It was Olaf’s first holiday when we went to Unthank in Cumbria for a week’s stay at Cedrus Lodge. It is on the same site as the Upfront Gallery – we’ve stayed before in their stone cottage a couple of times but this was the first stay in one of their two eco lodges.
This was how the week went:
Friday – We travelled north in the morning, hit some heavy traffic unfortunately but then stopped for a lovely lunch in Kirby Lonsdale at Botanica as well as at a really nice enclosed dog field for a walk and a play with some agility equipment. We were pleased to find a shady deck and garden at the lodge when we arrived about 4pm as it was 27C! We had to puppy proof the lounge but Olaf travelled well and settled well into his new home.
Saturday – Another hot day was forecast so we set off for Greystoke forest park for a walk under the trees – it was still misty which kept things cool. From there we introduced Olaf to the alpaca’s and chickens at Basecamp just off the A66 which was followed by a trip to my favourite butcher’s Cranstons for some provisions – including lunch! – and then onto the ice cream farm for a takeaway box of 10 scoops of ice cream to take back to the cottage. Our flavour selection included amaretto, salted caramel, mint chocolate chip, banana chocolate and banoffee. Tasty tasty! It was heating up by the time we got back to the lodge so we had our lunch on the deck in the shade. In the afternoon we headed for a walk to Penrith Beacon which was about the right distance for Olaf’s little legs and was also mostly in the woods so we could keep cool.
Sunday – We’d booked a Sunday lunch at a very nice pub on the shores of Thirlmere we’d been to on a previous visit and it didn’t disappoint. We headed there after a walk around the grounds and garden of the stately home Hutton in the Forest which was just next to our cottage. We timed the day well weather wise – it was very wet when we were tucked up in the pub eating our lunch but our walk was dry. On the way back from the pub we had a fun trip into a pet store in Penrith where Olaf got fussed, weighed (8kg) and of course there were treats and a new toy. I’d read about the Georgian sandstone bridge over the river Eden at Lazonby so we headed there for a look and a play on the banks of the river on the way back – and a chase of some birds as it turned out!
Monday – We drove to Caldbeck for a little walk along the river up to a waterfall called the Howk just past a disused bobbin mill. The village green was lovely with a pond and sheep and ducks so we stood there for a while trying to teach Olaf that ducks and sheep weren’t very interesting and definitely shouldn’t be chased. From there I’d booked us in for lunch at the Bassenthwaite Lake Railway Station Cafe so we could all experience dining in one of the train carriages used to film the movie Murder on the Orient Express. The food was lovely and Olaf had a big fuss in there! I think this was my favourite meal out of our holiday. We stopped for a little walk by Bassenthwaite lake on the way back to the cottage and later on we drove to a nature reserve called Eycott Hill for a walk and some great views of the fells.
Tuesday – On Tuesday we headed to Keswick for a walk to Friar’s Crag, a ride on a boat down the lake to Lodore Falls, a trip back to Keswick on the bus, lunch at the Lakeside Cafe and a play at Crow’s Park. On the way home we stopped in Greystoke – I learned that this is where Tarzan was from – and walked to the church (called St. Andrew) and then Olaf crashed out while we had a little drink in the village pub.
Wednesday – We went to Lowther Castle which was really neat to see and walk around. We’d walked around the grounds before but never been to the castle itself. We couldn’t leave without trying the very tasty lemon meringue ice cream. After the morning there (and our ice cream) we travelled down the lakeside road to Haweswater. It was our first visit to the reservoir which provides a lot of drinking water for the Northwest of England and we had a picnic there in the sun overlooking the lake. It was Olaf’s first picnic! We agreed that we will have to revisit when Olaf is a bit bigger and can walk a bit further as there are lots of great walks that are accessible from the valley.
Thursday – We packed up the cottage first thing (well actually Paul packed up the cottage – I kept Olaf entertained and more importantly out of the way!) and set off south. We stopped on the way home at the Westmorland Country show just outside of Kendal. It was much bigger than we thought and we spent a few hours there looking at the animals (sheep, horses, cows, pig), saying hello to all the dogs and visiting the food tent (twice). We bought a few sweet treats, some cheese and pies – and enjoyed Jammy Dodger flavoured ice cream from Howgills Fellside. (I think this was my favourite ice cream of the holiday…) The show was a really well organised too including the parking and tickets – we were quite impressed with it really and glad we stopped.
So lots of firsts for Olaf this holiday included a picnic, boat trip, castle, stately home, bus trip, overnight stay away from home, car journey in excess of 1 hour, hedgehog sighting (in the garden of the lodge), RAF fly past, hearing an owl hoot (again in the garden), waterfall, multiple animal introductions and a country show. All in in all a successful holiday – the first of many for us I hope.
Here are some pictures from the week.
