View from Cat Bells Fell over Derwentwater & Newlands Valley, Lake District, England

Photo’s are here or you can just click on the photograph above.

1. Suffolk:

Suffolk photos are here.

Our extended 4 month summer trip to escape the heat of Florida began (as it usually does!) with visiting various family members out in East Anglia for a few days. Always a pleasure to hole up at The Angel Inn in the pretty Suffolk village of Stoke-by-Nayland which was looking particularly lovely in the early days of May with purple wisteria clambering up cottage walls and early summer roses in bloom. There’s nowhere quite like an English country village in the May sunshine! No time to hang around this trip though … we had to head almost immediately back to the airport to fly to Croatia for the start of a couple of months exploring the Balkans (see separate blogs!).

2. Somerset:

Somerset photos are here.

After several months of exploring, hiking, rafting and hanging out with various friends and relatives in numerous locations across the Balkans we returned to England in early July to another steamy British heatwave (at the time of writing the Brits were enduring their fourth extended heatwave of the summer of 2026 which is pretty unbearable given the lack of AC!). So … flying back into Bristol airport with our friends Barrie and Karen (who had been visiting us in the Istrian Peninsula for our final week in Croatia) we were greeted by indoor temperatures pushing 90°F/32°C. The only possible respite from the relentless breezeless heat was a wander down at the seaside. So we drove out to Brean Beach which is a gigantic stretch of dark sand wedged between a mass of static caravan holiday homes and camp sites and the rocky cliff known as Brean Down. It’s not the most attractive beach in the world, if I’m honest, and it is extremely tidal. Although we could just about spot some waves on the water it would have been a half mile trudge across the sand which was radiating heat like a New York sidewalk in August so we gave up and stopped for coffee and cake at an atmospheric little cafe called The Bakehouse Cafe a mile or so inland which was very good for an unexpected find!

3. Gloucestershire:

Gloucestershire photos are here.

The heatwave was subsiding slightly as we drove north to meet Geoff’s Auntie Val for mid-morning coffee at another great tea shop in the Cotswolds region – The Lazy Goose in Eastington. I’m sure we’ll be happy to make this place a permanent fixture for mid-morning coffee and cake on our annual trail around the countryside visiting friends and family! 😉

4. Derbyshire Dales:

Derbyshire Dales photos are here.

By the end of the day we had arrived in the Derbyshire Dales – a region of the English countryside which I’ve never visited. I’ve felt for a while that this was a glaring omission in my exploration of the motherland, so we had decided to book into a posh boutique country house hotel just outside of the very touristy town of Bakewell in the heart of the Derbyshire Dales. This is a beautiful bucolic region within the Peak District National Park in the East Midlands. As we drove up the winding tree-lined driveway to the hotel, I knew we’d made the right choice for the weekend. If nothing else, the oppressive heatwave they’d been enduring in the Derbyshire Dales subsided just as we arrived and it turned out to be perfect weather all weekend. When we left they were expecting another one, so that was perfectly timed! These crazy summer heatwaves in England are getting worse and more frequent every year!

Anyway, Fischer’s Baslow Hall is a 100 year old Grade 2 listed, stone-built manor house on the edge of the tiny hamlet of Baslow. We stayed in the Haddon Room which was beautiful. It had leaded, stone mullioned windows with views over the garden, the sweeping driveway and the arboretum. We loved it! There is a stunning lounge with log fire (for cooler days than the current average English summer’s day 😉) and an even more spectacular walled terrace. We sat outside on the terrace sipping cocktails whilst enjoying the view of the colorful border gardens which hummed with dozens of bees which were simultaneously sipping nectar from the flowers of the lavender bushes. There is something for every being to savor in the garden of Fischer’s Baslow Hall! 😊

Part of the reason we were there for the weekend was to eat at their renowned restaurant (a previous Michelin star awardee). It was phenomenal food – beautifully presented and excellent quality (much of it sourced from the well-stocked gardens within the grounds of the Hall). We ordered the tasting menus both nights and weren’t disappointed. It takes an inordinate time to make your way through 4-5 courses (interspersed with various amuse-bouche and palate cleansers) but the ambiance and the decor is so beautiful, and the staff were so friendly, that we hardly noticed that we’d been sitting in the restaurant until almost bedtime 😉. I would note that, whilst we loved it there for the utter peace and tranquility and the beautify of the surroundings for the weekend, it is an eye-wateringly pricey place! I won’t share our total bill for 2 nights including breakfast, tasting menus and Geoff’s attempts to drink the hotel dry of gin and wine but we could have had a week’s holiday on the beach in Spain for the same price 😉. A double Gin and Tonic cost £35.50 which is a tad on the pricey side in my opinion! After all of the months of excitement of the Balkans this summer, it was, however, absolutely lovely to return to the beloved motherland and chill in style for a few days!

The neighboring small tourist town of Bakewell is very pretty with historic stone buildings set on the river Wye, and very popular. As you pass over the medieval five-arched stone bridge you enter the old town. Almost immediately on the left you will spot the building which houses The Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop – over 300 years old and dating back to the late 17th-century. This is the home of the Bakewell Pudding – not the Bakewell Tart – just to be absolutely clear! There is an important distinction if you are a connoisseur of either! We joined the long line of foreign tourists for a table to test out the iconic pudding!

