I have heard so many beautiful things about this place long before I saw it with my own eyes. Some says it is England’s best kept secret. But like the things I took for granted, I never planned to go to the Lake District thinking that I can go there anytime, since its just a 2-hour drive away. However, this year being the year of surprises (though mostly bad surprises), I have decided to give it a go. Plus, going out of the country have proved to be stressful these days. Planning for a trip is already challenging. Planning for a trip in the middle of the pandemic is something else. It seems to be an endless internal struggle of planning a trip that may not happen, and planning for a plan B until the day comes that you are actually in the moment, and by the time it happens, you have probably reached plan Z.

I am blessed that I got a glimpse of the lakes while I was still in the planning stage when a friend of mine took me for a spontaneous drive there one weekend. I can still remember how I was so struck in awe of the beauty of Bassenthwaite lake from the passenger seat. I lost count how many times I was wowed by the view before me, and be even more amazed by the next. When I got in line for ice cream in Buttermere while staring at the falls dripping from the mountainside, it felt as if the problems of the world slowly faded away, it never felt 2020. It is still cold out there in summer, but we somehow found a way to break the sweat and hiked up to Rydal cave. In the end we found another group of hikers singing their psalm within the rocks and the echoes enveloped the place in peace. My nature-loving self is happy. By sundown we were in view of Windermere, snacking on truffle fries and dreaming of sailing on that lake one day, when we got more time on our hands. That one fine day gave me even more reason to plan and go back.

Fast forward to the day when we get to take a short break from life’s stresses, stress itself kept up with me. I lost my bag on the train, and sadly all my valuables were there, including my camera. I was stressed, and my friends even more, but I should compose myself and handle the situation, so after freezing all my bank cards, I registered my lost items in lostproperty.org as advised by the train operator. I somehow got the idea that I won’t recover the bag anytime soon, that is if ever it will be recovered when the train terminates, that’s why after a few moments of mulling over it, I made myself forget what has happened and move on with the trip.

Once at the hotel, I offically entered vacation mode. We stayed at Hapimag Burnside Park in Windermere. It was cozier that I had expected it to be, large glass windows, small porch overlooking the hills and trees in Bowness, immaculately clean shower and spacious bath, soft comfortable beds, well-thought kitchen and dining area and friends to share it with. It was drizzling when we came, but the weather complimented the mood of the place, it was relaxing. Since the weather has not allowed us to explore more of Ambleside, we only settled in our nooks while catching up and exchanging endless stories after dinner. And since I’d be 28 the next day, we waited until midnight to slice the cake and have a bit of snack.

The next day, we finally got to the highs and lows with hills and fells, mountains and lakes of the famed region. We started in Grasmere where the litte town and gingerbread shop is for a coffee break, then we went up to the Surprise View, which name is literally quite a straightforward way to name a place with that panoramic view of Derwent water. From there, we went downhill to the most photographed bridge in Lake District, the Ashness Bridge. If I hadn’t lost my camera, I probably would get to the bits and take a long exposure with the tripod, but its a shame, I was just there to have a look. After seems to be an endless stretch of narrow winding roads, we took another pit stop at Honister slate mine. The first time I saw the place, I was truly amazed by the rock formations reaching to and from the mine itself, it just seems to be a different place, if there weren’t cars, it looked as if it was from an earlier age too. Buttermere, one of the most sought-after lakes was just around the corner from there and although our tummies are already crying lunch, we still took time to take photos around before driving again. Keswick is a quaint little town, but we never really got the time to explore the area since we took time to have a meal. It is brimming with people, shops and restaurants when we were there, oblivious to the fact that its 2020 and there’s so many things going on in the world.

Happy and full, we continued to Castlerigg stone circle, much like the famous Stonehenge, but with smaller boulders and much more sheep. It actually predates the latter, being known to have existed 5000 years ago, plus with the view of Helvelyn, the backdrop looked like it was straight out of the Sound of Music poster. Before heading back to Windermere, we had the final pit stop of the day in Glenridding, the bottom tip of Ullswater which is also one of the largest lakes in the area. Already tired and spent, we really did ten lakes in one day, only there is more to see in the Lake District than the lakes itself. How I wish we got to hike up those mountains, or paddleboard on one of the lakes, but we only had 3 days.

