Tuesday we were up and out by 9.15am, close to a record for us! We picked up a hire car, found our way back to the hostel to collect our bags, and then tried to head out of town. We finally got on the road we wanted, and then it was closed and traffic was being diverted. Continuing to drive, the suburbs, villages or towns, whatever they are continued. We were headed to Edale in the Peak District. We were basically there before we even hit a highway, slow going. We ate lunch in town, set up our little tent and then headed to ‘Hope’ and ‘Castleton’ for a drive. We got lost, what should have been a 20min drive turned into a 2 hour loop. Didn’t matter, it was nice, English countryside. We had a look around town and climbed up to the ruins of a castle on the side of a hill. Driving back to the campsite didn’t take long! 
We relaxed at the tent for a bit until it got dark. Off to the pub for a beer and a feed. The menu looked good, but the food wasn’t anything to write home about. Then it was back to the tent, for what was going to be a very cold night!
Brrrr… I think we nearly froze last night, even in our sleeping bags, blankets, tracksuit pants, jumper and beanie! Our tent is small, but the roof is just fly wire, meaning none of the heat stays in the tent and the cold comes straight in. It’s a tent we borrowed from the hostel that someone has left behind, either a one use at a festival or they nearly froze and decided never again!
We sat in the car to eat breakfast, we bought some milk and cereal in town yesterday (no problem keeping the milk cold). We had planned to do a big walk from the campsite today, but after seeing that it was cool, grey and drizzly, we decided it might be better to take the car with us. We drove up the big, steep part of the hike and then got out to walk along the top of Mom Tor, a ridge that separates two valleys. It had nice views, sheep and an old stone wall, but was pretty chilly in the wind.
We continued on with no real direction, bit of a scenic drive. After numerous pretty villages and narrow roads we stopped in Bakewell for a Bakewell (type of cake) and coffee. It was also a nice village on a small river.
Our next stop was just out of Curbar, where we did another partial walk this time along the Froggatt and Baslow Edge. This was fun, especially since once again we were able to park at the top of the ridge. We walked along the ridge which had views over the countryside, valleys and nearby towns. We also took some photos out on ledges, way too close to the edge, just to show what sort of mischief people like us get up to without parental supervision.
We bought some nice bread and an antipasti plate, but had to eat it in the car, back at the campsite as it was too cold anywhere else. Then we rugged up and headed to bed!
Thursday we had a big driving day, which by the time we found somewhere to sleep, was even bigger than we had expected. We made the effort to be up early, pack up the tent, breakfast in the car by a reasonable hour. Our goal for the day was to see the Angel of the North, a giant sculpture just outside of Newcastle. Driving out of the Peak District we were hoping to drop in to a friend of Nans, however we were unable to get in contact so pushed on.
We were at the sculpture in time for lunch, a picnic under the Angel. The Angel would be about 10 meters high and as wide as an airplane. The artist who produced it is Antony Gormley, another of Christine’s favorites’! As enjoyable as it was sitting in the grass we forced ourselves to keep moving. We wanted to head about an hour north to Blyth on the coast to try and find a campsite. 
We picked up some groceries and asked where a campsite was but nobody really knew. We drove further up the coast without any luck, the closest we could find was tourist parks full of cabins, but no camping. As the sun set we were tempted by the prospect of joining the sheep in the paddocks, but pushed on. We abandoned the coast and headed inland towards Hexley, which is where we wanted to be the following day. Unlike most of England, this was very rural, many of the towns on the map were in actual fact noting more than a pub, shop or sheep station. Passing one pub, there was a mobile fish and chip shop, as we walked over it smelt great and we were sure we were onto a winner. When we got to the window, the guy looked surprised to see us, and told us he had just sold out of everything, so again we had to push on, munching on a bag of crisps.
Finally we made it to Hexley at about 9pm. We parked the car and walked about town eventually settling on a hotel. We grabbed a pizza and enjoyed a warm beer from our grocery run earlier in the day. Then it was time for a hot shower, only to find that there was in fact no hot water! The hotel told us to wait 20 minutes, but still no hot water, by this stage it was after midnight so we scrapped this idea and hit the sack.