With hindsight, we’re not entirely sure that it was actually worth the wait – or the £10 charge for three small bites of pudding and a spoonful of vanilla custard … but when in Bakewell! 😉

A note of warning … around the corner is the Bakewell Tart Shop. Do not, under circumstances, bother to buy one of their tarts. Believe me, I’m a lifelong connoisseur of Bakewell tarts and Bakewell slices and whatever they’re selling doesn’t come close to a decent tart – it was stale and utterly tasteless. Clearly, Bakewell tarts and Bakewell slices should be left in the far more capable hands of grandma in a tea shop in the Yorkshire Dales … this place was absolutely unfathomably bad.

Things didn’t look up much in the village of Ashford-in-the-Water either! We took a walk between Bakewell and Ashford passing the river and across the fields. In need of sustenance we stopped for a cup of tea at the only tea shop in the village – Aisseford Tea Room which looked suitably cute on the outside but the tea was equivalent to something airline staff might serve you on an EasyJet flight to Malaga. Absolutely undrinkable … thankfully we’d already passed on buying any of the sugary bakery options on the counter which I’m sure would have been equally dismal.

Not to be deterred by the distinctly average offerings in the locality we took a drive into the surrounding countryside which was delightful on a warm and sunny day. We made a brief stop at the iconic Monsal Dale which was overrun with tourists cramming onto the famous viaduct. The fields of sloughed wheat, the hedgerows with summer flowers and the sweeping vistas were lovely but the highlight was undoubtedly the windy, rocky outcrops of Stanage Edge. We were nearly blown clean off our legs standing on top of the rocks surveying the vast landscape below. Great for a few photos but far too blustery to linger for long!

The following day after another of Fischer’s enormous breakfasts we drove to Castleton, a small tourist town nestled in the Hope Valley and famous for Mam Tor, a 1,700 feet/517 meters high hill, known as the “Shivering Mountain” which affords panoramic views over the Dales and access to the Great Ridge Walk for avid hikers. Peveril Castle (an 11th-century Norman fortress) is another highlight of Castelton which stands as a ruin on a hill overlooking the town.

We really enjoyed our relaxing weekend of pampering at Fischer’s Baslow Hall – it was all terribly English and very refined!

5. Lake District:

Lake District photos are here.

We took a chance last October (2025) after the end of our summer travels in Europe and England and decided to spend a week in Bowland Bridge just outside of Windermere to get a taste of the Lake District and whether we wanted to invest any more of our time in the lakes. Despite the distinctly dreary autumnal weather it was clear to us that if the weather played ball, we would love it! So, taking another massive leap of faith that the weather would be good in July we booked various properties around the lakes and started our summer trip in Bowness-on-Windermere. We stayed there for a week in a new house with a large patio and an indoor-outdoor living design. It was also walkable to the town and waterfront. We ended up enjoying it so much that we booked it again for 2 weeks next July in 2027 even before we’d checked out! I would add that the town of Bowness-on-Windermere itself is not at the upper end of tourism – we don’t greatly like it compared to the other towns and villages but we do like the house and it served as a great base for exploring large parts of the region. After that, we moved into a posh apartment in an old stone house in the much more attractive town of Ambleside at the far north of Lake Windermere. The next stop was another very pricey weekend in The Cottage in the Wood (unsurprisingly in the woods!) just outside of Keswick where we gorged on the offerings of Michelin Star Chef, Jack Bond. By the time we left we agreed that we’re probably done with expensive tasting menus and 8 course dinners for the next few decades 😉. Finally, we rented a house in Watermillock overlooking the lake of Ullswater and the impressive Hallin Fell. The house was huge (if dated somewhere back in the 1990’s!) and served as a great house to host various friends.

Highlights of the Lake District by region:

Lake Windermere area:

a. From our house in Bowness-on-Windermere we were within steps of the summit of Brant Fell which we loved. It is an easy morning walk with great views over Lake Windermere which can be extended in a circular route through fields of sheep grazing on grassland, past farm buildings and along a quiet country road. For not much effort, it is unmissable if you’re in the Windermere area.

b. Gummer’s How is a short, steepish hike south of Bowness-on-Windermere and you can either take the easy route up and down or the more interesting harder route with some rocky sections … no prizes for guessing which one we chose! The views from the trig point at the summit of Gummer’s How stretch to the Cartmel Valley, Newby Bridge and even as far as Morecambe Bay to the south. Northwards you can see almost the entire length of Lake Windermere backed by the Coniston Fells. You might even see Scafell range on days as clear as we had! For anyone terrified of cows this might not be your absolute favourite hike! There are free-roaming herds of cows and massive bulls which we let amble slowly past us with plenty of space 😉.

