Scotland - Day 1 Keswick

Today we set out on our tour of Scotland. To break the long trek north we have stopped over in Keswick located in the north of the Lakes District. In fact, I'm entering this blog sitting in our B&B whilst Merrilyn reads James a story. We've had an exciting day and its taking some effort to settle James enough so that he'll be ready for sleep shortly. He just loves these adventures.

We started the day at about 9:30am heading pretty much due north on the M40/M6. Its a straight forward trip made all the easier with the route we printed from the AA (sort of like RACV) site. Great for reducing stress until the GPS satnav arrives!

We stopped at Stafford just north of Birmingham for a relaxing lunch at a cafe. James was entertained by a digger that was working right next to us. Fortunately he left - presumably for lunch - just after we sat down.

Continuing north we ran in to some congestion around Manchester. But as we had plenty of time it didn't cause us any stress.

Just out of Lancaster we say a C130 (Hercules) banking low to the ground. I guess there might have been an airfield near by.

As we approached the Lakes District we saw the first of the rocky mountains loom. Another distinctive feature of this area are the stone walls used to mark the fields. I think this stone is slate. Its used extensively on buildings as well.

We took the A591 that takes you through the Lakes District from the south. And we're glad we did. Its a wonderfully picturesque drive. We passed through fields dotted with sheep and flanked by rising mountains. Streams ran down the sides (some flowing with much volume). We even drove through gorges filled with firs and descending mist.

[Its now 8:45 and I'm typing this is near darkness. James is struggling to sleep so we've just had a talk and he's back in bed. To help we've turned off the lamps. Hopefully when he's asleep we can put one or two back on...]

I guess its a pity that with so many beautiful places to see there are so few opportunities to pull the car over. Merrilyn took to taking photos through her window or even through the sunroof!

We did stop for a break in Waterhead at the northern reach of Lake Windermere. We took a stroll by the lake and on a few of the jetties. James loved to see the swans diving to feed on the lake bed. He finds it amusing when they stick their bottoms in the air!

We also found a small park that had a sort of shelter/rotunda made from stone and located right over the lake. James and Merrilyn walked down a set of stone steps to the lake edge. A moment later a large wave splashed over them and poor James was a little wet. He thought it was fun.

At about 4:30pm we set off for the final 15 miles in to Keswick. The road follows Lake Windermere closely and is very beautiful. I guess its easy to get engrossed in the view and not watch the road. This may explain the poor chap we came across with his car on its roof and facing the wrong way on the opposite side of the road. We arrived just as another car was pulling up for assistance. The driver was out of the car and seemed unhurt. The car was crushed. I could see from the tyre marks on the road that he was headed in the same direction we were but veered off the road to the left and then swerved to the right. Within minutes we saw a parade of fire engines, ambulance, and police cars heading towards the scene. A salient reminder.

We arrived at our B&B at about 5:00pm and got settled in. We are located not more than 5 minutes walk from the town centre in a lovely three storey cottage. We're on the second floor with a view past some houses to the mountains (hills?) beyond.

Tonight we walked into town and had a meal at a pub called "Ye Olde Golden Lion Inn". Matt (a good friend) and I ate here about 6 years ago when we visited whilst here for a working trip.

Tomorrow we stay in the Lakes and plan to spend some time cruising on a steam boat and perhaps doing some walking.

I'm on a very slow internet connection so photos will have to wait until I either get a faster connection or until I get home.