Roman Holiday Day 5: Home Run

The problem with having fun is that time flies - the past few days have absolutely whizzed past. We've covered a lot of miles, had a lot of cake and a LOT of laughs - even when we were caught in a hailstorm on top of High Street and Steve was cracking Hail Caesar gags!

Today all we had to do was toddle from Eskdale down to Ravenglass and the train home.

Distance: 8.5 miles (I was only a little bit tempted to hop on La'al Ratty...)

Weather: Grey but at least it didn't rain. Much.

Terrain: Tarmac, woodland, occasional bog.

Accommodation: Eskdale YHA was properly cosy - loved my little nook!

Wildlife: A red squirrel - I swear it's a red squirrel.

Post yomp treat: A long hot bath - maybe not here though...

Roman Bath House - Ravenglass

Glad it's all over? Will be glad of a rest but have loved every second. 

Challenging as it was  the hike was the easy part, now we have to research it and write it all up. It's part of a bigger book project and it will be out next year.

What makes us love somewhere?

Someone, somewhere, will hate this view
Patterdale

Think of your most favourite place on earth.  Got it?  Now think of your least favourite place.  Got that too?  Doesn't it freak you out that for someone, somewhere, those two places will be the other way around?  I spend a lot of my life surrounded by people and am continually surprised by how different we are and how there are plenty of very lovely, reasonable, kind, considerate people who hate the things, and places, that I love (and vice versa).  So what is it that affects our love of a place?

Over the past few weeks I’ve been using the Times Britain's Best Walks book to revisit some favourite spots in Cumbria and uncover a few new corners.  There are 100 walks in total and all of the locations mentioned/ photographed in this blog are on, or around, one of the 11 routes in Cumbria.

Childhood memories?

 

Watendlath

Many folks will suggest that we feel comfortable with what we know from childhood;  fair point - my love for the outdoors probably comes from family holidays in Wales and school trips to the Long Mynd.  But I only ever had one, very fleeting (less than a day), trip to Cumbria in my youth so it's always puzzled me why I instantly felt at home here when I first visited properly in 2010.  I know other folks who love the outdoors but just haven't felt comfortable or been able to settle here - why does one person connect with a place but another, with similar tastes, doesn't?

Love of the mountains?

Nr Eskdale

Maybe it's just the mountains I love?  Good argument, but I get passionately excited about all the corners of Cumbria and the huge variety of landscapes I can explore - the coast, the bluebell walks and the beautiful woodlands.  I have some friends who only like the mountains and shun low level walks; I know "we can't all like the same thing" - but why is that?

As seen on screen?

Derwent Water or Takodana?

Does being seen on the big screen affect how we feel about a place?  Beatrix Potter, Wordsworth and the Victorian painters have certainly influenced people to visit the area over the past couple of hundred years - and perhaps Star Wars, Withnail and I or Snow White and the Huntsman are influencing a new generation.  Whenever I watch one of my favourite films, Stardust, I’m always overcome with a desire to head to Skye where big chunks of it were filmed.  Who needs a tourist board when you have movies?

Because of how it sounds (or doesn’t sound!)

Crummock Water - Peace & Quiet...

Here’s an interesting and little known fact about me – I find the sound of washing machines oddly comforting.  It could be the “white noise” rhythmic element or it could be that when I was very young my mum worked in a laundrette and I can remember being taken to meet her at the end of her shift.  I have a “noisy head” – my brain is always on the go and, when I’m surrounded by sound in a city it can all get a bit much for me so, for that reason I am drawn to peaceful, quiet places.  Some sounds are allowed of course – the crunch of gravel underfoot, the song of a skylark high above you and the sound of the flask lid unscrewing...

Because it’s not somewhere else!

Near Dufton but not near anywhere else 

My work travels take me to lots of different cities and to London a couple of times each month – I am not a fan of cities and sometimes I’m just happy to be anywhere that isn’t a city.  A couple of cities are allowed on my “nice places to be” list – Glasgow and Lancaster – the first because it has awesome, free, museums (including Kelvingrove – possibly my favourite museum ever) and the second because it’s rammed with fascinating history and is usually my first breath of fresh air when I get off the train from London.

Because it’s interesting

Hutton Roof Crags - more than just fine look fells...

I didn’t just marry my lovely husband because he’s damned fine looking, I married him because he’s damned fine looking AND interesting to be with.  For me it’s not enough that the scenery looks pretty it also needs to be interesting.  Like Hutton Roof Crags – stunning to look at and fascinating geological history too.  What’s not to love?

How it smells

Barbondale - mmmmm - can I have my sarnies yet?

When spring sprungs and the garlic hits the woods I spend entire walks with a rumbling stomach.  I love the smell of garlic and I’m sure consumption of garlic bread rises while they’re in flower.  I also love the salty smell of the sea, the smell of the fresh earth after the rain and the smell of the freshly cut grass after the farmers have been bringing in the hay – someone should really make air fresheners that smell like that, I’d definitely pack one for my city travels.

