Day 12: Wednesday 20th April 2022
This morning we got the 9.20 bus to the Lakes again! This time we were aiming for Coniston, so had to change buses in Windermere. It did take a long time to get there - we arrived in Coniston at 11.24, but definitely worth it. We had a wander through the streets of Coniston to have a quick look in the shops.
We then headed out to find the lake. They were running boat tours so we decided upon the 60 minute Yellow Route, which went around most of the lake, and up to Peel Island - made famous by Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons (known in the book as Wild Cat Island). This was a brilliant trip - the 1974 film was filmed on Peel Island and so it was amazing to see the Secret Harbour in person, as growing up, I really loved both the book and the film. This boat journey was one of the highlights of the trip so far - great to see the lake from another perspective.
We decided to break the journey and get off at Brantwood to find a picnic spot. There was an absolutely lovely view of The Old Man Of Coniston, which we had planned to climb, and it was very calming sitting by the lake. We headed back to the jetty and just as the boat came to dock, Mum spotted an otter on the rocks!!! We told the guide on the boat who said it was only the 4th otter he had seen in 15 years, and the other three had been very fleeting sightings, whereas this one stayed around on the rocks for a while. It was extremely exciting to see and definitely another highlight!
We got the bus back to Windermere, changing there for the Kendal in order to get back to our campsite. We had found a campsite based in Coniston itself and as we hadn’t realised how far our campsite actually was from the lakes, we had wondered whether to try and change campsites.However, after seeing the bus route between Coniston and Hawkshead - extremely narrow roads with two way traffic (the bus driver did say “now here comes the tricky part” at one point!) we realised we would have found the driving to get there extremely difficult!! So I think we are okay with where our campsite is now, even if it is quite a long bus journey.
We were very tired getting back, although mum did have the energy to run to the campsite shop to see whether they had any wine (they didn’t!). We had dinner outside for the first time as it was great weather.
Really enjoying this ...... almost as much as your Dad's Marmalade Cake!! Seriously, keep up the good work :0)
ReplyDeleteWell, what a lovely trip you are having in the Lake District! I just wonder who was holding the camera for the photo of you both with your back turned? Lovely photos 😍
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