Lake District | Autumn Getaway

You can call this a throwback post. It's been sitting in my drafts, waiting to be completed, waiting to be published.

Esthwaite Water, the Lake District

Last autumn, before the third lockdown, we decided to brave it and do a long road trip with the kids - Gabriel's first in fact. After two lockdowns, we thought we could do with a long weekend to one of K's favourite places in the UK - the Lake District. The Lake District to me, is a memorable place in that my first time here with 5 other friends was a "misadventure" in that we didn't book any accommodation and it was raining heavily every day. We had planned to go camping and the heavens opened the moment we arrived. We laugh at it today of course, something we can talk about till we grow old. Then when I met K, we booked an impromptu trip on one Spring and it was a total opposite experience - this time with accommodation booked (hello!) and it was pure glorious sunshine the whole time we were there. We went back again a few years later when he took a few months off work during that period. I remember him booking a little cottage and I left him to go back to London first as I had to go back to work, while he stayed on and did solo hiking trips for a week by himself.

This trip - my fourth time back - was with the kids and of course, it was nothing like the previous trips. K suggested we should set off after dinner on a Friday evening, so that the kids could sleep and traffic would be smooth. He booked a cheap motel close to the lakes for the night and we arrived almost 1am with two sleepy kids. When we woke the next day, we just had less than an hour into the heart of the lakes. The total drive time each way was about 6-7 hours.

We loaded the car and drove everywhere with minimal hiking for the weather wasn't very kind to us during that 4 days. We rented an apartment in a tiny village literally in the middle of nowhere which was kind of scary as we had to drive through and maneuver tiny forest roads, especially at night there were no street lamps. Towards the end of our trip, after a heavy rainfall, a tree had fallen across a tiny road which was to bring us to our apartment and we freaked out. Thankfully the GPS showed us a roundabout way. K always shakes his head when I find "quaint English cottages" in the most isolated and inaccessible places to stay at. "Next time, please book a place in an accessible town" *rolls eyes* and he shook his head trying to drive in the tiny forest road.

We spent our time around Windermere and Ambleside. We also brought Izzy to visit the Beatrix Potter museum.

K loves to drive around in search of pretty lakes and one of the highlights of the trip was when we stumbled upon this beautiful and tranquil lake near sunset, Esthwaite Water near Hawkshead. It was stunning to say the least and it took my breath away. (I then remember coming with K in our first trip here together and it was also a beautiful sunny day). There were no other people around and the waters were so calm it reflected everything in the sky. We walked around the lake for a bit and enjoyed the beautiful view in front of us. I will remember this place fondly for a long time. All in all it was a great idea to spend 4 days out in the country, despite the long drive each way. Especially on hindsight we were to have another long lockdown.