Kilometres walked : Thursday – 11, Friday – 21 km

Floors Climbed : 64 (Friday)

Friday 24th March, 2023.

After having a much needed rest day yesterday we were up before the birds this morning. Getting ourselves organised and packed up with lunch 🥪🍏🍌 and snacks we set off at 7am for a ramble to Grasmere, a neighbouring village. Also home to the famous Gingerbread 😋. The route there took us past Rydal Hall, set amongst 30 acres of land with beautiful gardens. Then after crossing the road we followed what seemed like a magical path past Rydal Water. It was here the rain became heavier 😬 . We soldiered on past pristine water and magical mossy tree’s and of course more Herdwick’s. Fells and mist surrounded us which really did make it feel like we were in a fairy tale 🧚‍♀️🧚. Soon another body of water appeared and we were approaching Grasmere Lake and the super cute village.

With slightly damp pants and wet socks we stopped at the first cafe that we came across. With a steaming bowl of soup 🍵 and a much needed coffee ☕️ we soon dried out and warmed up. And then of course the rain finally stopped and the sun started to come out 👏. What a picturesque village Grasmere is. More slate cottages and the cutest little church and graveyard where William Wordsworth is laid to rest with his family.

Heading back on a different route we first pass by Dove Cottage where Wordsworth lived with his family. Another pocket of cuteness. You can totally understand why authors and poets loved the area. Then off we go to follow the coffin track back to Ambleside via Rydal Hall again. The coffin route is an old corpse road that was used in medieval times to carry the dead to St Oswalds Church in Grasmere. ( It certainly wouldn’t have been easy😱) Yet another magical walk with the sun trying to shine through the clouds. Passing through Rydal once again we stopped in the garden to eat our lunch before pushing on back to Ambleside. Another fabulous walk with more amazing scenery. And yes the Gingerbread was amazing 😊