A soggy short break

With me only having one day's leave left to book for this year, Carole (who somehow still has a couple more days left besides - how has she managed that?) suggested we should book into a B&B in the Lakes for the weekend to do a little Christmas shopping and, if the weather played fair, perhaps a walk too.

We'd picked out a pleasant guest house in Ambleside but taking the Friday off work was perhaps not our best move as the rain set in almost as soon as we'd arrived. Not to be disheartened, we scurried between shops in Ambleside's attractive town centre, umbrellas at the ready. Feeling brave, we even walked down to the garden centre on the outskirts of town, learning along the way that whilst umbrellas can usually keep your top half dry, your legs still get a soaking.

Back in the centre in the evening we enjoyed a very nice meal at the Priest Hole, one of Ambleside's oldest buildings and a fine restaurant too.

Next day the weather wasn't set to be any better, and after a visit to Kendal we popped over to Lightwood to say hello to Ann and Barry and drop off an anniversary card for Julie and Stewart (is it really 12 months since the wedding?). The rain still fell outside, but Ann made us feel very comfortable with tea and plenty of cake!

In the evening, our host in the B&B recommended Dodds, close to the bridge house in Ambleside centre. Although the name doesn't give a clue, it's actually an Italian and a mighty fine one too. Despite gorging on Ann's cakes all afternoon, we still polished off a hearty meal. The diet will have to wait another week!






Sunday morning, and it's dry! So before heading home, we drove over too Rydal and had a stroll through the trees and up to Grasmere lake. The river Rothay was frothing and raging for the eager canoeists that had parked up ahead of us, but for us it simply acted as an energetic companion alongside the path to the lake. With our senses restored by fresh air and beautiful scenery, the journey back became less of a chore especially after stocking up with fresh food at Lower Sizergh on the way.