Kilometres walked : 26km

Floors Climbed : 86

Wednesday 22nd March, 2023.

With the blue sky showing itself we set off on an adventure to Hill Top. The home of Peter Rabbit🐇. We started with walking down to the Ambleside Pier to catch the ferry to Bowness on Windermere. The 20 minute boat ride across the largest natural lake in England was glorious with the sun popping out regularly. Landing at Bowness we meandered around to the car ferry ⚓️ which would take us across to the west side of the lake at Sawrey. From there it was a 3.2 klm walk to Hill Top. Of course even though the sun was shining the wind had picked up and we were fore warned that the ferry may not be running in the afternoon. So if we missed the ferry we would have an approximate 13 klm walk back to Ambleside along the lake. Yeah we’ve got this we thought, it’s all part of the adventure we said🙄.

The walk to Hill Top was a little boggy but very picturesque. Herdwick sheep dotted the fields and slate cottages were on every corner. And yes there were even a few Peter’s along the way! You can definitely see why Beatrix Potter chose the area and Hill Top Farm for her inspiration. It’s a quintessential country village will rolling green hills all around. You can totally imagine Peter Rabbit running through her garden and Jemima Puddleduck waddling across the lawn. Her cottage is filled with her original pieces of furniture and collectibles which we just loved. Her love of farming and the Herdwick Sheep saw her become the first Woman to be President of the Herdwick Sheep Breeds Association. She bequeathed most of her property to the National Trust stating that they continue to be working farms that breed pure Herdwick Sheep. As a result she is often credited with saving the breed and The Lake District. What a wonderful, hard working and creative Woman.

After browsing through the cottage and garden we set off back to Sawrey to see if the ferry was running. I think you can guess the outcome 😮 so off we went following the path along Lake Windermere back to Ambleside. Pretty as a picture was our return walk. Crystal clear water lapped the shore line as we kept our eye out for an otter🦦. ( we didn’t see one unfortunately ☹️) Wray Castle sat atop the hill beside the lake and cute slate boat houses dotted the shore. After taking a slightly longer route than we anticipated we finally staggered into the Ambleside Inn for our daily afternoon pint🍺. 26 klms is along way, but we made it, even though now we are on the lounge lathered in Tiger Balm already nearly through a bottle of Red🍷. REST DAY TOMORROW 😴

Kilometres walked : 12kms

Floors climbed : 85

Tuesday 21st March, 2023.

Welcome to The Lake District, one of the wettest areas in the United Kingdom. Surrounded by spectacular scenic fells that overlook the many lakes giving the area its name. Ambleside, a beautiful little village full of slate buildings on the shore of Lake Windemere is where we have chosen to base ourselves for the next week whilst we explore the area.

We braved the wet weather 💦 and set off with all of our waterproofs to 🥾 walk up Loughrigg Fell, right on the edge of Ambleside which we are also lucky enough to see from our cottage windows. With our glasses fogging up we battled the wind and cold to be totally awe inspired by our surroundings. Magical Fells rose up out of the mist and mossy dry stone walls went on for miles.

It was boggy and hard going but once we arrived at the top and the mist sort of disappeared, the views were just amazing. Looking out over Lake Windemere, Ambleside and the other surrounding fells, you really just felt like you were in a magical place.

A few Herdwick Sheep were dotted here and there. Quite an amazing creature as they are one of the most hardy of all the British Hill Sheep Breeds, withstanding the cold, relentless rain and harsh winter conditions of The Lake District.

And yes we kind of took a wrong turn, but in the end it worked out for the best as we were able to take in more views and found a different beautiful mossy steep track down to the harbour. We finished off with a pint at the Ambleside Inn 🍺

Kilometres walked : 13kms

Sunday 19th March, 2023.

The last few days have been spent relaxing and catching up with more cousins. The weather has been much warmer aswell, getting to double digits 👏. On a stroll back into the town on Thursday for a little bit of shopping we were surprisingly stripping the layers off on the return. Finding more amazing architecture and a few more op shops we soon clocked the km’s up again. We’ve become quite adept now at weaving our way through the throngs of people everywhere without losing each other.

