The second travelblog out of the archives is from 2017
This was the year we began to Home Educate Lils, Harry and Joey. Harry had read Swallows and Amazons and had enjoyed watching the film. When he discovered that it was possible to actually go to where the story is set he pestered to go there for a holiday. So a camping trip to The Lake District was planned.
Take a look at our adventure
We were a mere hour or so late setting off but with fairly light traffic the journey was reasonably easy. We arrived at the campsite by late afternoon. The last half mile was a little tricky as Paul decided there was no way he could negotiate the sharp turn up to the site with the caravan on the back and carried on up the road hoping to find somewhere convenient to turn around. Easier said than done. Several miles on we eventually found somewhere and returned to the site. Netti and I jumped out of the car and went to find the reception area to register. We spotted a sign pinned to a door telling us to ring the bell for attention. Said bell was exactly that! A bell with a clapper which we rang with gusto. Whilst we waited for someone to turn up we had a quick look round. To say it was quaint is an understatement. We were beginning to wonder if anyone was coming at all when a chap came in telling us he’d already shown Paul to our pitch so all we needed to do was pay. Which we did. He seemed a little surprised when we told him we’d booked two pitches, one for the caravan and one for the tent, since he appeared to think we were sharing a pitch.once we had paid he showed us to the pitch where we found Paul pulling his hair out at the kids, who were busy chasing a dozen or so chickens around the pitch, and trying to work out how to position the caravan as, although the pitch was a hardstanding, it wasn’t very level. And we didn’t have much space for the awning. Firstly he had Netti and me helping him to push the caravan back as far as it would go before checking how level it wasn’t before asking us to try and push it up onto the levelling blocks. Fat chance, there was no way we were going to achieve it, neither of us being superwoman! In the end, looking at the gathering storm clouds I suggested we go and find a dry spot for the tent.
Netti didn’t seem to be enamoured of the site and moaned about how boggy the tent field was. We took the tent up with us and surveyed the land. It was all very wet and muddy with large boggy patches. All the level dry pogs seemed to have been taken. After tramping round the field a few times we finally found a pitch she was ok with and set about pitching the tent. By now the sky had darkened and the wind was getting up so we had Lils and Harry trying to hold on to a pole apiece to try and stop the whole lot blowing away. Then we realised that the door opened on the side so we had to turn it around. Which meant they would be sleeping on a slope. Netti did a quick reconnaissance of the bottom of the field and decided that she would be better down in the corner where it seemed to be a little more level. So, with the aid of Lils and Harry we walked the fully erected tent into place. As we were pegging it out we realised that we were too near the hedge so we had to move it yet again. We must have looked like a right pair of numpties to anyone watching. We eventually got it pitched and I left her to finish sorting it out and returned to the caravan to find Paul had managed to get it level by using the car jack and the levelling blocks. Now to try and get the awning up before the rain came. It actually fits the caravan better that it ever did the camper. I tried to set it out nicely but there was so much mess it was an impossible task and by now we were all getting hungry and tired so tempers were fraying. Paul put the crockpot on the stove to warm up the sausage casserole we had prepared yesterday and cooked overnight, very tasty it turned out to be too. After dinner the kids enjoyed a mug of hot chocolate before heading back to the tent and bed whilst I tried to tidy the caravan.
After a night of intermittent rain which kept waking us up the next day dawned with the mixed promise of a little sunshine interspersed with showers. The dove grey clouds hung low over the mountainside and drifted through the valley between. Over breakfast Lillian told us it was her wish to touch a cloud. Since we needed to pick up supplies; and Netti needed to get a gas canister for her camp stove and a chair to sit on whilst she had her early morning coffee before coming down to disturb us; Paul suggested we suss out Keswick. After a breakfast I thought it best to take Alfie for a walk since we were going into town. Harry and Joey decided they would like to accompany me so off we set up the lane where, after about 100 yards, we found a gate leading onto a footpath on our right. We followed this path past a field of sheep until we came to a kissing gate; and yes we did; which lead us into some woodland. We kept going for a little while longer before turning back. On the way back the boys enjoyed playing in the trees until we reached the kissing gate. Back at the caravan we were soon ready to head into town. We were lucky and found a vacant spot in a car park in the middle of town. It was at this point I realised that I had left Alfie’s lead on the towing hitch back at the caravan! So we were going to have to buy a new one before we could take Alfie out of the car. I was not popular. Then we noticed that the car park was short stay only so Paul paid for an hour so we could at least do our shopping. By the time he returned to the car with our ticket I had found that there was a pet shop right get next to the local supermarket, so he decided that we’d go and park there instead! Lead purchased and shopping done we decided to return to the first carpark rather than leave the car where it was. We missed the turn and ended up driving around the local council estate looking for somewhere to turn around. We were on our way out of the estate when we spotted The Tardis, parked, rather incongruously, on a driveway! Not at all what you are expecting to see on a council estate in Keswick.
