This week I’ve used the last of my 2020 leave which I carried over into 2021 and rather appropriately they have been spent on a rearranged 2020 holiday. We’ve been in a cottage near Cartmel which we should have been in after a family wedding at the end of May. The family wedding didn’t happen thanks to Covid and has been rearranged for next May instead, and we postponed our holiday by a year and a week adjusting it away from the bank holiday weekend and towards our wedding anniversary. It’s a week we tend to go away, and have done in the majority of the previous fourteen years, pandemics permitting.
It’s a long drive though from South London. But worth it. We packed a lot in to our four night stay, and I’ll be sharing more I’m sure, but in the meantime here’s a quick run through of our week - hang on to your hats.
THAT FIRST CUPPA AFTER A LONG DRIVE
OUR VIEW FROM THE COTTAGE
After that first cuppa we set out on foot to get our bearings. Walking through the country lanes to the the nearest village, wondering what would greet us around the corner, unlike the sheep you climbed the wall for a better view. As you do.
ERM, A SHEEP ON A WALL
For our first full day we headed off to Levens Hall as the gardens and its topiary had been recommended. The hall wasn’t open but I was intrigued by the different designs of the windows - each on this side of the hall was different.
The gardens were full of topiary and colour and it was good to explore the different zones before heading on towards Sizergh Castle.
The ‘battlement’ style walls were to become a feature of this trip, these at Sizergh were the first we saw. The gardens were extensive and warm, and I’ve many photos.
Our other mission was to stock up with some supplies. The fall back plan was to head to the Sainsbury’s in Kendal but we didn’t need that as the Sizergh Barn Farm Shop had everything we needed. It was here that we bought some raw milk from a vending machine - quite an experience, and to be honest it tasted great even though it was whole milk rather than our usual semi-skimmed. I’d definitely buy it again, and not just for the novelty factor.
The forecast for the next day was less promising so we invoked our first museum visit. We booked online for the Lakeland Motor Museum which also has the exhibition dedicated to Malcom and Donald Campbell’s record breaking attempts, memorabilia and machines. But there was much more there than that and many memory prompts for both MOH and I. They packed a lot into a relatively small space, and it’s definitely worth a visit, even if you don’t think it’s your thing.
For lunch we headed over to Ambleside and ate alongside the lake spending a fair amount of time people watching - another fascinating way to pass the time.
On our way back our plan was to stop off in Cartmel and buy some sticky toffee pudding from the shop where it originated. Parking was tricky so we came back to the cottage and walked back in. Later that evening we headed back into Cartmel for dinner at Rogan & Co - I started with a nasturtium negroni, which was fab - as was the whole meal. It’s just as well though that our step count was just short of 19,000 steps that day.
A passing comment from our hosts saw us head to another museum on Thursday - this time the pencil museum. Yes, who knew? It was as fascinating as the motor museum, but for entirely different reasons. And obviously, there were many pencils - though less when we left as I treated myself to 48 soft colour pencils in a lovely wooden box which are absolutely beautiful.
It was still relatively early so we pulled into one of the viewpoints and booked tickets to Holker Hall. This was one of the places I’d earmarked to visit before we left London, but when I looked earlier in the week it appeared fully booked. It turns out I looked at house and garden tickets, but there were still garden tickets left, and what’s better it’s an RHS partner garden and so my entry was covered by that.
It was a relatively small garden, though we didn’t explore the parkland to its full potential, but again there was a lot to see including the sundial which is 5ft in diameter and the cascade which Neptune proudly sat at the top of.
Thursday night was stone-baked pizza night in the village and so we ordered pizzas heading down to collect them before relaxing, after finishing the packing, in the private hot tub, with its window view of the countryside beyond.
We’ve not quite had the temperatures that London has experienced, but for the Lakes we’ve been assured this is good weather - and it’s been lovely. We’ll be back in London before we know it, and back to work too. Our next break isn’t until July, and that’s a weekend a couple of hours away from us, and another hot tub - but more on that another day.