c. Kendal is known as the “Gateway to the Lakes” and is famous for Kendal Mint Cake – a solid, sugary peppermint confection that famously fueled Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay on the first successful ascent of Mount Everest in 1953. I remember my father eating this stuff like his own survival depended upon it when we were kids on our summer holidays in Lancashire and Yorkshire in the family caravan (although I think it was more to do with fueling his sugar addiction than over-expending any energy 😉 Neither Geoff nor I have tried it since we’re about 10 years old. It’s very good for boosting energy during hiking and now comes in an even trendier version with chocolate coating … yummy! Kendal, however, has not improved with the passage of time and looks a little down at heel. It’s one highlight was a shockingly good bakery and cafe where we had lunch and took out sourdough bread and a stash of emergency cakes: “Bakery at no 4″… if you’re passing through …

d. On the western shore of Windermere you can see Wray Castle from quite a distance. On a “down day” from hiking we decided to walk the western shore from Wray Castle which is a National Trust property with a conveniently located and rather good coffee shop named “Joey’s Cafe” where we stopped for coffee and cake after our walk. If I’m honest, the cafe was the highlight of our morning which probably says everything I need to say about the trail. It was easily the most boring walk of our entire vacation in the Lakes. The dirt pathway runs south from the Castle at shore level, then through woods with absolutely no views at all and then emerges towards Newby Bridge where the shoreline had literally been trashed by illegal campers (the absolute scourge of the region). There were abandoned BBQs, discarded tents, bags of trash, boxes of discarded used beer cans … the list goes on … thankfully we didn’t see this kind of wholesale abuse of the natural environment when we were hiking at 2,000 feet/610 meters above shore level because most of these morons can’t put one foot in front of the other but it became clear, as time progressed during our vacation, that this is a commonplace problem across the region. We even saw the odd abandoned tent at high elevations which is pretty depressing.

e. Orrest Head is a very easy 3 mile circular walk from the town of Windermere with a negligible elevation gain of 540 feet/165 meters (which is nothing for the Lake District). The view over almost the entirety of the 10 mile long Windermere Lake is great – as far as Scafell Pike and the Irish Sea on a good day. The trail passes through woods and up onto the summit before descending through fields and back around to the town.

f. We found The Brown Horse Inn in Winster, just outside Windermere last October when we visited during autumn. We had dinner there with a friend who visited us for the day before we went hiking with alpacas in Whinlatter Forest. It’s a great pub with cosy seating, excellent quality, locally renowned food and a pretty terrace out front with hanging baskets and a view over the neighboring fields. We decided to revisit for Sunday lunch with our old friend Gary who came up to see us for a day from Cheshire. Sunday lunch didn’t disappoint! I would definitely put The Brown Horse Inn on the culinary map for these parts!

Grasmere and Ambleside area:

a. Grasmere must be the must famous village in the Lakes, understandably. It is very cute with pretty shops and cafes; there are world-class hikes in every direction; it has a small but equally pretty lake (which Geoff found too irresistible to swim in on one of our hotter days); it has Baldry’s Tea Room (a very pretty cafe with good coffee and even better fruit slices!); and, of course, it is home to the famous Grasmere Gingerbread Shop. This is a very popular tiny shop in an old school house next to St Oswald’s Church selling “the best gingerbread in the world” as invented in 1854 by the Victorian cook, Sarah Nelson. But most importantly of all, the world-famous English Romantic poet William Wordsworth lived briefly in Grasmere in Dove Cottage. His body is buried in St Oswald’s Church graveyard – hence the photograph of the headstone with the bunch of yellow daffodils paying homage to his most famous poem). Ultimately, he moved considerably more upmarket, although still close-by, to Rydal Mount. Whilst at Dove Cottage he wrote “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” (known as “Daffodils”) in 1804. His inspiration for it came two years earlier in April 1802, when he and his sister Dorothy saw a large field of wild daffodils along the shore of Ullswater at Glencoyne Bay.

b. Easedale Tarn was the first hike we did from Grasmere and we loved it! It started misty and cloudy as we crossed through farmland and past fast-running streams cascading over black rocks. By the time we surfaced from fighting our way through a lengthy section of thick, scratchy ferns and bracken and rock-hopping over shallow brooks, the sun was shining at the summit on the water of Easedale Tarn. Apart from a couple of young boys fishing for trout we were alone to admire the picture perfect reflections of the surrounding fells on the dark water of the tarn. The 6 mile return loop took us past the dramatic waterfalls and cascading pools of Sourmilk Ghyll which are popular with swimmers and instagrammers. It was one of our favorite hikes of the trip for the variety of its terrain and the vast, sweeping landscapes. Loved it! ❤

c. Ambleside is a reasonably upmarket town for these parts with attractive Victorian grey-slate stone houses and a handful of independent shops. Everyone snaps a photo of the tiny, quirky National Trust “Bridge House” which spans the stream below. Other hot instagram contenders are the Apple Pie Bakery which has a pretty bowed-window storefront, the watermill on the side of Lakes Brew Co Tap and the old white-painted pub, The Royal Oak. If you need to escape the crowds (as we did) you can follow the narrow country road uphill out of town past Stockghyll Force waterfall. If you continue along a single-lane track you will find the small but cute Grove Barn Cafe which serves the best gingerbread I’ve ever had with golden-flecked ginger. There is a small terrace with bucolic views over the neighboring hills. Worth the detour if you want some peace and quiet with a great coffee and nice homemade cakes.

