After many months with no overnights away from home (for leisure purposes anyways!), we are just back from a rather successful week in Ambleside in Cumbria.
It was quite a last minute decision for us – a few weeks ago my friend Simon asked me whether we wanted to “sublet” his holiday apartment as they were no longer able to use it. Our respective work calendars allowed us to be away and we thought it was best to seize the moment and just go for it – especially with all the cancellations and uncertainty of things last year and the potential future impact of variants on the UK’s roadmap out of the pandemic.
The place was called Waterfall and was very well equipped, comfortable and in an excellent location in Ambleside. It was just a short walk to the shops and the mountains of the Lake District were also on our doorstep. In fact, we hardly used the car at all. The weather was reasonable as well with some showers but lots of nice weather in between.
We mostly walked. On our first day we went up Loughrigg and enjoyed the stunning views from the top before dropping down to Grasmere. After some Luxury Lakes Ice Cream and taking the opportunity to stock up at the Grasmere Gingerbread Shop, we set off back to Ambleside via the old coffin route between the two villages. Another day we went up Red Screes and although it was a little wet on the way up, it dried out and the sky was stunning. Fairfield was our highest point another day with a (welcome and much needed!) stop for lunch at the very pretty Alcock Tarn – this was also the day that I had my highest ever number of steps on my Fitbit (+40,000) as well as the greatest number of floors (+500). Another day we went up Wansfell – we could see it from our apartment so that also seemed like something we should do. It was a steep climb out of Ambleside but the views were worth it.
We did have to have a couple of quieter days as Stella not only grazed her paws coming down Fairfield but my 40,000 steps probably equated to 100,000 of hers so a rest day was calendared in. (Stella is 70 after all!).
Back in Ambleside, we also enjoyed yummy treats from the Apple Pie Bakery and had takeaways from both Jintana Thai and Ambleside Fish and Chips. So a little top 5 “best of” from me would be:
- Best Walk – Fairfield
- Best Lunch Stop – Alcock Tarn
- Best Treat – Sticky Toffee Pudding flavoured Luxury Lakes Ice Cream
- Best Meal – Fish and Chips from Ambleside Fish and Chips
- Best Thing about the Apartment – Location, location, location
We are really pleased and grateful that Simon suggested staying in their apartment and are very glad we made it happen. Here are a few of the pictures from our break. You can check out the rest of them here.
