Monday 16th June
We headed for the Lake District on Monday 16th June, late afternoon after my last night shift at work. The A1/A66 was not too busy for a Friday afternoon/evening and we arrived in the village of Portinscale, near Keswick around 19:30. Our accomodation for the week was supposed to be a 1 bedroom, studio apartment at Derwent Manor hotel. The hotel owns a separate complex of buildings over the road from the main hotel.
Having checked in at the hotel main reception (after a seemingly long wait), we were handed a key and some brief directions to find our "apartment". It took some finding, as we could not find anything resembling a small ground floor apartment. Instead we found the key fitted a 3 level "cottage", part of a row of buildings opposite what was most likely the apartment block.
Though quite old style furnished, and perhaps some of it "seen better days" it was clean and the much additional space was welcome for all our bits (and even the bikes).
A large bathroom with bath and separate shower cubicle, hall way, large ground floor double bedroom, a large kitchen diner, a large lounge with TV/Sofa/chairs, and a 2nd bedroom with lake views on the 3rd floor - not bad for £55 per night!
We did not complain with views like that and the additional space and facilities.
We unpacked, settled in for a bit, then walked over the road to the hotel, and sat in the garden with a beer on such a nice evening. Perfect start to the trip!
Tuesday 17th June - Walla Crag
We woke to a sunny morning, and after breakfast decided upon a short-ish walk to start off, and chose a local jaunt from near Keswick (Great Wood), out along Derwent water to Ashness Bridge, then up to Walla Crag and down in a loop back to Great Wood. We set off around 10:45.
(7.5 Miles, 5 Hours)
The walk started near Keswick at National Trust Great Wood car park. Easy walking out into the wood slowly ascending slightly to a rougher path below Walla Crag , parallelling Derwent Water shore below, with good views across the lake and up to Walla Crag in the other direction.
After a couple of miles the path dropped down to a road leading on to Ashness Bridge itself. It was fairly busy with a lot of people driving to the car park past the bridge and then trekking back a few hundred yards to snap pictures of probably the most photographed bridge in the Lake District.
I did the ineviatable and "snapped" a few pictures myself once it was clear of passers by and vehicles crossing. Would be good to visit around sunset or sunrise with some better light.
The weather was really warm but with cloud, which was a bit better for shots later over the lake.
There were some quiet minutes, but it is a popular spot.(and easily accesible by car)
We backtracked a little way, passing by a group of school kids with a group leader providing them with stories and riddles (yes, we did listen in, but could not solve the riddle there and then)
An ascending path snaked upward towards a wide ridge line much higher above the path we had travelled earlier. The views expanded as we climbed, revealing more of Derwent water and the surrounding Newland Fells.
The view over Derwent water back towards Keswick around 1200ft.
A short diversion off left and up took us onto Walla Crag itself (1500ft), a Wainright fell towards the bottom end of the height scale, but still some good views.
A short hop down from the craggy summit and rejoin the main path which led us down to the outskirts of Keswick.
Near here along a narrow lane was a cafe and ice cream shop. We stopped as it was rather warm (and we were), so a cool ice cream went down well, and the owners dog was obviously used to walkers and tourists giving it some attention.
From here it was still around 3 miles back to the start. This led us through 2 small woods (with some hilly bits) then led out to the main Lakeside car park at Keswick, and onto the busier lake shore path, past Friars Crag, after which we followed the lake shore a little further before heading off left, crossing the main road and a short hop upwards back to the Great wood Car park, finishing around 15:45 after a very leisurely stroll.
All in all a nice steady, varied walk with plenty of interesting features, some good views back over Keswick, and good ice cream!
Our Walk Score: 7/10
Wednesday 18th June - Newlands Cycle Ride
A decision was made to try a short cycle ride around the local area from Portinscale village itself.
The route of around 8.5 miles would take us through the village heading through Swinside, Little Town, and in a loop back up to Portinscale via Stoneycroft and Ullock. Mainly quiet lanes and minor roads.
The day was very warm and humid with no wind, and we set off just after 10am passing through the village past the Derwent Marina. The road was not very busy and we were soon surrounded by woodland either side, before we took a sharp turn right, signposted "Stair 3/4 mile".
The views then opened out to the surrounding "Newlands Valley" and the fells all around.
The terrain was quite undulating with some small hills to negotiate which in the humid heat made fairly hard going (for us novice cyclists!)
It was a good excuse to keep stopping and admire the view of the surrounding fells, some of which we had climbed previously. (Cat Bells, Causey Pike, Barrow, Outerside to name a few).
After the ups and downs of the hilly terrain we passed through the small village of Little Town (more a small hamlet of a few houses - mainly white cottages.
The road drops for a while after the village, and then a T-junction is encountered and the ride can be extended to Buttermere, but descibed as a steep stretch we decided to take the short verion today, and turned right for Braithwaite.
The terrain on the return loop was easier with more downhill than up, and the views were even more spectacular and the ride more enjoyable still.
After some really good downhills we joined up with the original out loop about a mile outside Portinscale and then a short easy cycle back thorugh the village and our digs around 12:15
Although only a short 2 1/4 hr ride, the day was really humid and we were ready to finish and cool off.
The remainder of the day was spent in Keswick browsing around and picking up some supermarket provisions at the wonderful "Booths", premier supermarket for the North West!
Our Cycle Score: 6.5/10
A beautiful evening, a beer at the hotel garden, and some time spent taking pictures around sunset with my Canon 5D camera and some fancy filters.
The technique used, fitting a 10-stop light reducing filter (looks like a welders mask!), requires slow shutter speeds as long as 30-60 seconds, hence a tripod, and a remote shutter release.
My efforts are probably quite amateurish as I am still getting to grips with the camera, filter/s and using a tripod, but think my efforts were better than the previous Scotland trip. Practice I guess.
Thr midges bite too!!
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