The next day, I woke up to an e-mail telling me that authorities have recovered my lost bag and I would be able to receive it by post in the next 2 days. I was ecstatic and at the same time excited about the day’s activities. So after a nice heavy breakfast, we headed out to the Bowness pier. There are loads of ways to sail the largest lake in England, but we opted to book 2 self drive boats. It was a bit daunting at first, because none of us went boating before, but after a few turns, I thought its actually easy to drive, like an automatic car but without pedals and slower than I expect. Going towards Ambleside, the view of the lakeside foliage and the surrounding estates were absolutely stunning. The ripple of the waves and the clouds hanging low surely got me in a chill calming mood, almost in a daze. The hour flew by so fast, we haven’t noticed its almost up when we headed back to the docks. We went straight to find lunch after boating, and since summer has just finished, the restaurants are almost always full at the time of our visit. After lunch, we had the famous Windermere ice cream, which is still good even on a cold day, a way to wrap up our trip.

Tips:

One major mistake I made when I was planning this trip is probably not booking the restaurants ahead. Travelling at the time of the Covid stricken rules entails preparing ahead down to the smallest bits and I am definitely a procastinator when it comes to those things thinking we can make food for ourselves anyway, but no. I was trying to book restaurants less than a week before the trip and all those with good reviews are unbelievably full, they even have people get dinner reservations starting at 5pm! And so I finally found a place that wasn’t booked but I didn’t know they only serve vegan, but yeah on our first night we saved a cow, literally. Michelin-starred ones got the reservations full for the entire month ahead, so good luck with that. Names that I was looking at but never got to taste were L’enclume, The Lake Road Kitchen, Porto, Shiela’s Cottage and Brown Sugar. The flying pig doesn’t require reservations, but they open at 12pm and only accepts when they luckily have a place for you. There are a lot of secret spots in the area if you are patient to walk around Keswick, Ambleside and Bowness and also there’s a little Tesco if you want to be your own chef. Ice cream is always a must try, since they have an oversupply of milk in the area, it never goes wrong.

You can stay in a lot of different accomodations in the Lake District, as long as you book well ahead. If you just want to chill out and might probably stay indoors most of the time, lodges and cottages are dotted around each lakeside. If you wanted no hassle and free breakfast, hotels are also a good idea, you can even find rooms with your own hot tub. But if you are travelling with a group of friends like I am, I suggest you stay in an apartment, just make sure you have enough room for everyone. As I have mentioned, our stay had been comfortable thanks to Hapimag Burnside Park Apartments. Just a short walk away from the Bowness Pier, and nearby restaurants, its just a perfect little home away from home.

If you have a week or so to spend in the Lake District, it is a good idea to just chill and see a different lake each day. But if you have a limited time, I suggest you rent a car and drive around or rather, book a tour and see the highlights without struggling past other cars in narrow country roads. You can book a tour with Mountain Goat Tours, depending on how much time you’ve got. The only downside to it than renting out a car is that, you have just a few minutes to spend on each spot. You’d definitely see more, but just for a few minutes, so weigh it out aswell.

I highly suggest you take a self drive boat in Windermere too. Since social distancing is a major issue, and joining a cruise would just mean you have to get on with other people on the boat too, we took the courage to drive a boat ourselves. It is safe and easy. Plus we had the time on our hands. We booked the boats with Windermere Lake Cruises, and they take up to 6 people in each boat. You can also rent a yacht in the marina for as low as £25/ person, just check the availablity ahead.

The lakes are almost always wet, it is the wettest place in England, if you know what I mean. The weather is also 4 degrees cooler than average in the country, so it would be a good idea to bring your waterproofs and wind breakers. The best place to see the lakes is still summer, between June-July for a clear sunny sky or if you’d like to see the orange tinge of the foliage, in October-November. August is almost always full, and if you are a grumpy driver, it is not the place for you on those times because traffic may get crazy. I haven’t been there for Christmas, but I’d imagine the place could go well with the trinkets.