d. Hawkshead, a few miles inland from the western shore of Windermere, is a very pretty village which we fell upon during an aimless drive through the countryside. It is car-free with cobblestone streets, whitewashed cottages, tea shops and cafes. It is home to the Beatrix Potter Gallery which contains sketches by the revered author. A young William Wordsworth also attended Hawkshead Grammar School. Not far from Hawkshead is the popular Tarn Hows Circular trail – roughly 5 miles with a slow elevation gain of 1,200 feet/366 meters – it is neither steep, nor challenging and also not my favorite walk! The first half is around a flat, wide track suitable for push chairs and wheelchairs which is a great asset as an accessible trail for all visitors but it’s not the wilderness we’re used to. Once you leave the accessible track and head up to the rocky Tarn Hows viewpoint it improves dramatically and then it meanders aimlessly for miles through woods and fields at which point it becomes a calorie-burner through the countryside but without particularly dramatic views. Good for some exercise but not great!

e. Loughrigg Tarn Circular hike via Grasmere and Rydal Lakes (and the highly overrated Rydal Cave) was walkable from our posh apartment in Ambleside town. Beautiful views, rather overlong at 7 miles but not challenging. Again, not our favorite hike but good exercise and pleasant enough … if we tackled this again we’d do it from the Rydal Water end just to enjoy the views over Grasmere Lake towards Grasmere village and the imposing backdrop of Helm Crag (probably mid-morning for good light although you’ll be battling the hordes whose sole interest lies in scampering about inside Rydal Cave with their screaming kids). If you appreciate views over a ripple-free lake with mist rising and calm reflections then pick a windless day around 7am and head over to Rydal. You might get lucky!

f. The famous Kirkstone Pass lies between Ambleside in Rothay Valley to the south and Patterdale to the north in Ullswater Valley. It is an iconic drive and is even more scenic if you take The Struggle road either to or from (depending upon your start point!) Ambleside which is a winding country road through the pass rather than the more direct route via the A592. The summit is at an altitude of 1,489 feet/454 meters and it is the Lake District’s highest pass traversed by road. The white-painted Kirkstone Inn sits at the summit like a beacon which can be seen for miles around. It is a historic 15th-century pub established in 1496 and is the highest pub in Cumbria and second-highest in England. Worth the drive up for a beer or a coffee and a flapjack (honestly … they bake a shockingly good flapjack and chocolate brownie!). The tragedy is that, at the time of writing this, the pub has temporarily closed amidst a dispute over parking fees, abandoned leases and greedy landowners which is a travesty. Having arrived at the summit, Geoff decided that we should take a “quick hike” in the surrounding fells late one afternoon. He picked a trail out of thin air with absolutely no research whatsoever and sold it to me on the basis that it couldn’t take long as it was only 0.7 of a mile uphill. Famous last words … the problem was that we were already tired from hiking in the morning and were really in need of sustenance. The “short” uphill climb on the Red Screes Trail was very, very steep … 1,050 feet/320 meters straight up a rocky track albeit over a distance of only 0.7 miles. The final scramble up and over a jagged, rocky crag at the top and then the steep rocky path back to “ground level” was quite enough hiking for me for one day … hence the emergency mid-afternoon flapjack back at the Inn!

g. Thirlmere Reservoir lies between Ambleside and Keswick. If there is a bleaker, darker, more foreboding lake in the Lake District we haven’t seen it yet. We drove there after a hike with a picnic we hadn’t yet eaten and a desire to eat it somewhere in solitude away from the crowds of Grasmere and Ambleside. It was, without a doubt, a picnic eaten in solitude … for good reason. This manmade body of water is not the deepest at only 165 feet/50 meters (that accolade goes to Wastwater at 250 feet/76 meters and the second deepest is Ullswater at 207 feet/63 meters) but it looks as dark and unwelcoming as it is possible to be. It is also surrounded by a dark and gloomy pine forest. We sat on black rocks you could fry an egg on, warmed by the afternoon sun, but the gloomy shoreline still chilled me …

Keswick area:

a. Cat Bells Fell! Wow! This is, without doubt, the hike of our trip to the Lakes and ultimately one of the most spectacular hikes we’ve ever done in England. It’s one of the famous Wainwright fells (as were many we did over our month or so here). It’s not too hard but not too easy either – it’s a clamber of 1,480 feet/451 meters to the summit with some inevitable rocky scrambling. We chose a track on our return route (on the Cat Bells/Manesty route) which commenced halfway down the fell on the Derwentwater lake side which ran amongst bracken, ferns and purple heather. The views in all directions were breathtaking with the early morning sun glinting on Derwentwater in one direction and lighting the farmhouses bright white dotting the Newlands Valley in the other direction. Views extend as far as Bassenthwaite Lake and the Whinlatter Forest in the distance. We absolutely loved every minute of it! Wait for a blue sunny sky day, park early (we were at the small free parking lot at 7.30am) and you’ll probably have the hike to yourself most of the time and you may even get some time alone at the summit before too many people start to arrive and disturb the peace!

