2024 – England – Blencathra – Third Year Lucky +

19th September and we are so lucky to be back in the English Lake District with a week of superb, blue skies, sunshine and only a gentle breeze. We are renting a house at the back of the village of Threlkeld in the Northern Lakes, as we have at about this time of year for the last 3 years. The village sits on the southern slopes of the mountain of Blencathra that we have been hoping to climb, but that until this week, have been defeated in previous years by poor weather .

Blencathra is more of a curving ridge about 5km in length, with a series of fell ridges radiating out from the curve. One of these and our route up, is Doddick Fell that rises sharply about 700m over approx 3km of mountainside, which means as we found out it’s steep! Doddick Fell sits above Doddick Farm. We start our climb by walking through the farmyard, meeting George Doddick the Farmer, astride his tractor . He greets us with a lovely Cumbrian accent, gives directions to our route and a conversation ensues on where we are from, how does New Zealand compare to England and then his lovely stone cottage holiday accommodation which are a critical revenue source for the family farm.

Time however is of the essence as it will be a hot, dry day and the sooner we are on the tops, the better. There is hardly a cloud in the sky as the mountains, valleys , tarns and lakes shimmer in the late summer sun, as a heat haze takes hold.

At the top, the views, lunch and a sit down on some handy rocks are most welcome. Replete with lunch we head west along the ridge and down back to Threlkeld a successful day!!

Strangely whilst we are having lovely sunny weather up here in the north , the south and west of England are having thunderstorms and soaking rainfall. But we will take our good fortune with the sunshine and spend a day with a walk at beautiful Lake Buttermere, lunch at Honister Pass Slate Mine – ignoring the Via Ferrata and other treacherous adventures on offer! We return to base via the “Surprise View Point” looking towards the town of Keswick above Lake Derwentwater and Ashness Bridge.

Sue and I decide on Saturday to head south to Blackpool to spend a bit of time with her Uncle Frank. He is a wonderful 98 years young – “99 in January, Peter, he reminds me”!! Uncle Frank has lived all his life in Bolton, and for the last 60 odd years in the same house. But now a Rest Home near his family in Blackpool is just the ticket and we visit him there, with the home situated just across the promenade and tram tracks from the beach.

But a visit to Blackpool is not complete without a peek at the famous Tower – not a patch on the Eiffel one in Paris, but the town, its beach, piers, illuminations, trams and Tower are definetly a destination for many happy holidaymakers and in the following week, the British Labour Party Political Conference attendees.

Back and now in the Southern Lakes at Bowness on Windermere, we attend the Old Laundry Theatre for a performance of “Watson the Final Problem”. There are lots of these small theatres around the UK and we repeatedly find great productions when we visit, which in themselves are quite a highlight. A monologue production of 60 minutes in length, starring Dr John Watson, Sherlock Holmes confidant. Performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, it was truly excellent here in the Lakes to an audience of about 250 people in a tiny theatre, and a bit like these “travel blogs” – one should always expect, the unexpected!!

So farewell to the North of England for 2024, as we head south to the family in West London and then on to Sicily……………