I'm not sure why I have never been to this part of the UK before...

What I loved most about Cartmel, the village we stayed in, is that you literally couldn't hear anything. Nothing at all! No cars, no traffic, just no noise. I also couldn't get signal which, for a weekend...was heaven. It meant living in the moment, no distractions and it didn't even bother me in the slightest. For the two days we went away, I came back feeling much more ... well.. just at peace with the world.

I wish we had been able to stay for longer. It really did feel like holiday.

A lot of the surrounding towns in this area had the feel of a ski resort. If it wasn't for the lack of snow and sallopetts I could have been in val d'sire. We saw many uggs and alpine looking cafes and bars.

On the Sunday, we went to set off. Waiting at reception ready to check out from our room at The Priory Hotel .  "Breakfast is still on you know.. I can't let you leave without eating, I'd never forgive myself! Sit down and help yourself to some cereal..."  Said the lovely lady as we were ushered in to the hotels dining room. "Now what can I get you both?..."

Secretly I was hoping to make it to the village bakery for a freshly baked croissant...

After a basic scrambled eggs on toast, which was much welcome after the previous nights rich tasting meal. We asked for directions to Lake Windermere which quickly became a hotel event. Every member of staff was asked to come and give us directions, 4 time lucky Tina came and told us how to get there. " OH! your not going to propose are you? A lot of people do propose up there you know, lovely spot!" .. luckily for Tina, Tom wasn't planning to propose or that could have spoilt the whole thing!! haha.

We said our goodbyes and thank you's and set off on our adventure, stopping in which ever village took our fancy along the way as well as getting stuck behind a slow moving verchile*   ( *Vehicle- I kind of want to leave my first spelling of it - dyslexia is real people!) . Which was someone driving mobility scooter 2 miles an hour in the middle of a very thin country road.

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On arrival we hopped out the car and admired the views surrounding us. The adventurous side of us spotted you could get higher on foot, so off we went. About 2 seconds later I realised that my teddy beer fur coat and Nike Roshes were not helping me to fit in to the mass of walkers wearing North Face and their 10 year old trusty walking boots. After I insisted we go back to the car so I could change in to something more suitable, we set off for the second time. This time wearing my Nike Roshes and my Jack Wills puffa parka coat.... a 0.1 walkers upgrade from the townie I looked like before.

 

Lake Windermere is the largest lake in the UK ( fact supplied by Tom and not Wikipedia so may or may not be true)  It was a fairly popular gradual uphill climb, with three year olds making it look easy and many dogs running up and down have a whale of a time. At the top you had panoramic views over the whole county. The sail boats below glided around peacefully, the sun beamed down on us and it felt like we were on top of the world, or at least the highest point for a while. It was simply stunning.

The following pictures were taken in Cartmel, Yes .. I went to caramel. I don't know if I've mentioned it yet?  The first below might look quite stalkerish. Why an earth am I peering through a gap in the wall at someone's summer house. Well... you can't quite see from the picture but this summer house was filled to the brim with brightly coloured flowers. It looked, from where I was stood, incredible. To the point where I was tempted to ask if I could just go and sit in it for a while.

It has made me realise that you can holiday in England. We live in a beautiful country and it is such a shame a lot of us take it for granted.

Where is your favourite place to holiday in the UK? I'd love to know more places in England I should explore!

 

 

Hotel : The Priory Hotel

Lunch : The Cavendish Arms

Gin of choice: Brockmans!

Dinner: L' Enclume

Walking: Lake Windermere

All photography by me. Portfolio can be found here!