Friday saw us spend a few hours exploring Jesmond Dene. ( A Dene is an area of land which has a creek running through it ) With some blue sky and warmer temperatures again we explored the many pathways, bridges, little tunnels and ruins throughout the Dene. The delicate snowdrops were still hanging in there and with the sun shining above us all the Crocus opened up. Blossoms were blooming and the moss shone brightly in the sunlight. Once again we easily clocked up the kms. (It’s helping to work the food off😜)

Friday evening more cousins arrived from out of town and we all headed out for a few pints after dinner to catch up🍻

Kilometres walked : Wednesday – 9.9km

Wednesday 15th March, 2023.

From the moment we exited the motorway, snow blanketed the fields and sat atop the tree branches making it look like a winter wonderland. Our faces were almost pressed against the windows staring in amazement at how beautiful it looked.

We were on our way to walk a section of historical Hadrians Wall. After a much need coffee stop to warm us up at The Sill, we parked up at Steel Rigg and set off to see Hadrians Wall and Sycamore’s Gap. With snow everywhere and scenery straight out of a tv show, it was quite amazing to see such a long still intact section of a wall that is 2000 years old. Most of the wall that spanned 73 miles from coast to coast to guard the wild north west frontier of the Roman Empire has disappeared. Over the years stones from the wall were used to build Castles, farmhouses and churches so hence there isn’t a lot of it left now. It was a very impressive to see such history.

We kept trekking on to Housesteads Fort a few miles ahead. Wow, another picturesque walk snaking it’s way along the wall, through a small thicket of trees alongside the lake and passing fluffy black cows, cute farmhouses and very wooly sheep. 🐏

To finish off a fantastic day we had a wonderfully delicious meal with the cousins at Francesca’s 🍕🍷

Kilometres walked : Monday – 14.5, Tuesday – 9.2

Tuesday 14th March, 2023.

Yesterday we had a jaunt into the town centre of Newcastle. Cutting through a lovely old cemetery just across the road we made our way down through the university to the river. There Little Sydney crosses the Tyne. Students fill the streets in droves and big beautiful old buildings surround the place. And a wee little castle 🏰 remains in the centre of town with of course a lovely cathedral. Heading off without a rain jacket, we soon realised our fatal mistake. After a relatively mild morning the rain arrived in buckets and the wind picked up forcing us to purchase another umbrella and try to make the dash home without getting completely drenched. ☔️💦

Our town outing today was Durham. A very Gothic medieval place surrounding its Castle and Cathedral. Stained glass stunned us and the timber and stone carvings were very impressive. Narrow cobblestone streets weaved around cute shops, cafes and pubs, then a fabulous pathway followed the river 🦢 all the way around. Delicate Snowdrops and Bright Yellow Daffodils lined the sidewalks and once again students swamped the place with the uni being based at the Castle itself. The temperature dropped dramatically chilling us to the bone, followed by the return of the snow ❄️ for a short while in the afternoon. What a picturesque and dramatic place.

Kilometres walked : 13

Sunday 12th March, 2023.

With the sun peeking through the clouds, we made our sandwiches, brewed the thermos, packed up the rucksacks and headed off to the seaside for a ramble🥾

Squeezing into the car with the cousins, we zigzagged through country lanes to a little seaside village called Craster (famous for its smoked kippers 😋 ) With all our gear on we set off on a 13 km walk up towards Dunstanburgh Castle ( a magnificent ruin on a remote headland ) across a beautiful rugged beach ( with quintessential shacks dotted in the dunes above ) up to the cutest pub called The Ship Inn ( in Low Newton by the sea ) and returning behind the dunes and along the golf course.

With the sun still trying to show itself we warmed up just in time to have a couple of pints at the pub🍺 Of course we then cooled down so whilst enjoying our packed lunches on the bench seats behind the boat shed, we shared a hip flask of Whiskey to warm us back up🥃

With a few beverages behind us we powered back through the dunes, past the cute shacks and alongside the golf course all the while trying to stay upright against the wind that decided to whip through at great speed.

Wooly sheep dotted the hills 🐑🐏waves crashed against the rocks and the prettiest Gorse bushes lined the dunes. Such a pretty spot for a scenic hike with fantastic company 😊

Kilometres walked : Thursday – 4.5, Friday – 7.4

Friday 10th March, 2023.