Familiarity – love at second sight

Duddon - worth a second look

Sometimes I think we need to visit somewhere a few times before we fall for it properly.  The Duddon Valley is a firm favourite with us now but the first time we visited I wasn’t completely sold.  Of course that could have been because we got lost in an old woodland,wandered around arguing for an hour or so and didn’t get back to the car until after dark...

Previous life?

Kentmere Valley

Are there supernatural forces at work?  I am a largely a woman of science, but I don’t think science has yet explained everything – especially some of the odd touchy feely stuff; like those times when you visit somewhere and know you’ve been there before.  Or like my first ever proper visit to Cumbria when I just knew I’d come home.  I still can’t explain that feeling to anyone - I may not have been born in the county (hardly my fault!) but I know that I belong here.

All of the above?

Haweswater - my happy place

I’m guessing the truth is that it’s a bit of everything. A whole bunch of subtle messages collide in our brains which come together and produce a warm and cost “Ready Brek” glow when we connect with somewhere.  Either that or they’re putting something in the water in Cumbria and we’re all under the spell of an evil overlord.  Or maybe I shouldn’t write blogs when I’m drinking wine..?

All of the photos in this blog were taken on or around walks featured in The Times Britain's Best Walks.  All the walks were described clearly and concisely with interesting notes from the author.  It was great to see some routes away from the usual hotspots and it’s definitely a book we’ll keep on Delores for our trips around the UK.

Love at first sight

On the wall in our bedroom, amidst a collage of other photos, is a picture of me and Steve.  It's a pretty awful photo, grainy and a little out of focus, but I keep it there because it was taken early on in the evening at a party where we eventually shared our first kiss. (I'll pause there for you to go and get a bucket/ tissue).  Of course I'm still madly in love with the poor man, but there's nothing quite like remembering the night you met, the first time you kissed and the way your heart skipped a beat.  It's a feeling that's difficult to recapture, which is why I keep the photo there to remind me.

I've talked before about my first visit to the Lake District being in August 2010, but that's not entirely accurate as the three rather dreadful photos below prove.  Written on the back of them it says "Geology Field Trip, Shap, Lake District, July 1984"  (Forgive the quality, they were taken on a disc camera - anyone remember them?)

I really can't claim it was love at first sight that time - I do recall it was a day trip (from Walsall) so the visit would have been brief.  I also remember everything being flat and then these huge mountains rising up on the right hand side of the minibus - I'm assuming those were the Howgills - but other than that it didn't leave a lasting impression. Maybe because I had a huge teenage crush on my geology teacher at the time (NOT the one in the photo I hasten to add!) and spent most of the trip staring at him in doe eyed adulation.

I didn't properly fall for Cumbria until August 2010, when the geology teacher was safely out of the way and me and Steve began planning our new life.

Falling in love on/ with Helvellyn

These days, however often I remind myself how lucky we are to live here, we inevitably, to some extent, take our environment more for granted than when we first moved here.  In the same way that I still love Steve but my heart doesn't always skip the same beat it did the night we met.  You appreciate each other but you sort of get used to each other.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to spend both Saturday and Sunday seeing the area through other people's eyes for the first time again and it was fabulous!  On the Saturday I spent time with a group of lovely ladies being guided by Helen Venus (aka Wild Rambling) as they explored Arnside and Silverdale (the previous week she'd had a group getting to grips with Eskdale) and on the Sunday I dragged some lovely friends of ours up Halls Fell Ridge on Blencathra.

Rather than me try to tell you what it was like for them, I'll turn the rest of the blog over to them and let them remind you what it's like the first time you clap eyes on the fells - and maybe your heart will skip a beat again, like mine does whenever I see that old photo of me and Steve.

Arnside Knott - Caroline Blair

This view is from the summit of Arnside Knott. There is a sense of the natural beauty, the eye being drawn to the water channel and to the hills in the distance. A feeling of space and of calm. We sat here for some 15 minutes in sheer silence. The soul at one with the beauty, the mind calm.

Relishing the tranquillity, steeping away from everyday pressures. Pure enjoyment!

Eskdale - Bertie

I couldn't believe that these contrasting  views could be seen on the same day & not a road in sight!  From Midlands a girl (we DO have wonderful countryside here but nothing to compare with this)

Morecambe Bay - Helen Venus

The first time I saw Morecambe Bay from Jack Scout, the sun was shining and it looked like a Mediterranean beach. On closer inspection it was muddy, not sandy but that really sums it up – it’s just not like anywhere else.

Whinn Rigg - Ruth

Breathtaking view of Wastwater. We seemed to be right above it. But to my surprise it was BLUE because of the fabulous weather, not the bottomless black I remember from the past. Won't forget this view in a hurry.

Caz & Ian Stewart - Blencathra

Going up Blencathra with friends was amazing – a totally new perspective from going up and coming down.  Both were stunning in different ways - the danger of going up on all fours and the beauty of walking down through fields and recreating the scene from Gladiator in the meadow.  Very hard to put into words because it just doesn't do it justice, to be honest the pictures don't do it justice either - I encourage everyone to go and you won't regret it.

Halls Fell Ridge

Summit!

Blencathra

Not Blencathra