b. The Cottage in the Wood, as mentioned above, is a renowned Michelin Star restaurant set in a cosy, peaceful 17th-century inn. If you’re feeling particularly flush, it’s a lovely, chilled out, friendly place to spend the weekend, as we did. It lies only a few miles to Keswick and all of its attractions in one direction, and to Whinlatter Forest in the other (where you can go alpaca trekking as we did last October). We would highly recommend it. The food was fabulous, as you’d expect at this price point, but 2 nights of 8 course meals was probably overkill 😉

c. Great Wood to Walla Crag via Ashness Bridge is an unsurprisingly popular hike with an almost 1,500 feet/457 meters elevation which we began from the Great Wood National Trust car park. The first time we did it we walked all the way to the famous old stone Ashness Bridge and back through what felt like miles of scrubby undergrowth and scratchy brambles. Neither of us enjoyed the full 7 mile circle at all once we’d reached the bridge. The initial hike up through the woods and the steep grassy climb up onto the fell is beautiful. The view from the rocky outcrop at Walla Crag over Keswick and the entirety of Derwentwater is fabulous and if you continue on maybe halfway towards Ashness Bridge at the higher elevation then the views down the lake over the oval shaped islands and towards Cat Bells are perfect. When we hiked it a second time with our friend Ali (who was staying with us at our Ullswater rental), rather than battle through the overgrown undergrowth at road level from the bridge we turned around whilst we were still at high elevation . This is a much better out-and-back return route in my opinion, since you get the best views at elevation! On a sunny day with puffy white clouds it is an easier option than Cat Bells with almost as beautiful views, albeit from a different angle!

d. A far easier option is the short but sweet 1½ mile return hike known as Latrigg Circular. We must have picked the worst day in summer to do this! It was like winter up there on the exposed headland. The winds were howling, it was freezing cold and the grey clouds smothered the surrounding fells. Thin shafts of light pierced the thick clouds which was beautiful in a moody way but it’s not a place to linger on a cold, windy day … even the sheep looked like they’d appreciate an extra woolly blanket 😉

e. By far the best cafe/coffee shop in the entire area is at Lingholm Estate Kitchen and Walled Garden with its beautiful terrace and glass-enclosed cafe for cooler days. Absolutely excellent food, coffee and homemade cakes all served against the backdrop of the imposing Skiddaw Fell. The terrace overlooks beautiful flower borders and the rustic octagonal walled garden which was the inspiration for author Beatrix Potter as the setting for Mr McGregor’s garden in The Tales of Peter Rabbit. Loved it so much there that we revisited three times – obviously I had to share it with my old friend Caroline who was visiting us at the Ullswater house (like me, she’s not one to turn down a decent coffee and an artisanal homemade cake either before or after a hike – or maybe both!). We also took Ali a few days afterwards who similarly couldn’t resist its various temptations 😉. Honestly – don’t bother with anywhere else – just go here! And if you want to walk with alpacas you can do it here too around the grounds! What else does anyone need in life?! We also had coffee and cake at The Chalet tea Rooms (good but not great). In Keswick town we tried Treeby and Bolton (also an art gallery) which was distinctly disappointing.

f. Castlerigg Stone Circle a mile or so outside Keswick would have been so much more impressive given its history if there weren’t scruffy kids crawling and clambering all over the ancient stones. There are panoramic views towards Helvellyn and High Seat which are certainly more appealing than the screaming kids. The ring is composed of 38 free-standing stones, some up to 10 feet/3 meters high. It is one of Britain’s earliest stone circles dating back to the Neolithic period 4,000 to 5,000 years ago and is probably deserving of a little more respect than it was receiving …

Ullswater area:

a. Aira Force (a National Trust property) is probably the most overrated attraction in the region. OK, the waterfall is pretty enough with its 65 feet/20 meter drop from under a high stone bridge but in the summer it isn’t exactly raging. It’s absolutely overrun with tourists because it’s very easily accessible and, as result, is almost totally devoid of any natural appeal. Even the National Trust Cafe at the car park is very average and not worthy of a stop. However, if you continue to hike past the waterfall, traverse the bridge and continue alongside the river, eventually the crowds will dwindle and it’ll just be you and a couple of other hikers in the silence of the forest. We hiked the Aira Force Gowbarrow Park Circular which is only 4½ miles across the top of Gowbarrow Fell with views over Ullswater. We didn’t have great weather hence the cloudy photos but, on the upside it didn’t rain either (contrary to the forecast) which was a bonus since my best friend Caroline from our university years back in the mid-80’s had come to visit for a couple of days!