Once we had parked up and paid for a second ticket we moseyed around the camp shops looking for Netti’s supplies, which were soon sorted. At the top of the pedestrianised street there was a mini climbing wall, which, obviously the kids all wanted to try. £2 each for two climbs. Harry scaled it like a mountain goat. Lillian was a little slower whilst poor Joey only made it halfway as he couldn’t stretch his short little legs between the footholds. He gave it a good go though. From there we explored further along the street and we soon found ourselves heading towards the lake. Alfie, true to form and despite his earlier walk, started weaving to and fro, went into crouch mode and presented us with a small mountain to clean up. He does this every flippin’time we take him anywhere! We dumped our waste in the nearest bin before wending our way through some very pleasant gardens, past the crazy golf and ending up at a slipway where we bought some food for the geese, ducks and swans. Harry was not happy when one of the swans nipped his finger whilst trying to get the food from his hand. Alfie just thought they were there for him to play with until a swan hissed at him. He wasn’t too sure after that. On the way back to the car we treated the kids to an ice cream as they’d all been so good. Back at the camp site Netti called in at the little “shop” and bought a bag of firewood so we could have the camp fire we’d promised the kids whilst Joey helped grandad to fill up the water carriers . After dinner we trooped outside and lit the fire, which filled the awning with smoke. We had bought some marshmallows to toast, but as we had forgotten to get any skewers we had to impale them on forks instead. The kids loved toasting their own marshmallows, as did I. They tasted scrumptious with their crisp toffee coating and squishy insides. Once we had devoured enough marshmallows we sat around the campfire watching Joey gleefully lighting sticks. He’s going to be either an arsonist or a fireman. Personally I think it more likely to be the former! There was more than a hint of pleasure in the gleam of his eyes as he waved a flame tipped stick around chanting “Flame, Flaaaame” at the top of his voice. Very soon the other two were following suit with varying degrees of success. They were also mesmerised by the pine cones opening up in the heat of the embers. All too soon for them it was time to douse the fire and head off to bed; stinking of wood smoke; with the promise that we’d do it all again on another night.
We awoke to another morning of intermittent sunshine and whilst we grown ups sat drinking coffee and trying to decide where to go and what to do, Lillian, Harry and Joey ran riot around the camp site. They’d discovered that they could go down the lane to the “White House” by themselves. It’s surprising how many times a small person can need to use the toilet in less the an hour! But that wasn’t the main reason they kept disappearing. At the back of the house where the toilets were situated there was a patch of garden where the two farm dogs were kept. There were also geese, which apparently need feeding every five minutes, necessitating another trip over to the “White House”. We eventually rounded them up and, as it was after lunchtime, set off for Whinlatter Forest Centre since it was only a few minutes drive from the site. Well, it is if you don’t go in the wrong direction. We parked up and made our way to the visitor centre where Netti and I picked up a leaflet showing all the trails we could do. We decided to do a combination of two short trails based around some of the many streams and becks running through the forest. These trails should only take a couple of hours to complete, but not with our lot. As we wended our way through the forest Harry had to climb everything with more that a 45 degree angle, Joe was attracted to water of any description, Lillian was in charge of Alfie and I found it necessary to stop at every mushroom, flower and patch of moss to take photographs whilst Paul brought up the rear with his usual whinging about having to walk uphill! And the clouds had cleared giving way to a gloriously warm and sunny afternoon. The way-marked walk led us through some beautiful woodland and afforded us with a picturesque view of the lake below us. At the end of the walk, back at the visitor centre we treated ourselves to a well earned cuppa and hot chocolate with cream AND marshmallows for the kids. Back at the caravan we were met by the aroma from our chicken curry, which had been slowly cooking away in the crockpot since that morning. However, a pleasant meal was not on the cards. I’m not sure what started the argument but, out of the blue, Paul chucked his dinner plate down in a huff! Something I said, I suppose, had upset him. I’m not entirely sure what happened next but all of a sudden we were arguing full on with curry and rice going everywhere. The kids didn’t know whether to laugh or cry whilst Netti just got on with her dinner, leaving us two to sort it out amongst ourselves. Eventually I grudgingly ate some of my dinner whilst Paul, in a fit of pique, scraped his back into the pot, refusing to eat anything. Lils, Harry and Joey still refer to that episode as “Curry Night”!
