TOP 5 THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN THE LAKE DISTRICT

Last month I went to the north of England with a guy who would turn out to be a massive douche, and his family (who were all sweethearts, even if the dad couldn’t take photographs to save his life), and I had a pretty good time. For someone who loves travel, experiencing new things, staying in a new house, and getting free food, the mini-break was perfect for me, especially as there were so many interesting things to see and do.

We stayed in Windermere in the Lake District, which is known for being an area filled with such vast natural beauty, that it’s even a favourite place of my boss to travel to. We set off from Watford, a place relatively near to central London, so you can imagine what it was like spending a six/ seven hour journey in a tiny car with four other people and a dog. The outside scenery slowly changed from tarmac to tumps (no, not the US presidency candidate that we all thought entered as a joke), and made me feel more and more like I was embarking on my way to the Shire. From there, we went to Buttermere and Glenridding and Kendal, and spent a lovely eight days scouring cliffs and towns – my favourite five of which are categorised here. Warning: I took way too many photographs.

My favourite thing about Newlands Hause was the fact that it transported me from England straight to somewhere very nordic, primarily Iceland or Finland. We were pretty much the only people in the whole place, with mainly just sheep and hills surrounding us. It felt like stepping into a slightly unearthly scenario, like we had left real life completely and instead gone walkabout in Bree, and it was slightly awesome.

McDouche and I climbed one of the hills and tried not to fly right off the edge with the force of the wind, unlike the sheep who were completely unfazed. There was a small waterfall down the side of one of the hill faces, and it was all so untainted and rustic that I was surprised they’d layered tarmac on the ground for cars to pass by on. Quite frankly, I could have stayed there for a good couple hours, chilling with sheep and waterfalls, but not only did it just look like Iceland but it also definitely felt like it, and it was hard not tearing up at the wind battling my eyeballs.

For me, Tarn Hows made me feel like I was in Yosemite, California, which is a drastic change from Iceland. It was breathtakingly stunning, and there were lots of little pathways around the place that would lead to somewhere cool. For me, the only downfall of the place was the sheer amount of tourists, like myself (can I hear “hypocrite”?), stopping every five seconds to take photographs. Honestly, it was so rare to see someone without a camera around their neck that you would have guessed it was an entry requirement of the place.

Regardless, it was definitely one of the best places I went on the trip, and is a place that I will always remember having good laughs in, especially when McDouche flopped down one of the hills.

As a sidenote, watch where you’re going when you reach the murkier parts of the national park, because at one point a very swam-like part of the ground engulfed my whole ankle, and I was so insanely grateful that I was wearing decent walking boots. McDouche on the other hand couldn’t be so lucky.

It was insanely difficult to desist taking photographs at Orrest Head, because it held such an incredible view at its peak that I wanted to capture every square inch of it. Again, like at Tarn Hows, so did everyone else, judging by the amount of times I heard a camera snap a shot (I keep sounding like an irritated elderly kid who hates technology, despite owning some herself, but in all honesty I just have a heavy dislike for when people spend the whole time behind their camera lens and don’t actually take in what’s around them – or even worse, snap a quick photo and leave straight after – you know?).

The walk up to the top wasn’t too bad, as we went up one of the lesser steep ways, especially when you consider our party consisted of an OAP and a skittish dog, it was relatively straight forward.

One thing though – if you don’t take good walking boots, you’re screwed, especially if the hill has experienced any rain within the past 24 hours, which I can bet you it almost always has.