b. We could see Hallin Fell and its trig point at the summit, in all of its spectacular glory, from our rental house in Watermillock. It looked close enough to reach up and touch even though it was a 25 minute drive around the opposite side of Ullswater. We went up three times during our 12 days in Watermillock. Firstly, on a cloudy afternoon to scope it out and burn some calories. It’s short and steep and definitely burns calories! The short climb rises 900 feet/274 meters to the trig point with views straight down the centre of Ullswater. Secondly, we hiked up early in the morning on the day our friend Ali arrived for 5 nights. At this time of day the light works best for photographing towards the Glenridding southern end of the lake with great light over the surrounding high fells. We timed it perfectly with the deafening, ear-splitting RAF Typhoons and USAF F-15 fighter jets flying overhead as they practice their low level maneuvers up and over the fells and through the valleys at 500 mph (hence the out-of-focus shots) They come out of nowhere at great speed with no forewarning as to how loud they will be and every time we saw them (which was many times over our month), I jumped clean out of my skin. Thirdly, we went up again mid-afternoon in glorious sunshine on the day Ali arrived, partially because I wanted to see the lake in full light with the sun behind me (which was stunning) and secondly to test out Ali’s physical abilities since she had her hip replaced last year and we weren’t sure if the steep, rocky terrain of the Lake District would be a problem … well … it wasn’t … her recovery had been impressive and all those years in the gym had put her in good stead for hiking in the Lakes, which was a relief . The hikes around Ullswater are not for the faint-hearted so we were extremely impressed with how Ali threw herself into the somewhat brutal elevations and treacherous rocky and boggy terrain!

c. Glenridding Dodd, Heron Pike and Sheffield Pike! Time to test our own abilities – let alone the ability of our friends! This was a long, unexpectedly challenging 6-miler clambering through an overgrown forest of roots and tree limbs, up and over the spine of Glenridding Dodd followed by rock climbing and scrambling almost 2,200 feet/670 meters up from lake level (where we’d parked on the lakeshore road). The hike would ultimately take us to Heron Pike and Sheffield Pike. Having emerged from the forest, we continued on a short detour to the summit of Dodd and then retraced steps back down before taking on The Rake ridge from Dodd. There was a rocky scramble up to Heron Pike and then another steep rocky scramble to Sheffield Pike (which seemed pretty bleak as a viewpoint, if I’m honest). It was brilliant fun although obviously the hike requires a head for heights and a reasonable level of fitness. The hard work was worth it for the views albeit the clouds drew in and a chilly wind howled as we finally made it to the Sheffield Pike summit. We were dressed for winter on the return route as the cold wind whipped at our hair and tore through our rain jackets. Thankfully, as we descended along a steep zigzagging shale path past Greenside Mine (the least appealing section of the hike) the sun shone and we warmed up again. Apparently there is a much easier way to tackle Glenridding Dodd than the route we’d taken up through the forest but, for some reason, we didn’t take it! . I would do it all over again in a heartbeat but not via the forest … I’d find the easier route up from the village which skirts Dodd and maybe wouldn’t bother with the summit of Glenridding Dodd unless I wanted the extra exercise. The best view by a considerable margin, was from Heron Pike where we were surrounded by purple heather, with a rocky outcrop to the left and panoramic views down Ullswater. It was very beautiful. We were absolutely exhausted by the time we made it back to the lakeshore!I 

d. On the opposite side of the valley where Glenridding village itself nestles, is another great walk. The views from the Glenridding Mires Beck Circular trail are quite lovely. The trail starts in the cute village of Glenridding and heads up briefly through woodland and then bracken, past Lanty’s Tarn and out onto open fell which continues to rise to the summit at 1,100 feet/335 meters. It’s only a 3 mile circuit but the morning view over the southernmost end of Ullswater and the village of Glenridding is very pretty. If you continue further up the fell (rather than take the stone steps down to the village) you’ll eventually reach the ball buster Helvellyn (which we might tackle another year but aren’t quite up to it yet!). Even the 20-somethings we passed on their return from a very early morning hike up there tackling the infamous knife-edge rocky summit of Helvellyn Striding Edge, looked a little the worse for wear so it would probably have killed us 😉. We really enjoyed the views from this hike so we went twice – once with Caroline on a misty, cloudy atmospheric day where the sun broke through the clouds just as we reached the summit and again with Ali on a blue sky day when we could finally see the treacherous slope of Helvellyn above us. The first time we went we had absolutely no idea Helvellyn was even there looming large over us at all! Even better, throughout the early section of the hike and during the steep descent of the Glenridding Mires Beck Circular trail we could see the entire Glenridding Dodd to Sheffield Pike range which we’d tackled the day before with Ali. Seeing it from a distance with its steep rocky terrain and how far (and how high we’d hiked) put our considerable efforts into context. We were very proud of ourselves! 😊

e. if you’re looking for an underrated but superb country pub in the Glenridding/Watermillock area then you’re not going to find a better choice than the small, historic 19th-century Horse and Farrier in the tiny village of Dacre. I found it by accident searching for somewhere for lunch with Caroline after a morning hike. The fish and chips were apparently the best consumed by either Geoff or Caroline in years. The food was so good that we returned later in the week for Sunday lunch with our friend Ali after another tiring morning hike. I have to say the veggie roast (and apparently the beef roast, according to Ali) was unbelievably good (the same goes for the sticky toffee pudding and the berry crumble and custard!). I only wish we’d had another Sunday in the area to revisit it!

