Climb on Board

We timed our walk up the local Barrow Hill perfectly, on the only absolutely cracking and warm afternoon of the week.

Looking North back down to Braithwaite and Bassenthwaite Lake

Looking East towards Keswick, Derwent Water and Catbells

Winner winner chicken dinner!

Looking South

It doesn't look quite as impressive from the village!

We weren't quite so lucky the following day on our drive to Windermere. Although the heavy rain held off for our walk to Stock Ghyll Force in Ambleside...

A not too shabby 70ft fall!

Stock Ghyll, a tributary of the River Rothay, tumbles
down a series of waterfalls to the centre of Ambleside.
Once there were 12 watermills, driven by the power
of Stock Ghyll, producing bobbins, processed fabrics,
paper and ground corn.

...it was chucking it down by the time we reached Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway at the southern end of the lake.  This adventure was all for our littlest.

The L&HR runs from Haverthwaite at the southern end of the line, via Newby Bridge, to Lakeside at the southern end of Windermere.  The railway is a former branch line (and for the first time ever I understand how/why/what it means that Thomas the Tank had a branch line!) of the Furness Railway and was opened on 1 June 1869.  There were train-to-boat connections established the same year, and connections are still timed with sailings of the steam vessels on Windermere up to Bowness and Ambleside.

Harry Potter eat your heart out!

Sun somewhere on our drive home