Sunday was overcast so, after some deliberation, we decided to visit Beatrix Potter’s house “Hill Top“. This choice was very popular with Harry who, unbeknownst to Netti until that day, is a big fan of Peter Rabbit. Our visit involved a long drive down to the south of Windermere and by the time we arrived it had started to rain. Paul and I went in to the visitor centre and joined the National Trust before he left Netti, me and the kids to visit the house whilst he took off in the car to find some desperately needed fuel. As we walked up the road from the visitor centre to the house the rain became a little more persistent. We entered the house where each child was given one of the stories written by Beatrix Potter in this house. Many of the illustrations featured aspects of the house, which they could find whilst looking around. Harry, in his inimitable way, spotted that the landing floor was “unsafe” as it was uneven. His comment prompted the guide lady to tell him how clever he was to spot that and explain to us why it was uneven.After looking around the house and spotting a few of the bits featured in the illustrations we went outside into the now torrential rain to look around Mr MacGregors garden before entering the inevitable gift shop where Harry bought a Peter Rabbit toy and the storybook to read. Joey bought Squirrel Nutkin and the storybook.
Netti and I decided that we would find somewhere for a cuppa whilst we waited for Paul, who had ended up having to take the ferry into Bowness to find a garage. Once ensconced in a corner in the local pub with our drinks we phoned Paul again to see how long he’d be. He was just waiting for the return ferry and he was not impressed with Bowness at all. Too touristy he said. We lingered over our coffees whilst Harry read through his book at lightening speed. When Netti challenged him by asking questions about the story he put us all in our place by giving the correct answer to every question. She did think he’d got one wrong but, as he pointed out, he had actually answered it as part of her previous question. It was a good half hour before Paul pulled up outside the pub. We put our coats on and gathered our things together and hurried out to the car. Just in time to see him drive off up to the National Trust car park, leaving us to follow on foot! On the drive back Lillian was still wittering on about touching a cloud. We tried to explain that the mist we were periodically driving through WAS a cloud but she found this hard to grasp. We even took photos and videos to prove that we we level with the clouds. Back in Keswick we were just as midge too late for the shops so it was cheesy pasta for Sunday dinner. There followed an evening of playing word games with the kids until bed time.
Monday morning was the usual mixed bag weather-wise. But at least it was mainly dry so a walking day was on the cards. We decided on Dodd Wood and duly arrived there late morning and slotted into a parking space. We squeezed out of the car, not easy when Alfie decides to be a git. There would have been more space if some inconsiderate moron hadn’t taken up two spaces with his small, pretend 4×4. I mean, there were real 4x4s taking up less space! We headed off to the start of the trails, picking up a guide leaflet along the way. We decided upon the red trail, which would take us past the offshoot up to the osprey viewing point. We wanted to do that at the end of the walk so we crossed the bridge and followed the trail up into the woods. The information says allow around two hours to complete the trail. As on our last walk, not with our kids. This time they all had to scramble up anything climbable and before very long they were covered in mud. And once again I was photographing mushrooms. Mind you, they’ll be pleased I did when it comes to their schoolwork. Lillian was also counting the rings on the trees and found herself an interesting “off cut” which she worked out was ten years old. Onwards and upwards through the trees we climbed. At the point where the two trails separated Paul decided he’d had enough of going uphill and set off down the blue trail saying he’d meet us at the bottom. Netti and I carried on upwards with the kids and Alfie. We came out into a less wooded area where we were rewarded with a nice view over Bassenthwaite Lake. As we started our descent back into the valley a youngish looking Beagle came trotting past us. We chuntered about ignorant dog owners who couldn’t read but then realised it was on its own, no owner in sight. It disappeared off up the trail as if it knew where it was going so we carried on with our walk. Until it came trotting back round and seemed to be looking for something. We realised it must be lost when it started to howl piteously. Lils wanted to try and catch it and take it down with us but it kept running away from us if we approached it. In the end I phoned Paul to ask him to tell someone there was a lost dog on the loose up in the woods. Netti managed to get behind it and herd it down the trail where