It's 7am on Wednesday 10th January and we set off for 3 days in the Lake District. First stop is Greggs at Stafford Services on the M6; an "all 3" bap for Mrs. M and 2 sausage baps for me. Next stop is still to be decided; either the Ingleton Waterfalls Walk or Morecambe. Mrs M opts for Morecambe and as we park up on seafront there is a rainbow over the bay. I take a few (in reality a few too many) images and we then walk along the front in search of the Eric Morecambe statue and then explore the charity shops looking for glass fish; there are none but I do buy a George Best book and a Domesday Book (not the original).
Next stop is Windermere where most eating places seem to be closed for the winter but we pop into Tilly's for a burger and a pie, a quick drive down to the lake and then we're off to the Premier Inn in Penrith. A quick wander around and we have a couple in the local 'Spoons, the Dog Beck; and at £5.99 for a white wine and a pint of Doom Bar a timely reminder of just how cheap these pubs are compared with almost anywhere else
After an excellent Premier Inn breakfast and a quick look around some of the charity shops in the town we set off for Ullswater stopping off at Aira Force and and then on to Glenridding and on over the Kirkstone Pass to the Kirkstone Pass Inn, which is closed. Major renovation work is underway and although it is planned to re-open there is no date at the moment. Instead of heading on to Windermere we turn off for Ambleside; the weather is gorgeous and we make frequent stops to snatch images of the views. Having got this far I decide that we may as well drive through Wrynose Pass and then over Hardknott Pass, described in Wikpedia as "one of the most challenging roads in Britain". This will be my third crossing. There are 1 in 3 gradients and hairpin bends, a sign at the beginning warns that the road is "unsuitable for all vehicles in winter conditions" but we're ok, its gloriously sunny! There is (not surprisingly in January) not much traffic (we meet one other car!) and as we approach the highest point (some 1289 ft. above sea level) much of the road is covered in solid ice but we make our way slowly over to the other side only to be met by a series of "Road Closed" signs. Another crossing of the pass back the other way did not appeal too much but as it happened whatever had been going on to close the road had been finished and we eventually reached the A595 and headed north. My plan was to get on the A66 and head back to Penrith but for some reason the satnav wanted me to head towards Carlisle. Knowing better I re-routed myself onto the A66 and was making good progress until we were diverted (surprisingly enough towards Carlisle) because the road was closed due to a serious accident. After a lengthy detour we eventually get back to Penrith and, given that Mrs. M is "starving" we head for the Arturo Lounge where for some reason we order 12 tapas dishes and somehow manage to demolish most of it but there is no room for another visit to the Dog Beck.
A second excellent breakfast and we're off towards Kendal in the expectation that the A66 has re-opened, which it has. We firstly drive through the town and park up by Derwent Water and take a few images. Then back into the town to resume our hunt for glass fish, this time with limited success, Mrs. M buys two glass swans from an antique shop above a convenience store for the princely sum of £5. We then move on to Ashness Bridge where we take some images before going a bit further up the road to Surprise View, which doesn't disappoint. We return to Penrith to visit the charity shops which had not been open the previous morning and then return to the Arturo Lounge for an early dinner and then a couple of drinks in the Dog Beck.
An early start the next day and after a third and final Premier Inn breakfast we set off for home with a solitary stop for coffee at Stafford Services. An excellent trip which could easily have fallen foul to the weather but didn't. There will be some images in a new Lake District gallery.