Next morning there was still no hot water! At breakfast, full English with hash browns, yeah baby, we got talking to some other guests, who said there had been no hot water for 3 days! When we checked out we complained again, and refused to pay the full amount, agreeing to a 10 pound off the original 50 pound for the night. Before we left town we went for a bit of a stroll. It was a nice little place nice gardens, church, market and little shops and galleries. We loaded up on cakes from one of the bakeries before leaving.
The reason we have travelled all the way up to this end of England was for
Hadrian’s Wall. This is an old stone wall built by the Romans and back in the day it went from the west coast to the east coast. It was only a meter or so high and about the same in width. It was basically a statement by the Romans that they had taken as much land as they intended to and meant anything further north (Scotland) was not going to be invaded.
From the Once Brewed National Park (cool name), we did a walk for about 2-3 hours along the wall, through paddocks, along ridges and past a lake. Every mile for the whole wall the Romans had built a guard tower and every 1/3 mile there was a guard turret, although only the foundations remained. Christine found a Sycamore tree that she really liked and the other highlight for her was the young lamb’s playing in the fields.
After our walk we drove to Ambleside in the Lake District. Having done a bit of research (pat on the back), we knew there would be campsites. We did want to get there earlyish as it was school holidays and weren’t sure how busy it would get on a Friday afternoon. Turned out there isn’t actually a campsite in town, but the friendly YHA was able to help us out with directions to one in Coniston about 15 minutes away. We pitched our tent, had a beer by the lake and then walked into town for Fish and Chips.
Saturday morning we headed off in the car to do some hiking. Again solid research before we left London paid off, as the tourist information offices in the area were useless. The walk that we were doing was the Aira Force (waterfall), High Force and Gow Barrow Fell loop, which took us about 3 hours. It started in fields following the river upstream. It soon veered steeply up a hill. 
After about 30 minutes of uphill walking we were at the top of the hill. At the top of Gow Barrow Fell was a Trig Point. The climb up and Trig Point had good 360 degree views. As we proceeded down the other side there were also great views of the nearby lakes. From here the track wound its way around the hill and to the waterfalls. As has been the case a few times, we were not overly impressed with the waterfall or the crowds. The rest of the walk had been fairly quiet, but the waterfall is very close to the carpark, so there are many more people on this part of the walk. The water fall was nice, but we are just a bit spoilt for choice after being in America, and of course Australia! 
We had intended to do another walk in the afternoon, but the day had got away from us a little bit. Part of the walk was a stone circle which excited Christine very much, so instead we simply drove to the stone circle and skipped the walk. The stone circle was just in the middle of a paddock with a reasonable view of a lake below. It was similar to Stonehenge, stones in a circle, although the rocks were not as big and not on top of each other. We made a shopping stop in town and bought a portable single use coal BBQ and some burgers and headed back to the campsite.
Dinner ended up being a late affair, as the coal didn’t ignite as easily as it said it would on the box. Having a small BBQ and big feed of burgers, bacon, capsicum, onion, mushroom and potato also slowed the process. It was enjoyable and warm, and the nights aren’t as cold as they were a few days ago.
Sunday morning was a cloudy morning but as the day went on it got sunnier and warmer which was nice. We were planning on having a lazy day at the campsite and maybe visiting Ambleside. When Christine was showering however, she got chatting of course, and was told about a walk in Coniston called Old Man, so we thought that we would give that a shot.
The Old Man is the highest point in the area, so the first 2 hours of the walk was climbing up a 
big hill. It wasn’t long before we were stripping off our jackets and jumpers. There were stops along the way, much of the area is old mines, so there was ruined buildings, mining equipment and tunnels. There were also some lakes a toward the top of the hill. The hill really wore Damien out, but Christine seemed to find some extra energy along the way. We were amazed at all the dogs running up and down the track. The view at the top was worth the effort, despite being a bit hazy we could still see all the way out to the sea. There was also views of the hills and lakes in the surrounding district. Damien enjoyed a nap in the sun at the top, while Christine chatted to an old local she had made friends with on the way up. 
We continued down the other side and around the mountain, past more lakes and puppy dogs. After about 5 hours we made it back to the carpark. We headed back to camp for a relax. Damien had beers by the lake while Christine read her book at the tent. The campsite is right by Coniston Lake, our tent only 50m through the trees to the lake edge. The campsite wasn’t overly crowded which was nice, but this maybe because it’s not exactly a cheap campsite. For dinner we walked into town hoping for a lamb roast (they are just so cute and edible playing in the fields) at one of the pubs, however the lamb had all sold out. We settled for a pint and a steak and ale pie.