it ran off ahead of us a short distance. As we came to a junction where the green trail met ours we heard some people calling out. We called up at them asking if they’d lost a dog. Thankfully it was their beagle and they had another one with them. They told us they’d briefly lost both dogs but the other one had come back. It was very hard not to be sarcastic about dogs being kept on a lead! Mind you, the amount of people we’ve seen disregard this rule whilst we’ve been up here is ridiculous. Dog reunited with owners we carried on down the trail where the kids found a tree stump covered with mushrooms. It even had a little window carved into it for the fairies to peer out. About 100 yards further on we detoured up to the osprey viewing point where the RSPB had telescopes and binoculars set up so you can watch the Ospreys. Netti took Joe and Alfie back down the trail leaving me with Lils and Harry peering through the telescopes. One of the Rangers was brilliant with them and managed to show Lils how to focus the telescope so she could get a clear view and her face was a picture when she realised she could see of one of the Ospreys perched at the top of a tall tree. I had a look and there he was, just sitting there. Harry tried to look but I don’t think he got the hang of using the telescope. He prefers looking through binoculars and at nothing in particular. He just likes the way they make everything look big. After a while we made our way back down to the cafe where we joined Paul and Netti for a welcome cuppa and a slice of delicious carrot cake. A quick trip into Keswick to get provisions before heading back to the campsite for Lils choice of stuffed bacon rolls for dinner followed by Eton mess for pudding. We were going to have a campfire afterwards but heavy rain put paid to that idea.
Tuesday looked to be the perfect day to spend on the lake so off into Keswick we went. We decided on one of the motor launches so we could get out to “Wild Cat Island” for Harry, who was a Swallows and Amazons fan at that time. We pulled on our life jackets and waited for the next available boat. We piled in; Alfie wasn’t too sure though; and after a quick briefing we set off. Or not. We seemed to be just drifting, even though Paul was revving the engine like mad. He called back to me saying there was no steering despite hauling on the wheel and could I check the outboard was moving. No, it wasn’t. And then I spotted the problem. The steering arm had snapped completely off so there was no connection between the engine and the steering wheel. We managed to relay this to the chap in charge of the launches who came out, rescued us and put us in another launch. And off we went, fish tailing away from the jetty. It seem the steering is not very good on any of the launches even when the steering rod is attached! We eventually made it to the island where we discovered we couldn’t land in the motor launch which was a bit disappointing for Harry. As steering was not easy and Joey quite definitely didn’t like boating, staying huddled in the front next to Netti crying for much of the trip, we turned around and headed back in to the jetty. Once divested of our life jackets we made for the cafe where, over chips and coffee, I decided that Netti and I would take Harry and Lils out to Wildcat Island in a rowing boat.
Since our boat was for four people it had two sets of oars. So of course Lils had to have a go at rowing with me. Which made it quite difficult to get started as she was wafting her oars around and banging them into mine. I eventually had to tell her to stop rowing until we were out on the lake. Once going she joined in and we managed to get some sort of rhythm going. I had forgotten what hard work it is to row a boat and the island was further away than it looked but we eventually made it and landed on a tiny shingle beach. Lils pulled the boat in and tied it to a tree before we headed off to explore “Wild Cat Island”. Lils was worried about not finding our way back to our boat until we pointed out that we could stand in the middle of the island and see both sides. They climbed trees, scrambled over rocks and even did a bit of “parkour” before returning to the boat and shoving off to row back to the mainland. This time we put Lils and Harry in the middle so they could both have a go at rowing. It was even harder work rowing back as we were going against the wind. Eventually I suggested they swap places with Netti so we could get back a more quickly since it was beginning to rain. Once we were near the jetties we all swapped around so both Lils and Harry could row us in. They actually did very well considering the weight of the oars. Once back on land we rejoined Paul and Joe, who had decided that he was now only a Land Pirate; a politician then, joked Paul; since he didn’t like being on a boat.
That evening we waited until it got dark to light the camp fire where we sat toasting marshmallows and drinking hot chocolate whilst Paul told them ghost stories, making them jump at every opportunity!