f. Every Thursday evening Miller Farm puts on a 90 minute sheep dog demo for £10 per adult at 6pm at Bennett Head in Watermillock. It made for an unconventional evening which was great fun … the cute and cuddly sheep dogs might be supremely well trained but they are also quite mischievously naughty which was pretty entertaining! . The border collies ran amok left to their own devices but were laser-focused when under orders. We saw them sheep herding alone, running a trial course and then brace herding in a group. It was an excellent evening and the Miller family were also fun and informative. Unmissable for an alternative to running up and down mountains all hours of the day and night!

g. Barbers & Alpacas!!! Our friend Ali’s last day in Ullswater was nothing if not unorthodox ! We needed a day off from the relentless hiking so we watched Geoff being preened and manhandled at a traditional Turkish barber (Nev’s Barber Shop) in Keswick which culminated in the eye-watering spectacle of his nose being waxed. I’m sure he was deeply regretting agreeing to the free waxing which looked ridiculous enough with a shiny black layer of wax applied to the exterior of his snout. With 2 black wax-coated balls of cotton wool on the end of cocktail sticks inserted up his nasal passages it brought to mind the famous tragic scene from the final episode of Rowan Atkinson’s “Blackadder Goes Forth” where Captain Blackadder shoves 2 pencils up his nose and says “Wibble” in response to every question in an effort to feign sudden insanity and thereby avoid being sent over the top of the trenches into battle during the First World War. Obviously, watching Geoff’s nasal hair being ripped from inside his nose was infinitely more hilarious for Ali and I and, in my opinion, fair payback for anyone who’s ever had a bikini wax 😉. As an aside on the town of Keswick – it gets really, really, really busy in summer … I mean chaotically busy by mid-morning. We stopped for coffee and cake at highly-rated Treeby and Bolton Cafe for Geoff to recover from the ignominy of earlier events in Nev’s, but it isn’t a patch on Lingholm Estate Kitchen a few miles outside of town.

After all of that mid-morning excitement we also had a private “Meet & Feed the Alpacas” session late afternoon for £20 per person (money well-spent in my considered opinion!) with Alpacaly Ever After at their Basecamp North Lakes location. No one else had booked into the 4pm slot so we had the entire greedy herd of furry camelids all to ourselves – which was a massive bonus! It was a messy business hand-feeding the girls … all crooked teeth and bits of half-chewed grass slathered all over us but it was a lot of fun. They are surprisingly gentle when they are nibbling from your palm, however, there was one larger fluffy brown girl who would happily have trampled us to death to get to the food pellets. Another, took one look at us when we arrived, raised her head, let out an unnerving screech and flobbed projectile spit at us, sticky trails of which landed on Geoff and in my hair. I do love a good cuddle with an alpaca! Brilliant fun!

h. For our final exploits in the Lakes which didn’t involve any elevation, very little effort but lots of muddy cuteness, we booked an afternoon of cuddling the locally famous Herdwick sheep with Yew Tree’s Herdwick Experience at Yew Tree Farm, Coniston. Obviously, I loved it as much as cuddling alpacas! It turned out to be one of the major highlights of our month. Cuddling their flock of super friendly Herdwick sheep was positively peaceful and somewhat surreal since most sheep are afraid of their own shadow let alone unknown humans. This herd runs towards you at full pelt for a handful of pellets, for a cuddle and a stroke. Then, once they’ve lost interest in you hand-feeding them pellets, you sit down on a small mat amongst the sheep poo and they plonk themselves down on the grass next to you for a chin scratch … brilliant! I do love sheep!!

We were very sad to leave the Lake District but we were heading to one of our other favorite regions of England – the Yorkshire Dales – where we’d be catching up with various friends

We had a fab time up in the Lakes and highly recommend it for any hikers & foodies out there … and, obviously, for anyone who’s desperate to cuddle an alpaca and a few sheep!

6. Yorkshire Dales:

Yorkshire Dales photos are here.

It was a bit of a whirlwind week in The Dales. We rented Badger Hill Barn in Hanlith (a tiny enclave next to the equally tiny village of Kirkby Malhalm) which, in turn, is only a mile from the tiny village of Malham which is famous for Malham Cove!