The next morning we were up at a reasonable time and hit the road. We were having a scenic driving day. The first area we passed through was Great Lonsdale, which had pretty and tiny villages, green hills and narrow roads flanked by stone walls. We had hoped to stop for coffee, but drove through most of the towns, which did not offer much in the way of a shop or café. Continuing through the English countryside and up some fairly steep hills, we crossed Wrynose Pass and Hardknott Pass. On the other side of these we finally stopped at a pub in Boot for a coffee and scone. The drive then flattened out as the headed towards the coast for lunch where we found a decent bakery with pies.
A slight navigational breakdown meant that the drive to Furness Abbey took longer than anticipated, however we found it eventually. The abbey was built in the 1100’s although today it is basically just ruins. It was not too busy, as it was almost closing time, so we pretty much had the run of the place. It was a nice abbey and quite large. Parts of the Abbey were covered up as it is being restored. 
Finally heading back to the campsite, we had a few drinks by the lake and cooked another BBQ. This time we skipped the potato and onion which sped up the process, although it was still a slow dinner. We ate Sausages and Lamb Burgers that we had bought from a butcher in the town we stopped for lunch. 
For the last time we packed up the campsite and jumped in the car. We headed to Ambleside, the place that we had intended to stay in the Lakes District, yet we have not visited yet. It is a busy, but beautiful town. It is on a lake and creek with the famous bridge house, cafes, galleries and shops. Our time was a bit limited due to having to pay for parking, in a country town! We drove through Windermere which is equally picturesque and touristy. We didn’t stop until we had got away from the tour buses, where we found a nice picnic spot on the lake for lunch. Our last stop in the Lakes District was for Ice Cream, which was served to us by a friendly girl from Slovakia, before heading back to Manchester to return the car.
The Drive to Manchester went smoothly until the last bit. We were in Manchester but couldn’t find the car hire place and seemed to do numerous laps of the downtown area before getting the car hire company on the phone to direct us, turned out we were really close, several times! To celebrate our trip we headed to the pub in town under the Eye. It’s really great, with cheap beer, outdoor seating and a big old European looking building. We had dinner in a Mexican restaurant and was hoping for a few more beers, but headed home after one as we were nearly the only people out and about on this particular Tuesday night.
We enjoyed our breakfast the following morning, we could make ourselves coffee! After a slow breakfast we headed out for one last quick look around Manchester before grabbing our gear and heading to the train bound for London.
We relaxed at the tent for a bit until it got dark. Off to the pub for a beer and a feed. The menu looked good, but the food wasn’t anything to write home about. Then it was back to the tent, for what was going to be a very cold night!Brrrr… I think we nearly froze last night, even in our sleeping bags, blankets, tracksuit pants, jumper and beanie! Our tent is small, but the roof is just fly wire, meaning none of the heat stays in the tent and the cold comes straight in. It’s a tent we borrowed from the hostel that someone has left behind, either a one use at a festival or they nearly froze and decided never again!
We sat in the car to eat breakfast, we bought some milk and cereal in town yesterday (no problem keeping the milk cold). We had planned to do a big walk from the campsite today, but after seeing that it was cool, grey and drizzly, we decided it might be better to take the car with us. We drove up the big, steep part of the hike and then got out to walk along the top of Mom Tor, a ridge that separates two valleys. It had nice views, sheep and an old stone wall, but was pretty chilly in the wind.
We continued on with no real direction, bit of a scenic drive. After numerous pretty villages and narrow roads we stopped in Bakewell for a Bakewell (type of cake) and coffee. It was also a nice village on a small river.
Our next stop was just out of Curbar, where we did another partial walk this time along the Froggatt and Baslow Edge. This was fun, especially since once again we were able to park at the top of the ridge. We walked along the ridge which had views over the countryside, valleys and nearby towns. We also took some photos out on ledges, way too close to the edge, just to show what sort of mischief people like us get up to without parental supervision.
We bought some nice bread and an antipasti plate, but had to eat it in the car, back at the campsite as it was too cold anywhere else. Then we rugged up and headed to bed!Thursday we had a big driving day, which by the time we found somewhere to sleep, was even bigger than we had expected. We made the effort to be up early, pack up the tent, breakfast in the car by a reasonable hour. Our goal for the day was to see the Angel of the North, a giant sculpture just outside of Newcastle. Driving out of the Peak District we were hoping to drop in to a friend of Nans, however we were unable to get in contact so pushed on.
