Hiking, England, The Lake District

Point A is Watford where we visited Anya and family, points B, C & D  mark the area of our Narrow boat trip, points E, F & G mark Tewkesbury, the Cotswold area, and Malvern Hills.  Point H is Cannock Chase, the area we hiked on our way to the Lake Districk.  Finally, points I, J, K, & L mark our Lake District hikes.  We were treated to a variety of different geographies, and weathers as we moved around the UK.

Cotswold Homes

We returned to England  from Budapest to visit our friends Neil and Pat in Tewkesbury.  We spent a few days at their home.  Our first outing was to the Cotswold area where the yellow Cotswold stone houses reminded me of a fairy tale villages.

Malvern Hills

A hike in the Malvern Hills introduced us to another beautiful area with panoramic views of the Severn river valley.  Generally we hiked for a while, stopped for tea and maybe a scone or lemon sponge cake.  We hiked some more and then stopped for lunch.  That might be followed with some village sightseeing and then we would head home for dinner.

Cannock Chase

Neil and Pat arranged for long weekend  approximately 3 hrs north in the Lake District.  On the way north, we stopped for a hike in the Cannock Chase area.  This is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  We were now hiking in the heath.

Whitborrow Village

We arrived at Neil and Pat's 2 bedroom timeshare in Whitborrow Village, between Penrith and Keswick.
Our accommodations served as a base for our hiking around the Lake District.  We experienced weather from rain to hail to sun, but it didn't stop us.  At times it was windy, but the weather changed constantly.  You will see us in our rain jackets (waterproofs) most of the time.

One of our wetter hikes outside Keswick

The Lake District is a beautiful area with lakes and "mountains".  It is the home to many outdoor activities, mountain biking, hiking, climbing, boating, etc.  There are lush green pastures separated by magnificent dry stone walls.  The pastures are usually dotted with sheep and lambs, occasionally cows.

Derwent Water

When in the Lake District, one must hike around a lake.  We enjoyed a hike along Derwent Water.
The sky cleared for a while and the views were wonderful.

Castlerigg Stone Circle

One of the highlights of the Keswick area is the Castlerigg Stone Circle.  To be in the presence of something built approximately 4500 years ago is quite moving.  How much of what we build today will last even 100 years?

Four jolly hikers

Our longest hike (about 7 miles)  was from Glenridding to Howtown along Ullswater.  We had great views of the lake, but plenty of up hill and downhill and over the pass.  We did pass some mountain bikers and wondered, "did they really ride up these trails"?  The sheep seemed to have no problems on the steep hillsides.








We hiked Little Langdale Tarn and that took us over the Slater Bridge.  I realized after the fact, that I didn't take many photos of the stone walls.  This Slater Bridge photo shows not only the bridge, but the stone wall behind it.  I spent much of my hiking time pondering who built the walls?  How long did it take?  How did they move all the rocks?  Why did they build so many walls?  How have the walls managed to survive so well?  Do the farmer's constantly repair them?



Don't you just love these little lambs?










For more photos you can view a slideshow at the following link:
https://plus.google.com/photos/114965289412774881547/albums/5878699563505473185?authkey=CIS77YyFxt-wTw