A week in the Lake District

Yoohoo! Yes, 'tis I, Josiekitten, back from my holidays! It feels like ages since I last blogged. Our holiday started with two days in Congleton, Cheshire, celebrating the marriage of Snoopydog's elder daughter. We had a lovely time, it was a delight to be part of such a happy event. I won't post many photos here. If you'd like to see more, then you can pop over to Snoop's blog here.

We made our way up to the Lake District on Saturday. We were staying in a converted coal hole, and very nice it was too! It was in the village of Troutbeck, between Windermere and Ambleside, but so peaceful. This was our view.

We were pretty lucky with the weather, and managed to dodge the showers most of the time. We visited lots of National Trust properties (I'll blog about these another time), and also got our fair share of lakes and hills. Here's Coniston Water looking very tranquil.

There had been snow the previous week and you could still see some on the top of some of the peaks.

The Kirkstone pass was actually closed by snow a few days previously, and there were still patches of snow as we drove through. Here you can see the view towards Brothers Water.

We ended up at Aira Force and walked up to see the waterfall before picnicking on the shore of Ullswater. It really is a beautiful part of England. I never tire of the views.

On the last afternoon we went out on Lake Windermere!

 

There were plenty, and I do mean plenty of sheep! Sheep farming is still big business in the Lakes. The Herdwick sheep is native to this part of England. The sheep are very distinctive with their grey bodies and white heads. The fleece is rather coarse and is generally used for furnishings like rugs. This little chap looks so serious, I wonder what he's thinking?!

The lambing season was well underway, and there were lambs gambolling around the fields without a care in the world.

Of course I managed to knit during the week! I knit a shawlette using some of my handspun yarn. The pattern is Les Abeilles from Knitspot. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. The colours are so soft.

I've also made progress on two different pairs of socks, but will show you those another time. Before you ask, I did make a small yarny purchase. We travelled up to the north of the Lake District to the pretty village of Caldbeck, where the Wool Clip can be found. I was most restrained and bought some Blue Faced Leicester fibre to spin up.....

.....and a felting kit. I'd like to try it out with the children at school some time in the future, so this kit seemed like a good idea. I'm not entirely sure yet why I need a wicker mat, but as there are full instructions, I'm sure that all will become clear! Watch this space!

Well, I shall love you and leave you for now with one more breathtaking view over Lake Windermere. I'll be back soon to share some more of our holiday. xxx