We were at the sculpture in time for lunch, a picnic under the Angel. The Angel would be about 10 meters high and as wide as an airplane. The artist who produced it is Antony Gormley, another of Christine’s favorites’! As enjoyable as it was sitting in the grass we forced ourselves to keep moving. We wanted to head about an hour north to Blyth on the coast to try and find a campsite. We picked up some groceries and asked where a campsite was but nobody really knew. We drove further up the coast without any luck, the closest we could find was tourist parks full of cabins, but no camping. As the sun set we were tempted by the prospect of joining the sheep in the paddocks, but pushed on. We abandoned the coast and headed inland towards Hexley, which is where we wanted to be the following day. Unlike most of England, this was very rural, many of the towns on the map were in actual fact noting more than a pub, shop or sheep station. Passing one pub, there was a mobile fish and chip shop, as we walked over it smelt great and we were sure we were onto a winner. When we got to the window, the guy looked surprised to see us, and told us he had just sold out of everything, so again we had to push on, munching on a bag of crisps.Finally we made it to Hexley at about 9pm. We parked the car and walked about town eventually settling on a hotel. We grabbed a pizza and enjoyed a warm beer from our grocery run earlier in the day. Then it was time for a hot shower, only to find that there was in fact no hot water! The hotel told us to wait 20 minutes, but still no hot water, by this stage it was after midnight so we scrapped this idea and hit the sack.
Next morning there was still no hot water! At breakfast, full English with hash browns, yeah baby, we got talking to some other guests, who said there had been no hot water for 3 days! When we checked out we complained again, and refused to pay the full amount, agreeing to a 10 pound off the original 50 pound for the night. Before we left town we went for a bit of a stroll. It was a nice little place nice gardens, church, market and little shops and galleries. We loaded up on cakes from one of the bakeries before leaving.
The reason we have travelled all the way up to this end of England was for
Hadrian’s Wall. This is an old stone wall built by the Romans and back in the day it went from the west coast to the east coast. It was only a meter or so high and about the same in width. It was basically a statement by the Romans that they had taken as much land as they intended to and meant anything further north (Scotland) was not going to be invaded.From the Once Brewed National Park (cool name), we did a walk for about 2-3 hours along the wall, through paddocks, along ridges and past a lake. Every mile for the whole wall the Romans had built a guard tower and every 1/3 mile there was a guard turret, although only the foundations remained. Christine found a Sycamore tree that she really liked and the other highlight for her was the young lamb’s playing in the fields.
After our walk we drove to Ambleside in the Lake District. Having done a bit of research (pat on the back), we knew there would be campsites. We did want to get there earlyish as it was school holidays and weren’t sure how busy it would get on a Friday afternoon. Turned out there isn’t actually a campsite in town, but the friendly YHA was able to help us out with directions to one in Coniston about 15 minutes away. We pitched our tent, had a beer by the lake and then walked into town for Fish and Chips.
Saturday morning we headed off in the car to do some hiking. Again solid research before we left London paid off, as the tourist information offices in the area were useless. The walk that we were doing was the Aira Force (waterfall), High Force and Gow Barrow Fell loop, which took us about 3 hours. It started in fields following the river upstream. It soon veered steeply up a hill. After about 30 minutes of uphill walking we were at the top of the hill. At the top of Gow Barrow Fell was a Trig Point. The climb up and Trig Point had good 360 degree views. As we proceeded down the other side there were also great views of the nearby lakes. From here the track wound its way around the hill and to the waterfalls. As has been the case a few times, we were not overly impressed with the waterfall or the crowds. The rest of the walk had been fairly quiet, but the waterfall is very close to the carpark, so there are many more people on this part of the walk. The water fall was nice, but we are just a bit spoilt for choice after being in America, and of course Australia! We had intended to do another walk in the afternoon, but the day had got away from us a little bit. Part of the walk was a stone circle which excited Christine very much, so instead we simply drove to the stone circle and skipped the walk. The stone circle was just in the middle of a paddock with a reasonable view of a lake below. It was similar to Stonehenge, stones in a circle, although the rocks were not as big and not on top of each other. We made a shopping stop in town and bought a portable single use coal BBQ and some burgers and headed back to the campsite.Dinner ended up being a late affair, as the coal didn’t ignite as easily as it said it would on the box. Having a small BBQ and big feed of burgers, bacon, capsicum, onion, mushroom and potato also slowed the process. It was enjoyable and warm, and the nights aren’t as cold as they were a few days ago.
