The first time I went to the Lake District with my husband I arrived in plimsolls and insisted they were fine for walking. I was stunned when he pointed at the mountain opposite the house where we were staying and said: “We’ll climb that one tomorrow.” At the time my idea of a walk was a gentle stroll through Battersea Park so Cat Bells and Maiden Moor looked like Mount ...keep reading
The Lake District is one of my favourite places. So I was thrilled at the news that it’s the first UK national park to be designated a Unesco World Heritage site – for its culture as well as its glorious walks and uplifting landscape. From Wordsworth’s I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud to Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons, the Lakes have inspired some of our greatest writers and their words ...keep reading
I’ve just spent a magical four days staying at my in-laws’ house in the Lake District. My husband’s parents smartly bought a house in the peaceful and breathtakingly beautiful Newlands Valley more than 50 years ago and my husband spent every Easter and summer holiday there as a child. For a myriad of complex reasons we haven’t visited for four years – until this month, when we had a blissful four ...keep reading
As we ground to a halt on the motorway for the umpteenth time I began to wonder whether our Christmas trip to the Lake District was worth it. The journey should take four hours but in 20 years of visiting the place we’ve never managed it in less than six. We usually arrive in a filthy temper at midnight and swear we’ll never do it again. This was the first ...keep reading