Lake District September 2018. Day 3

A lazy start to today as we were waiting for Thomas to join us.  As he arrived the rain started so we continued our relaxed morning, eventually stirring ourselves to go into Ambleside for lunch.  The Apple Pie bakery was the only choice for cornish pasty and their amazing bath buns.  Lunch sorted we pottered round the town Heather doing clothes, crafts and galleries whilst Thomas and I hit the climbing shops looking at kit.  You can't beat kit! 藍
Shopping over and the rain stopped, we headed for White Moss car park where we set off to walk though the woods to Grasmere lake and the up Loughrigg Terrace and Rydal Caves. Despite the rain the river was significantly lower than the last time we were here and there were the first signs of Autumn with some trees and bracken already beginning to change colour.
Climbing steeply up to the caves, high above Rydal Water, we were suddenly deposited on a wide balcony overlooking the lake and backed by the vast cave entrance.  It is hard to believe that as often as we have visited The Lakes over the years we had never been to these caves.  And how splendid they are; huge entrance disappearing into a dark interior.
The path now descended steeply back to the lakeside where there were people swimming out on the water.  Wild swimming has become a very popular sport in recent years.
We returned to the car on the road side of the lake before returning to the van to cook pork loin for our evening meal.

The Lake District Day 1

Yesterday saw us once more heading up the A1 and over the A66 to the Lake District and our caravan which we keep at the Windermere Camping and Caravan Site at Ashes Lane near Stavely.  We stopped at Ferrybridge to buy an M&S sandwich to eat quickly in the car and then later at the Morrit Arms Hotel just off the A66 at Greta Bridge for a very pleasant cup of tea.  Greta Bridge is the fictional location for Dotheboys Hall in Charles Dicken's Nicholas Nickleby.  Once back on the A66 the weather began to deteriorate and the promised rain began in earnest at Tebay where we crossed the M6 before heading down into Kendal.  Annoyingly the heavens opened as we were setting up the caravan and I was soon soaked through -  a good excuse to invest in a new super-waterproof courtesy of Mountain Equipment later in the week.  Still we were soon settled in and enjoying a meal with Thomas who had driven out from Ambleside to join us.

As promised on the forecast the rain continued the following morning, but it was pleasant to have a morning in the van and catch up with our chilling out.  Later on the rain eased and, although dull we were able to get out.  We had been looking forward to seeing the bluebells that had been so good in the nearby Rather Heath woods last year, but as we had been seeing them well in flower since Easter we wondered if we might be too late.  We had just caught them in time, however, but I felt that they are not as good as last year.  Still wonderful to see.  We decided to drive into the Lakes for a walk around White Moss Woods between Rydal Water and Grasmere.  This is a walk that I had long promised myself and had been saving for a day of inclement weather.  I love woods in the rain.

We timed our walk for when Thomas finished work and met him for a pre-prandial in that fine hostelry 'The Golden Rule', a wonderful, homely pub that has not changed since I first went in as a student just a few years ago.  It is just a pub that sells wonderful beer; no music, no TV and no food.  Just what a pub should be and always very popular with locals and visitors alike.  After some refreshment we headed to one of our favourite restaurants in Ambleside, Dodds.

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