After our travel day on the train 🚊 on Thursday from London to Newcastle we awoke to a beautiful winter wonderland yesterday. On the train journey up we were lucky enough to see quite a lot of snow on the outskirts of London and very heavy snowfall which was just so picturesque. It certainly makes a cold dreary day much more beautiful.

Arriving in Newcastle to even colder temperatures than London, light snow was falling as Uncle Ray & Aunty Marie met us at the train station. We we’re feeling very blessed.

Yesterday morning we awoke to the prettiest picture outside. Snow blanketed the gardens and surrounding streets as far as the eye could see. ❄️ Wow, we were like a pair of excited children running from different windows on different floors to try and capture the sight on our phones. After a much needed slow start we strolled around Jesmond in the snow ( and slippery ice on occasion) with huge smiles on our faces.

Catch ups with the cousins last night, lots of yummy comfort food and a nice bottle of red finished off the day perfectly. It’s so good to be back.🍷😊

Kilometres walked : Tuesday – 15, Wednesday – 26

Wednesday 8th March, 2023.

Yes we did 26 kms today and we are now feeling it in every muscle, bone & joint😩 Battling the sleet, snow, crowds & bone chilling cold, we easily clocked up the k’s taking in a shorter Changing of the Guard ( was a little bit wet) much more spectacular architecture ( it’s literally everywhere you look) The Tower Bridge and The Tower of London.

With frozen fingers we meandered along the Thames taking in all the sights. And even with the freezing wet weather there were thousands of tourists following us🥴 We also noticed as we passed the palace that Charlie had arrived back home.

Well we were hoping for snow and our wish was granted ☃️ unfortunately not that much but is was oh so pretty when it was falling❄️

London you have been great. We may have had some unseasonably cold weather but it certainly didn’t stop us exploring the many parks & squares, the unbelievable buildings and historical icons. Off to even colder weather up North tomorrow and hopefully a lot more snow🌨️❄️☃️

Kilometres walked : Monday – 22

Tuesday morning, 7th March, 2023.

After trekking 22kms yesterday, today will be a slow and steady day celebrating Jason’s birthday. With jet lag getting us up at the ridiculous time of 3.30am yesterday we braved the early morning cold and headed off to Buckingham Palace. Even though we were heavily rugged up, it was bone chilling cold🥶 and it wasn’t until about 9am that we started to finally thaw out.

We walked past Buckingham Palace (The King wasn’t in) St James Park ( again, crazy squirrels everywhere) Westminister Palace and Big Ben ( just wow ) Westminister Abbey (again wow) The Tate Gallery, and after getting a little disoriented on the walk back we passed through Belgravia ( $$$ ) and lots of absolutely amazing architecture before finally finding Hyde Park and a coffee shop for some lunch and a much needed break before our feet fell off.

I’m still amazed at the beauty of the buildings and the sheer size of them and the fact that they were built hundreds of years ago with such attention to detail. Everywhere you look there is another spectacular building or row of terraces. You can clearly see why so many movies and books are based in London with the grand old architecture everywhere.

Snow is predicted today, so our fingers are crossed that Jason gets to celebrate his birthday in the snow ☃️❄️

Kilometres walked : Saturday – 4, Sunday – 20.

Sunday 5th March, 2023.

After an extremely long and average travel day yesterday, we finally made it to London. Long distance plane travel is so overrated.

Arriving to Paddington, London we were immediately hit with freezing temperatures. Out came all the thermals🥶 Excitingly arriving at our accommodation which is in a fabulous location and looks beautiful on the outside, we were disappointed to see our room with 2 single beds🥴 Thankfully today they have moved us to a double ( still tiny ) which overlooks the beautiful square outside ( where there are heaps of hyperactive grey squirrels bouncing around)

We easily clocked up 20 kms today meandering around Hyde Park ( where every second person had a dog )Kensington Gardens and Palace ( No Royals spotted )Notting Hill & Portobello Road. We’ve never seen so many high end cars in one suburb. I think Porsches are the new Datsun’s. We lost count after a while. It’s definitely going to take a few days to get used to the busyness and craziness of a big city.