Sunday morning was a cloudy morning but as the day went on it got sunnier and warmer which was nice. We were planning on having a lazy day at the campsite and maybe visiting Ambleside. When Christine was showering however, she got chatting of course, and was told about a walk in Coniston called Old Man, so we thought that we would give that a shot.
The Old Man is the highest point in the area, so the first 2 hours of the walk was climbing up a 
big hill. It wasn’t long before we were stripping off our jackets and jumpers. There were stops along the way, much of the area is old mines, so there was ruined buildings, mining equipment and tunnels. There were also some lakes a toward the top of the hill. The hill really wore Damien out, but Christine seemed to find some extra energy along the way. We were amazed at all the dogs running up and down the track. The view at the top was worth the effort, despite being a bit hazy we could still see all the way out to the sea. There was also views of the hills and lakes in the surrounding district. Damien enjoyed a nap in the sun at the top, while Christine chatted to an old local she had made friends with on the way up. We continued down the other side and around the mountain, past more lakes and puppy dogs. After about 5 hours we made it back to the carpark. We headed back to camp for a relax. Damien had beers by the lake while Christine read her book at the tent. The campsite is right by Coniston Lake, our tent only 50m through the trees to the lake edge. The campsite wasn’t overly crowded which was nice, but this maybe because it’s not exactly a cheap campsite. For dinner we walked into town hoping for a lamb roast (they are just so cute and edible playing in the fields) at one of the pubs, however the lamb had all sold out. We settled for a pint and a steak and ale pie.The next morning we were up at a reasonable time and hit the road. We were having a scenic driving day. The first area we passed through was Great Lonsdale, which had pretty and tiny villages, green hills and narrow roads flanked by stone walls. We had hoped to stop for coffee, but drove through most of the towns, which did not offer much in the way of a shop or café. Continuing through the English countryside and up some fairly steep hills, we crossed Wrynose Pass and Hardknott Pass. On the other side of these we finally stopped at a pub in Boot for a coffee and scone. The drive then flattened out as the headed towards the coast for lunch where we found a decent bakery with pies.
A slight navigational breakdown meant that the drive to Furness Abbey took longer than anticipated, however we found it eventually. The abbey was built in the 1100’s although today it is basically just ruins. It was not too busy, as it was almost closing time, so we pretty much had the run of the place. It was a nice abbey and quite large. Parts of the Abbey were covered up as it is being restored. Finally heading back to the campsite, we had a few drinks by the lake and cooked another BBQ. This time we skipped the potato and onion which sped up the process, although it was still a slow dinner. We ate Sausages and Lamb Burgers that we had bought from a butcher in the town we stopped for lunch. For the last time we packed up the campsite and jumped in the car. We headed to Ambleside, the place that we had intended to stay in the Lakes District, yet we have not visited yet. It is a busy, but beautiful town. It is on a lake and creek with the famous bridge house, cafes, galleries and shops. Our time was a bit limited due to having to pay for parking, in a country town! We drove through Windermere which is equally picturesque and touristy. We didn’t stop until we had got away from the tour buses, where we found a nice picnic spot on the lake for lunch. Our last stop in the Lakes District was for Ice Cream, which was served to us by a friendly girl from Slovakia, before heading back to Manchester to return the car.
The Drive to Manchester went smoothly until the last bit. We were in Manchester but couldn’t find the car hire place and seemed to do numerous laps of the downtown area before getting the car hire company on the phone to direct us, turned out we were really close, several times! To celebrate our trip we headed to the pub in town under the Eye. It’s really great, with cheap beer, outdoor seating and a big old European looking building. We had dinner in a Mexican restaurant and was hoping for a few more beers, but headed home after one as we were nearly the only people out and about on this particular Tuesday night.We enjoyed our breakfast the following morning, we could make ourselves coffee! After a slow breakfast we headed out for one last quick look around Manchester before grabbing our gear and heading to the train bound for London.
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