We awoke to a fine and sunny morning. Paul checked the weather forecast which indicated the fine day was going to continue. We sat with our coffee and toast and watched Joe and Harry hurtle past on their way to the “White House”, ostensibly to go to the toilet but in reality to play with the dogs, sheep, chickens and Charlie the goose. Or clamber around on the old tractor in the next field. Netti and Lils followed at a more sedate pace. They had already decided that today would be a perfect day to conquer Dodd summit. We had previously decided that we wouldn’t make Paul do this walk with us and that he would keep Alfie since, as I remembered it, there was quite a scramble up the rocks to reach the summit. Paul was quite happy with this decision. He dropped us off in the Dodd Wood carpark before heading back into Keswick to do some shopping. Netti, the kids and I started on our trek. At first Harry and Joey were stopping every few paces to collect twigs and leaves and got in a strop when we told them we needed to get a wriggle on or we wouldn’t get to the top. We quickly arrived at the junction where the summit walk left the main path. Up we went. Within a few hundred yards Lils was asking if we were near the top yet, to be told we’d hardly started. Netti and the boys were lagging behind so we kept having to stop and wait for them. Lils did say on a couple of occasions that maybe we should have come without the boys. By now the sky was clear and the sun was blazing down. It was pleasantly warm as we wended our way through the trees, getting higher and higher. We came upon a small scree where Lils found a rather nice piece of slate. Netti and I told her she was not going to try and lug it all the way round so she carefully hid it so she could pick it up on the way back down, if we came back that way. A little further on we reached a fork in the track where we had to scramble up quite a steep slope for about a hundred yards before the track levelled out. We carried on for some time, always climbing upwards until we reached a level, grassy area where we could hear the crickets chirruping in the warmth of the sun. As we looked out over the bottom of Bassenthwaite Lake we could see the campsite. And if we looked hard enough we could actually see our caravan. A few yards further on we arrived at another fork in the track. Lils and I set of upwards and had gone several yards when Netti shouted us. Joe had decided that enough was enough and he wanted to go back down. Harry, on the other hand wanted to carry on and had set off up the track to join us. Leaving Netti and Joey behind, the three of us pressed onwards and upwards, soon coming to the point where the circular route joined and the summit spur carried on upwards. We were nearly there. The higher we went the more spectacular the views were and Harry was continually commenting on how impressed he was. At last! The final scramble to the summit and Harry got there first. It had now clouded over, but not enough for Lils to be able to touch a cloud! It was also very windy. We all posed for the obligatory photos at the trig point before finding somewhere to sit, rest and munch on our peaches before the trek down again. Both Lils and Harry were quite impressed that they could see as far as the seaside at Whitehaven. Harry also spotted Wild Cat Island where we’d been the day before. I was somewhat baffled since it was nothing at all like it had been the last time I was up here. Mind you that was over thirty years ago when I came up with mother, Dad and very a young Danii, Suzy and Kate, Then, the summit had been shrouded in trees where now it was all exposed. It did afford great views though. I read later about how the summit had been deforested and returned to its natural state.
After a couple more photos we started downwards. I decided we’d take the other path down so we were doing the complete circle. We found that it was a really easy route down and had we come up that way Netti and Joe would have made it to the top. Lils wasn’t happy since she wasn’t now going to be able to collect her rock. She did admit she’d enjoyed the walk but she’d been expecting bells and whistles at the top. In no time at all we were back down at he bottom where we joined Paul, Netti and Joe at a table outside the cafe where we had a pot of tea and some lunch and Lils was pleasantly surprised to find that Netti and Joe had picked up her rock on the way down. After lunch Netti took the kids for a paddle in the stream which ran behind the cafe. She was a bit miffed when a very ignorant couple kept walking in front of her whilst she was trying to video the kids playing. Then they did the same to me. So when they were videoing their little preciouses I made sure that our kids were in the way and that they would have the sound of me shouting to our kids on her video. Netti was driven to distraction at one point when she tried to get a selfie with all three kids behind her and Joe kept wandering off. She managed it eventually. On the way back to the campsite we all agreed we’d had a good but satisfyingly tiring day..
