Millbeck Farm Ambleside

... mode, and it is a good opportunity to mention my 'Travel Tokens'. These items have some kind of significance beyond simple functionality.

1. Belt - This leather belt will be used for holding my trousers (or anything else) in place. I probably could have found lighter weight belts to take but this particular one belonged to my Dad. Since his death in 1993 it has been mine and it just seemed appropriate to keep it close by ...

... by the time we were ready to leave, the wind had picked up & the rain was coming down sideways. When we crossed the border we were all leaning the bikes at 45 degrees just to go in a straight line and trying to brace for the gale force gusts!

So by the time we reached Haywick the weather had deteriorated & group decision was made for safety reasons to not continue to Glasgow but instead ride down to Martyn's sisters house in Warcop, Westmorland.
Appleby, England, United Kingdom charliebears

... chill me out. I got home about lunch time and Sarah and little munchkin (aka Sophia) turned up and spent a few hours with me which was lovely. I was chuffed that Sar came through to see me and when they left there were a few tears :o( I’ll miss her a lot, I feel like I’ve just got her back in my life and now Im off again and its gona at least 6 months till I see her again. Sarah I know you’ll be ...

Ingnoring most advice we did head off for our anniversary weekend to the Lake District. Cumbria had just experience record rainfall of 400+ mm of rain in 24 hours and amny parts of the area were severly flooded. We had a great run up on the M6 on Friday afternoon and settled into Elim House. In the moring we went down to see the lake which was now creeping ...

... affair. This is good though, as the next time I am here will be on the day of my last injections - which is also day before I depart - so there will be precious little time for social arrangements.

This evening marked precisely 2 weeks to departure - awesome! XD

... back to Hawkshead.

We had planned to stop in Ambleside on the way home to see the Roman ruin "Galava", which unfortunately turned out to be a muddy field with some ridges in. Most disappointing, and it started to rain again as we walked back to the car, leading to a damp drive home. On a positive note, we did get home in a record four hours, just in time for Eartha to watch Dr Who.

The day dawned bright and sunny. Actually, that's a total lie. The storm had settled down into heavy rain and the tops of the surrounding fells were clagged up with cloud. The path outside the hut had a small stream running down it. Even the good, rugged people of the BMC made a slow getaway in serious waterproofs.Eartha and I were the last to leave the hut.

We borrowed a dry bag for the map and planned to stay low. We have waterproof coats and boots ...

... for a gentle weekend's walking. The weather did not seem to be about to comply.

The Climbing Hut was not one I had been to before. It is set about two miles off the main road down a potholed, rocky track. It took us a couple of attempts to find the right potholed, rocky track in the dark, but eventually we did. It is narrow and weaves around, zig-zagging between tight farm buildings, over ...

... to get photos of the aqueduct, but a wide beam coming towards us, and a fleet of canoes prevented us from mooring up, so we continued to the Water Witch in Lancaster. Went to look for the tourist which had moved without changing the signs. Did a guided tour of the castle, which is a prison and a courthouse. Moved on again in heavy rain to find a peaceful mooring, and were thankful to reach bridge 90 without running out of diesel. It was too wet to pour in the ...

Lake District was the northernmost area we visited. That's probably why the Lake District is one of the best attractions of U.K. John told me the story of Beatrix Potter, the author of Peter Rabbit.
Actually, I don't remember which lake I visited, because John took me there. I still remember I took a boat to the opposite ...