Keswick
Day 8
13,471 steps (5.25 miles)
Sun June 15 - 59°
On this sunny Sunday, we had breakfast, packed up the coach, and drove out of Conwy at 8:45 am to start our journey onwards to the Lake District. Our first stop (still in Wales) was at the stunning Bodnant Gardens. There are more than 8 miles of paths, and every inch of them is splendid.
Group Activities
There is no adjective that can capture how stunning the gardens were. We had two hours here, and this was one of my absolute favorite parts of the trip. So many paths to take, and no matter which one we chose we were surrounded on all sides by nature.
I found my dream home!
Avery captured some
local wildlife. :)
Alright, sorry for the photo overload there, but I had a hard time dwindling down our pictures from Bodnant Gardens to just a few. After that experience, we had a bit of a drive ahead of us broken up by a quick stop for lunch. Just before we got to Keswick, we stopped at Castlerigg Stone Circle. We took a short walk in the rain to reach the stones, and saw a deer along the way. The stones and circle are much smaller than Avebury.
Our drive from Castlerigg to Keswick took us through some beautiful Lake District villages. We checked into the Crow Park Hotel around 5:30 pm, then got our bearings of the town on an orientation walk led by Deb. We finished at the Old Keswickian for a traditional fish and chips dinner (included on the tour).
Moot Hall
(it's a worm)
Day 9
16,576 steps (6.24 miles)
Mon June 16 - 64°
When we went to bed it was cloudy, but today dawned very sunny. As a group, we walked down to the Keswick Launch for a boat ride. Deb gave us our tickets for a 10 am departure and we all hopped aboard. We could then get off at any of the stops around the Derwentwater lake. The rest of the day was ours to fill how we liked.
Group Activities
Mmmm,
breakfast!
Some of the stops around the lake were closed due to all the recent rain in the area, so we got off at High Brandelhow after about 30 mins on the boat. Also, if you're sitting in the front of the boat, you might get a little wet from the spray. But don't worry, it's not too bad.
Solo Activities
We walked around the lake in the direction of Keswick for about an hour and a half and then we were ready for lunch. Thankfully we reached The Lingholm Kitchen and Walled Garden just as our bellies started grumbling. We learned that Beatrix Potter and her family came many times to the area on holiday, and the garden here was the inspiration for Mr. McGregor's garden in her children's books.
Those little specks are hikers up on Catbells.
I love the dry stone walls which you see all over England.
After lunch, Avery wanted us to walk rather than catch the boat back to Keswick. Once we got back, Chris and Avery ran into Boots to top off some of our supplies, and they indulged in an ice cream as well. Then we rested up a bit before joining the happy hour hosted by Deb in the hotel. Dinner was on our own this evening, and we chose The Wainwright Pub. Chris' food came out, but Avery and I kept waiting for ours. Apparently, the name of the steak and ale pie we ordered is the same name as a beer they have. So they had two beers sitting up at the bar for us. :) We got it all sorted, and enjoyed our meal with some other members of the tour who came in. Then we called it a night.