Who would have thought a pencil museum would be interesting enough to keep young and young at heart entertained for two hours. But the Derwent Pencil Museum in Keswick did just that. Lils has been wanting to go there since she heard of its existence on our first trip into Keswick. Instead of an entry ticket we got a pencil and a quiz to fill in as you go round the exhibits. After splitting into teams of one adult and one child to complete the quiz we entered the museum through a replica of a graphite mine where we found the answer to our first question. The quiz was well designed, making us read all the information to find the answers. Harry was particularly impressed by the secret wartime pencil; designed for the RAF crews; which had a map and compass hidden inside in case they were shot down behind enemy lines. Lillian liked the idea that pencils start out as a sandwich of wood and graphite. We also saw the biggest pencil in the world and the smallest carvings on the tips of pencils. At the back of the museum we found an area with tables set out with watercolour pencils and paper where we spent quite a while drawing and painting pictures. Lils enjoyed it so much she decided that, since she hadn’t bought anything anywhere else, she wanted to buy a set of the watercolour pencils. She was under strict instructions not to let the boys mess them up.
It was then time to do our spy trail around Keswick. We had done several of these trails over the last few years and had always enjoyed the challenge, the way they took us to areas we wouldn’t normally think of going and leading to many a surprise find. Since the trail led us past the car park where we were parked we started at the clue nearest to us. At first the clues took us along some back roads until we came out near to a park. We followed our clues around and through a park, where we saw robins and rabbits; one cheeky rabbit was nibbling away in the middle of a bowling green whilst play was in progress! We stopped briefly to let the kids have an ice cream. On we went, the clues leading us further away from the town centre. Perhaps it was because we’d taken longer than we’d anticipated at the pencil museum and were now trying to rush that it wasn’t quite as enjoyable as usual. Paul was getting irritated with Alfie, Netti was getting irritated with the kids and I was getting irritated because I thought everyone was moaning and no one seemed to be enjoying the trail. I know I was right despite them telling me otherwise. Eventually the clues started to head us back to the town centre by way of a little cafe where we treated ourselves to warm sausage rolls and a cuppa. Once refreshed we continued on our trail solving the last two clues in no time. Well, I say the last two clues but we had started the the trail halfway round so we still had several clues to find. We found the first three easily enough but we completely missed our last one. We got half of it but the other half needed a bit of hunting. Netti eventually found it and for about the first time ever we had managed to solve the mystery without missing any of the clues. By now it was well past teatime so we returned to the caravan for Harry’s choice of dinner, chicken “soupcream”, after which the boys went out to play whilst Lils painted pictures with her new watercolour pencils.
Our penultimate day and we found an absolute gem of a place, perfect for the rainy day we were having. Allan Bank is a National Trust property with a difference. Paul, as usual was indifferent to where we ended up and had his usual moan as we made our way up the driveway from the car park in Grasmere. Dripping, we arrived at the house to find a dog bowl at the front door accompanied by a sign saying dogs welcome outside and in. We entered the hallway where we were greeted by some very friendly staff, one of whom, it turned out, was from Rotherham originally, and Alfie was given a lot of fussing and a handful of dog treats. We hung up our wet coats and began to explore. Paul, Alfie and I got as far as the drawing room with its comfy chairs, shelves full of books and a semi roaring log fire. Paul took Alfie and tucked himself into the huge bay window; where there were baskets of binoculars to use if you wished; and spent a peaceful hour watching the red squirrels and birds at the bird feeder hanging in the tree opposite the window. I plonked myself down in a cosy armchair by the fire with a book about William Wordsworth. Netti found herself trying to keep up with her three who all disappeared in different directions. Joey found the playroom, stuffed with all manner of goodies for him to play with. Harry had found the painting and art room and was happily occupied in there whilst Lils eventually plucked up the courage to ask one of the girls to show her how to knit. Paul went and got us a cup of coffee whIch we drank in the comfort of the drawing room. I eventually persuaded him to come and sit by the fire. The lady from Rotherham, I never did get her name, kept popping in to chuck another log on the fire and have a chat. Netti kept popping in and joined us for a coffee. After a while she decided to round the kids up and take them outside to follow the garden trail in the rain. As is normal for us we went the wrong way round so missed most of the things we should have spotted. Along the way Lils managed to slip on a wet tree trunk she had jumped onto and scraped both her shins. Which put her in a foul mood, the upshot being she refused to follow the trail the correct way and went back indoors to grandad. Joey followed suit leaving just the three of us to go round again. Harry was quite impressed with the swing hanging from a tree and insisted on having a go despite it being wet and we found all the wicker animals except for the deer. We also found a tunnel which led onto the forest trail, which we didn’t do since it was raining heavily again. We retraced our steps and eventually found the deer before going back indoors. Netti and I went to see what snacks we could get for the kids but as the soup smelt delicious we suggested to Paul that we have lunch here. Just as we were about to go and order the fire alarm went off so everyone had to troop outside and collect around the sundial. Fortunately the rain had eased off to a light drizzle so no-one got too wet. Panic over and we all trooped back inside where we finally ordered our lunch. The kids had a mini ploughmans which were excellent value and which they all enjoyed. We had the soup and roll and it was as tasty as it had smelt. We had our lunch in one of the front rooms of the house overlooking the garden, listening to a young man playing the grand piano, which stood in the hallway. After we had eaten the kids had a final play before we gathered them together and set off back to the car. We followed a path we though might bring us into the village so we could have a quick look around but we ended up doing quite a detour. What we saw of the village as Paul marched us through appeared to be the usual collection of outdoors and gift shops interspersed with cafes, hotels and tea shops. Maybe if the day had been fine we would have taken more time to find the interesting bits.