Highlights of our flying trip:

a. Malham Cove. It was a sunny and beautiful evening when we arrived at the cottage so we hot-footed it straight to Malham Cove, parked in the village next to the Visitors Centre and took the trail towards the Cove. We were planning on just walking to the Cove and up the steep stone steps to the viewpoint with its expansive view across Malhamdale and the surrounding region. Malham Cove is a spectacular natural limestone formation created 330 million years ago and which comprises a dramatic, curved limestone cliff at the head of the valley. At the top of the cliff is a bed of limestone slabs weathered over the ages and now criss-crossed with deep crevices. To reach the edge of the clifftop for the most spectacular views you have to leap from rock to rock … like a game of giant hopscotch but one where if you fall you’ll end up with your leg wedged between the limestone blocks which is bound to hurt (not my favorite terrain for traversing but the views are worth it!). Anyway, having risked life and limb to reach the edge, we admired the view in the early evening light and agreed (having been here before at a much earlier time in the day) that between 4pm and 7pm on a sunny, mid-August evening is THE time of day to see the view, which is stunning! Also, it was very peaceful which was a bonus since it’s normally very popular. Given it was such a glorious evening we continued with the full 5 mile Malham Cove Circular hike across the top of the fell and then via Janet’s Foss to Gordale Scar. Absolutely beautiful at that time of day!

b. The Secret Garden, Beck Hall, Malham. One of my old friends (Kate) came up to visit for the weekend. We ate at the well-known, highly rated Beck Hall riverside restaurant which is entirely vegan (and part of England’s first 100% plant-based hotel). Great location, the photos of the food online looked amazing, good cocktails … but it fell slightly short of expectations. The food was interesting enough but a bit basic and not as “ornate” as we were expecting … personally I think it would be a better choice for lunch than a special dinner occasion.

c. Settle, Car and Kitchen Cafe and the Flowerpot Festival! We picked up Kate from the famous, flower-bedecked Victorian railway station in Settle which draws a lot of tourists (and train spotters) since the Settle to Carlisle rail journey is one of the most iconic routes of the UK. Whilst we waited for her train to arrive from Leeds, we went to old favourite Car and Kitchen Cafe in the market square. Sad to say, it is no longer on the list of recommendations! The quality of the coffee and cakes has declined and it has now been struck off the “to go” list … what a disaster! 😉. During August, there is an annual Flowerpot Festival which was quite cute – the flowerpot figures were dotted about the village – a construction worker hanging from scaffolding, Postman Pat outside of the post office and my favorite, a Town Cryer at the market square in the centre of the village.

d. Grassington and Meadows Circular hike via Linton Falls. Grassington needs no introduction for those devout followers of the acclaimed TV series “All Creatures Great and Small”. It is easily the prettiest of the “touristy” Dales villages and if you want to see it as we did, without the hordes on the tour bus trail, then I suggest an early morning between 8am and 9am. To stretch our legs we walked the 3½ mile circular via a very dried-up Linton Falls. It was OK for an easy walk but nothing too special given the alternatives in the area. Like everywhere in the UK there were drought or near-drought conditions this summer which resulted in rivers and stream running dry and normally emerald green fields had turned brown. It was a tough summer for heatwaves and drought for most Brits.

e. We had Sunday lunch at The Queens Arms, Litton, miles out in the middle of nowhere in a peaceful location in Upper Wharfedale. It is a traditional 17th-century inn with locally sourced food and home brewed cask ales. Good food and rustic atmosphere – worth the scenic drive especially because we spotted a flyer for the Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival and couldn’t resist driving to the neighboring village to check it out. Kettlewell is a picturesque and well-known traditional village in Upper Wharfedale with pretty pubs and lovely stone cottages. It turns out that the Scarecrow Festival is a highly anticipated annual event in these parts and judging by the extraordinary quality of the scarecrows and the imagination and effort which went into the entrants, the local residents have obviously been honing their scarecrow creating skills for decades! The tradition harks back to 1994 when the first festival was to raise money for the local primary school. I have to say the talent was remarkable – it was actually quite unexpectedly brilliant!

f. The Cracoe to Linton Circular trail via Fountaine’s Inn was too long, too boring and for the last mile or so the trail ran along the side of a major road so we were perched up on a narrow grass bank trying to avoid stringy stinging nettles and watching out for deep holes in the bank on one side and speeding cars on the other. Not recommended and definitely not to be repeated! The only highlight was stopping en route at Fountaine’s Inn which we should have just driven to for a pint instead 😉

g. Craven Arms, Appletreewick. We also caught up (for the second time this trip) with my old university friend Caroline and her husband Stephen which was fun as always! My choice of pub … the pub is spectacular – great, scenic location just outside of Grassington village, 500 years old and dripping in historical atmosphere but the food was awful … It did serve Timothy Taylor’s beer though, so that kept them all happy at least 😉. Verdict – great for a drink but don’t bother eating there …

h. The Hebden to Burnsall Circular hike is an old favorite – a 3 mile circular starting from The Old School Tea Room in Hebden which follows a route down towards the stream and then up and over sheep fields until you see the village of Burnsall and its iconic stone bridge below you. After you have descended towards the village and crossed the bridge, you dogleg back along the Wharfe River until you eventually pop out at the stream below the Tea Room. The Old School Tea Room in the tiny village of Hebden is my absolute favorite tea shop in England! I love it so much for its old world charm and the quality of the homemade food and cakes that I insisted we also detoured there for our last lunch in England before heading to Eire (via Leeds Bradford Airport) and our final 2 weeks of the summer on this side of the pond!

We were very sad to be leaving the motherland … we had a blast in England this summer over the past 6 weeks or so … but it was time to head to Eire for 2 weeks in the rain after all of the sunshine in the UK