Tea Cakes and Hiking Boots (Lake District)

Member Name: MaryanneH

Product:	Lake District
Date:	16/07/04 (1189 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful Scenery

Disadvantages: None for me

Back in the days BC (Before Children) I was a regular lake district visitor and like nothing better than a quick (Well by quick I really mean slow) trek up the highest mountains in England, Scafell being the highest peak and I am sorry without going to get the map I can not give you the height but my perception is very steep, very beautiful and well worth the effort. Now my kids are almost old enough to be dragged up without the need for a carry back pack I am started to get excited about the prospect of a return visit.

The great thing about the Lake District is the diversity of scenery as the title suggests - lots of lakes but also mountains and forest land. I will start by considering the most famous of the lakes, Windermere, this is the most accessible and very beautiful, and whilst I am sure the locals love the revenues brought in by the countless number of tourists that come here and think they have then 'done the lakes' I am sure they won't mind me advising you to be adventurous and try the other ones as well, or instead. Windermere is geared up for the tourists, there are all number of outdoor activities you can spend your money on, including boat trips which are a good way to spend an hour or two but there is so much more to the area. The other advice about Windermere is buying walking/outdoor equipment, the further away you get from Ambleside (a very pretty village at the head of the lake) the cheaper it becomes. Yes you can guarantee quality but I found the smaller, less commercial villages like Coniston to be of better value. Finally before I leave Windermere beware the bank holidays. To access any of the other areas in the Lake District from Windermere the easiest way - without going all the way back out to the motorway or risking some seriously small dirt tracks is through Ambleside, this on
ce took us the best part of a morning because of the enormous volume of traffic.

My next stop in this review is Keswick, about a 20 minute drive from Ambleside. Keswick is a lovely little market town which is becoming increasingly more popular and therefore commercial but is a great place for a morning shop fuddle. Lovely little tea shops and pubs, a fantastic sweet shop that takes up 2 whole shop fronts!!! and of course the usual array of outdoor shops, the most famous is Fishers who have won the title of outdoor retailer of the year and have a very good website georgefisher.co.uk. I could not find any details of this on the site but the last time we visited they did offer a boot hire service which, although I have had my own boots for years, I would consider using for the children and anyone who has not really hiked before and doesn't know if they want to invest in a decent pair of boots until they have tried it. I'm sorry not having used it yet I can not advise on cost, but it seems like a good idea.

Of course the shopping and the tea shops are only really designed to take up a small amount of Lake District time the real reason is to walk. I could not possibly review all the possibilities of this as you would almost certainly switch off well before the end but I will take you through a summary of the best known and a couple of my favourites. I will start with a word of advise, the majority of hikes in the lake district involve mountains or very steep hills, you only have to look at the number of very close together orange lines on any OS map to see this, this means you must have proper footwear, trainers are no good as even on the driest of days there are many little streams that could cause you to slip. There is also an 'its only the lakes' feeling, everyone does it, it must be safe, but some of the mountains here are used by professional mountainee
rs as preliminary training ground for the likes of Mont Blanc and if mountains were that safe we would not have a mountain rescue team so dress appropriately and don't take any unnecessary risks.

Anyway the negatives out the way most of the well trodden paths are fairly safe and well trodden for a very good reason, Scafell is one of the best known, you start by ascending (again a well worn track) up the side of a waterfall which is beautiful in itself and at the top which is about 2/3rds of the way up there is a very large tarn (small lake) which you can swim in. This is a great place for a picnic and with the number of small rock pools on the way down there is plenty of great scenery to take up a days walking, even if you don't want to hit the top.

My favourite walk has to be the old man of Coniston, Coniston water is famed for the disastrous Donald Campbell speed record attempt and you can see why it is very narrow but very, very long, it is also very beautiful Swallows and Amazons was written here, and the English Country Cottages company have a house to rent where he may has spent some time whilst he was writing it, right on the banks of the lake. The best part of scaling the old man is reaching a ridge at which you begin the last section to the top, on a clear day you can see the coast of Morecombe bay stretching out in the distance, with the lake behind you and I can honestly say it is one of the best views I have ever seen (and that includes sights like the Grand Canyon and Yosemite in the States.) the last time I visited Coniston, my daughter was still bottle feeding and the sheep thought they could join in too. It made for a great photo but even though they didn't get any I still ditched the bottle when we got home.

The best advice about walking in the lakes is to ask the locals, don't ask for their reco
mmendations as you will be sent up the normal tourist routes but ask where they would go Trail magazine is also a good source of walks off the beaten track. That way you do have the chance of some peace and tranquillity. We were walking in the hills on the day of the funeral of Princess Diana and went out soon after the funeral had finished, it was one of the most eerie experiences I have ever had because it is the only time I have ever been alone on these hills, there are always people. My husband also did Great Gable with a friend that week and there were flowers at the top, what better place?

Accommodation is not difficult to find and we have camped and used bed and breakfast you can pay anything from £5 or £6 for a campsite to loads of money for a 4 star hotel. Keswick is a good place to base as you have easy access to many great walks and have views of Derwentwater in one direction Skidaw peak in the other. Many of the B&Bs do good quality evening meals as well but book early as they do fill up quickly in peak season. Also if you tend to camp the lake district seems to be a little Micro-Climate in itself in that the weather is very changeable and can be the opposite to the rest of the country, the sites also tend to be very basic, no swimming pools or laundry areas you are lucky to get a shop but the ones we have tried have been clean and well kept. The YHA (Youth hostel association) is also very active here but it is not something I have ever tried.

The Lake District is not only for the fit and athletic, if it was it would completely count me out, it is a true walker?s paradise and the pubs serve proper English food and a pint after a long day in the hills, if you don't want hills try walking around the edge of the lakes, just as satisfying, you get a proper dark sky at night.

However, if you want bright li
ghts and night clubs ? go to Blackpool!

Thank you for reading.

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