On the way back into Keswick we did another detour to find the Castlerigg Stone Circle. We missed it completely the first time as we were expecting it to be a lot further out than it was and some sort of information board to say we were there. We eventually worked out that a rough lay-by at the side of the narrow country lane was the parking for the stone circle. Lils, Harry, Netti and I put our coats back on and entered a field and made our way to the stone circle, looking very mysterious swathed in the grey mist of low cloud. And a very well preserved circle it is. Once she had been convinced that she had finally stood and touched a cloud Lils and Netti returned to the car whilst Harry and I investigated a little more before returning to the caravan to warm up.
Our last full day and we’d promised the kids we’d take them to The Puzzling Place in Keswick. We had a leisurely breakfast of bacon butties whilst we waited for the weather to brighten up. When we’d first peered outside that morning the cloud was so low we couldn’t even see Dodd and wisps of cloud were floating through the campsite. By lunchtime the low, grey clouds had passed and the sky had turned azure blue with white candy floss clouds scudding along in the breeze. Everything glistened, looking fresh after the rain. We managed to snag a parking space and made straight to The Puzzling Place. Another of those silly places where you expect to be through and out in ten minutes. We managed to spend nearly an hour in there whilst Paul sat at the bottom of the stairs with Alfie. There were all sorts of optical illusions, some older classic ones and some newer ones. There was an anti-gravity room where you could roll uphill on a chair or stand at an impossible angle on a set of ladders. In another room you could make yourself look huge or tiny depending on where you were standing. In yet another room you could look like you were climbing up the wall. We filmed Lils doing chest rolls “down” the wall and Harry “leaning”on the floor. In the end we had to forcibly eject the kids from the place. We rejoined Paul and Alfie and headed back up the main drag looking for somewhere to have lunch. We had decided the night before that we would eat out to save time on washing up that evening. We were thinking fish and chips but everywhere we looked we couldn’t take Alfie inside and there was nowhere to sit outside. We ended up in a quaint little pub, The Oddfellows Arms, where we had a satisfying lunch. Over our meal we thought it might be best to give paddling in the lake a miss so we could get to the pencil museum in time to make some more purchases from their gift shop since Paul had given each of the kids some spending money. On the way back to the car we passed a Peter Rabbit shop where Harry used his money to buy a couple more Beatrix Potters tales.
Once we had done at the pencil museum we decided to take them all up to the play trail at Whinlatter where they spent a good hour climbing, swinging and jumping on and around all the equipment on the trail. Netti joined in the fun as well which went down well with her kids. All too soon it was time to get back to the caravan. Since we’d already eaten that afternoon we had a supper of soup and bread before going outside to light our last campfire; not easy as our wood had become damp; and toast our last marshmallows. Whilst we huddled round the fire Joey told us he had a good ghost story to tell us but we’d have to wait until he’d been to the toilet. After about ten minutes we realised Joey wasn’t back yet…..then we started to hear strange noises in the bushes…..we peered into the darkness…..but we couldn’t see anything…… This went on for quite some time with none of us managing to spot Joey as he moved around silently. We knew he was going to jump out at us when we least expected it. As Netti said, it was like watching one of those cheap horror movies where you know what’s coming but it still makes you jump when it happens. At one point Paul thought he was hiding in the awning so got out of his chair, went over to the awning and roared to make him jump. But Joey wasn’t there! Did Paul feel daft? Joey eventually snuck up behind Paul and made him “jump”. We all agreed that he’d been the best ghost ninja we ever not seen! Not long after this it was time to put the fire out and go to bed, we had a busy day striking camp the next morning.
