. I usually plan lots, but circumstances made that difficult. We just did a boat trip and my son had a paddle. Again it was very busy. The day after that we were leaving but I had organised to hire a boat. That was good fun. I was lucky I hired it before the trip as it was all fully booked. Again, the weather was beautiful, so we got lucky with that.
Getting away from walking, I just want to add that we went to Manchester for a few days afterwards. The Travelodge we stayed in, near to Piccadilly Gardens was awful. No air-con so it was so damn uncomfortable, plus the large room had virtually nothing for storage in it. Also the area wasn't the best, but at least it was close to the train station. Not sure I'll go back to Manchester.
Oh, while there we went to an attraction called Electric Playbox. This was great fun for young and old. You wear a funny hat which translates your movement on to a screen. Think of being bats and having to stop a ball, plus other games. You work together as a team as you play the different games. Anyway, just thought I'd add that as it is a new company/attraction someone here might find it useful.
Sorry, it is more like a holiday trip report more than a walking report, but it is my first one. Hope someone finds it useful.
