York to Keswick, UK

This was the longer portion of our journey up north to the Atlantic Northwest of the UK in the lake district. We thought it would be about 2 hours of travel... but we had no idea how long it would take us since this was our first time traveling there. It was two trains and we had planned on a bus from the train station in Windermere to go about 45 minutes north to Keswick.

The Lake District in the UK

This expected two hours of travel actually took us about 4 hours of travel time, and we found out after arriving at the Windermere station, that the bus transportation ended about an hour before we'd gotten there. So, we had to call a cab. You don't wanna know how much it cost us to get a ride. Pretty spendy. The good news was, we got to our beautiful hotel in Keswick, met our welcoming host Jason, who gave us great information, and all just in time to go find dinner within a short walk over to the next doors restaurant. That night turned into a night of recovery after our long journey.

The following day was a beauty. Neither of us had seen the area in the daylight yet, so we opened the curtains like kids excited on Christmas morning to see their first decorated sparkling tree and all the shiny presents. We looked out the sun filled window at the same time to see a splendid view of the surrounding valley, autumnal colors, and soft green hills. We knew immediately, that this was going to be the beginning of our magical vacation.

It was our day for a hike up the Skiddaw trail (the locals call it a walk), after a hearty breakfast, & a quick shopping trip to find a new purple rain coat for me.

Keswick Trails Map

The hosts of our lodging at the Ravensworth Bed & Breakfast, were so very helpful, welcoming, and accommodating with open arms. We could not have been in a better hotel. I highly recommend this establishment. It was clean, neat, charming, and the owners were very proud of their locally organic foods. If we do get to go back, we will definitely choose to stay there again!

As far as the hike (walk) around the lakes went, everything was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! The views, the weather (on the first day), the rolling green and golden hills, the blue sky with white clouds, running water and bridges, the peaceful quiet, and the animals we saw - horses and herds of sheep.

While we were out, we actually saw a rainbow! Jeffrey was able to capture it on his camera & when I get it, I'll have to post it later. What a great day! The round trip hike was about 6-7 miles and a medium to easy level. We had hoped that the weather would improve, but as we came back on our return leg, we found that it just became more cloudy and windy.

After making it back to our home base, we changed clothes, warmed up, and went out for a bite to eat... then we decided to go back into the playful wind, and go on a much shorter walk around the town to go see a park nearby. It was that kind of wind full of energy that just gets me super excited to be alive.

The following day, we decided to avoid the big rain& wind storm that came in, and to go on a bus tour around the various lakes. It was a twisty and bumpy road up and over hills and through neighboring towns. We were able to see quite a lot from the narrow roads. While I enjoyed the first half, by the return trip by tummy was flip-flopping. After we got off the hour long bus ride, I was much happier to brave the cold wind and rain for a bit.

This was our second day, and we only had one more half-day before we had to return back to London. It was a bittersweet journey. We found that we fell in love with the area on many levels. Even if there were stormy clouds on the horizon, the lush green fields, autumnal colors in trees and bushes, the rolling hills, and dozens of trails beckoned us to stay longer. I know in my heart, that if I'm given another opportunity to travel to Europe, I will make the time to come back here.

On the last day, we took a long travel south back to London... to stay one last night before Jeffrey had to catch his flight back to the states. It was another late night of arrival to our hotel, but, we made the best of it by going out to find a pizza restaurant and local pub for a pint.

The next morning...

The next morning we set out to enjoy a bit of the nearby area. We set out for a walk to Baker Street and to Hyde Park to see a rose garden that Jeffrey had seen once before & wanted to share with me. It was such a beautiful day to go for a stroll and enjoy a small piece of London together... once again out in nature.

Later, we found one of many London souvenir shops, so he could find a few fun things to bring back home. These shops have so many things to choose from - anything from clothes to hats, scarves, jewelry, teas, postcards, magnets, chocolates, biscuits, bags, toys, pens, pencils, sharpeners, stationary, posters, shot glasses, to mugs & tea cups. I will have to take a few pics to show later. It really is like a tiny shop of the bright and shiny London-land.

This was to be the end of our trip together. However, I did escort him back to the airport for a couple of remaining hours to visit... it was so wonderful and so hard to say goodbye. I will never forget these 2 weeks we shared & hope that the memory is imprinted on my brain as clear as these photos I took on our trip.