The New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel Ambleside

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3. A Dime - No, not a popular brand of crispy chocolate bar, but a 10 cent coin of the American currency which will remain in my waist pouch until I (eventually) reach the United States, wherein I will find some suitable person to pass it back to - along with the story. So you see this isn't just a random trip around the world: this is a serious attempt at tackling the global recession by returning money to the U.S ...

Well after a good nights sleep, well I did but Martyn woke up complaining bitterly that he was kept awake by another form of wind from Leigh? we woke up to.. yes you guessed it, RAIN! but with the added benefit of of strong winds with gusts up to gale force strength..nice!

Once everyone had checked out of the Motel we set off for Glasgow on the scenic route via Otterburn & Haywick, stopping for breakfast at the very friendly Percy Arms in Otterburn ...

... the night. Morag and Ruby who live next door came round to say safe flight and have a good time and they'd got me 3 stones that have different meanings. One to keep me safe, one to bring me luck and one for love, so pls keep your fingers and toes crossed I find it lol!!! 3 girl friends popped round with bubbly and mags which always come in handy and then my cuz Becca popped round for a last good luck hug.
Not ...

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 ...

... 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.

... it more tricky. The storm burst had pooled in places, leaving puddles several inches deep. Getting through gates, where there was a build up of mud also slowed us down, as we were trying to avoid getting wet feet.

As it was, the rain was pouring straight down our waterproof coats and soaking into our less than waterproof trousers. After a mere half an hour, we were both soaked and Eartha was wanting to go back.

We crossed over a couple of swollen ...

... cross-country, across a little footbridge, in the dark and stormy night). Mad fools.

The bedroom had 15 sleeping places, consisting of 5 triple bunks. There were 14 of us staying, so it was kind of cosy. Eartha and I chose top layer bunks where you hit your head on the ceiling if you sat up too fast. Eartha went to sleep and I cracked open a bottle of homemade and joined Vince by the fire.

Tow truck 2, turns up at 15:29 and we are off again for the next leg of the journey, Stirling Services to Lancaster Services. This journey takes around 4 hours and I have a nice chat with the driver, Jim all the way. We phone ahead and arrange the next tow truck to meet us at Lancaster at 19:15, guess what? Yes, it wasn't there and I am told it won't be there until 20:15 and it finally arrives at 20:30

... our previous destinations but it made for a great and relaxing time out surrounded by beautiful scenary. I really liked Ambleside, even smaller than Keswick and even more adorable with an amazing backdrop (yeah mountains and lakes do alright!) Ambleside is nestled amongst these mountains, some of which we actually climbed! There are still B&B's every two steps. Our hostel was great- we had a 12 bed dorm to ourselves which came in handy in the cool nights ...

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 ...