One of my favourite things about living abroad is being able to explore new parts of the world. I frequently go on weekend day trips from London, but there are many places in the UK I’m still yet to visit. Last weekend, I managed to tick one of those off the list – I spent an extended weekend in Lake District and had a chance to visit a wide array of beautiful places. Join me on a photo trip to one of England’s national parks!

Day 1 – road trip and Northern Lights

My usual chosen means of transport is a train, but it can be a bit tricky to get to remote parts of the country on public transport. This time, we decided to rent a car and one of my friends kindly drove us to our destination. We started our journey in Canonbury, London, just before 6pm. It took us nearly an hour to leave the city! If you ever wonder why most Londoners don’t have cars, the traffic is the answer.

We made one 30 minute stop on our way to the Lake District and reached our destination, Portinscale, just before 1 am. It was a long journey, but upon arrival, we were greeted with the most incredible sight. After dreaming about it for a long time, I had a chance to see the Northern Lights. It was an amazing, breathtaking spectacle, and I couldn’t believe our luck. What a night to be up north, away from London’s light pollution! The colours weren’t as vibrant in real life as they came out in the photos, but it was still a spectacular sight.

Day 2 – Keswick, Afternoon Tea and Catbells

The next day, we got up ready to explore the beauty of Lake District. Our first stop was the town of Keswick, where we enjoyed a coffee in a small cafe and popped into a few shops. I particularly loved the autumnal and Christmassy decorations in the stores, which made the cold, rainy morning feel more cosy.

The next point in our agenda was an afternoon tea at Lodore Falls Hotel – my friend’s chosen way to celebrate her birthday. If you’re not familiar with the concept of British afternoon tea, you’re missing out! It’s not exactly what it sounds like. It does involve a cup of tea, but it also involves food. Lots of food.

A typical afternoon tea includes finger sandwiches, savoury pasties, scones with jam and clotted cream, and a variety of miniature desserts. Frankly, it’s way too much food to have in one sitting, if you ask me, but the experience itself never disappoints. The food was delicious and we had a chance to enjoy it with a pretty view of Derewent Lake. What’s not to love!

Fuelled with the mountain of food, we drove to the other side of the lake and embarked on a short hike to a peak called Catbells. It was a perfect way to walk off the afternoon tea! The view of the lake and other mountain peaks was stunning, and the trail itself offered nice variety. As a seasoned hiker, I’d label the route easy, but it had a couple of steep, rocky sections.

It took us around an hour and a half to get to Catbells, with plenty of rest time. It was extremely windy at the top and we only spent a few minutes there, just enough to take photos and admire the view. We then turned back and returned to where we left the car, encountering plenty of sheep on our way. The whole hike took us just over 2.5 hours.

Whilst driving back, we were slowed down by dozens of pheasants blocking the road in multiple places. Clearly, it was their territory, not ours!

Once we got back to our apartment, we decided to make dinner ourself. But not just any dinner! We made pasta from scratch, having two Italians lead the process, and then used the pasta to make carbonara. Perhaps it wasn’t the right type of pasta for that dish and the result clearly wasn’t professional, but considering we made it with limited tools and supplies, in a hotel, it was a success. A delicious way to finish a long day!

Day 3 – Rydal Cave, Wordsworth house, Ambleside, Grasmere, Castlerigg Stone Circle

The weather forecast for the third day of our trip wasn’t looking great, so we planned around it. We started the day with a short walk in the White Moss forest, near Rydal Water lake, towards Rydal Cave. Whilst the cave itself was underwhelming, the hike offered a nice view of the area. After visiting the cave, we turned back and returned to the car, just in time to avoid heavy rainfall.

Then, we drove to a nearby popular landmark – Rydal Mount, the family house of a famous 18th/19th century British poet, William Wordsworth. The house is well kept and there’s a small cafe on site, but my favourite part was the large, colourful garden.

Next, we drove to Ambleside. It’s a charming town with lots of cafes and independent shops. We were starving at that time and chose to have lunch at the Copper Pot, which hit the spot. We then had a stroll around the neighbourhood and came across the Apple Pie Bakery – a bakery selling primarily, you guessed it, apple pies. I had a slice of their spiced pie and it immediately put me in a festive mood.

Next, we drove to Grasmere – the home of Grasmere Gingerbread. I’m a huge fan of gingerbread (you can find multiple gingerbread recipes on my blog) and Sarah Nelson’s Gingerbread House got me intrigued. Turns out, I wasn’t alone! There was a bit of a queue to get to the shop, which itself is tiny. I bought some of the trademark Grasmere Gingerbread – an interesting cross between a cake and a biscuit – as well as some Christmas puddings from their festive range. I’m yet to try these, keeping them for December!

Right next to the Grasmere Gingerbread House is a small church with a cementary, the burial site of poet William Wordsworth, whose house we had visited earlier that day.

We then walked around the area and decided to have an afternoon coffee and scones in a cosy looking cafe.

Finally, on our way back to Portinscale, we stopped at Castlerigg Stone Circle. This prehistoric monument is one of the earliest stone circles found in Britain, dating back to around 4000-5000 years ago! It was truly inspiring to see that ancient monument, and it’s located in a beautiful scenery, with some of the tallest Lake District mountains in the background.

Day 4 – Beatrix Potter house

We didn’t have much planned on the final day on our trip, but we still managed to make it count! After leaving the hotel, we stopped for a brunch in Grasmere – it didn’t go quite as expected, as the cafe we had chosen turned out to be running a limited menu that day. The breakfast sandwiches were underwhelming, but the sticky gingerbread cake that I took for takeaway was delicious!

We then headed to Hill Top – a National Trust site, the house of a British children’s author and illustrator, Beatrix Potter. The house is in great condition, despite its age, and walking around the small rooms made me feel like I was being transported back in time. We learnt that Beatrix often drew pictures inspired by her real surroundings. It was really interesting to compare the different places in the house with illustrations in the books.

Check out the National Trust website to book tickets or check the opening times: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/lake-district/hill-top.

After a quick walk around the small garden surrounding the house, we grabbed takeaway coffees in the on-site cafe, and then headed back to the car to start the journey back to London.

We left Hill Top around 2pm and got back to London Canonbury at 8pm, with one stop along the way.

I thoroughly enjoyed the extended weekend trip to Lake District, and will definitely go back in the future! I’d love to do more hikes in that area, including some longer routes, as the views were truly stunning. Despite the cold weather and occasional rainfall, we made the most of our time up North and managed to make great memories. My favourite part of the trip was probably the one thing we hadn’t planned – the northern lights. Overall, it was a fantastic weekend and I definitely recommend visiting Lake District if you have a chance!

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