The Ham Nomads

15 Aug 2014. <GB-ENG> Lake District National Park, & Pentirh, & Allerdale, Cumbr —

Today we went down to the official Aira Force carpark, mainly to seek some tourist information — unfortunately the office was not yet open, so we decided to make tracks.

Ullswater

We drove a short distance back towards Penrith and stopped at a viewing point we had noticed yesterday, overlooking Ullswater, as we've said before, the second-largest lake in the district. A magic spot. Not only did we watch a couple of steamers sail past, but we got into conversation with a family who had come there for the fishing — one of the daughters was having a wonderful time with the maggots they were using for bait — well, she called them maggots, we would call then inchworms.

Penrith Castle

We drove back to Penrith — we passed through it yesterday, but then we were aiming for Aira Force. Penrith was on the way towards our next destination, Grasmere (which could have been reached by a more direct route, whose steep slopes we wanted to spare Gertie, the van). We used the stop in Penrith to get our laundry done at the Coachhouse Laundry — it was a while since Lochcarron and our last laundry stop! — and while this was being done, we went to Macca's to catch up on our email.

Opposite Macca's was Penrith Castle, a ruin in the hands of English Heritage, but freely open to the public as Castle Park. Warren went over to look around. Not really much to see. It was built at the end of the 14th century by Ralph Neville, who played a key role in the defence of the Scottish border. It is constructed of red sandstone, much like the Lindisfarne Priory, and also Kirriemuir. Not that they are at all connected, but they're all red!

We then picked up our laundry and drove towards Lake Windemere. Again we stopped short, at Thirlmere, a reservoir/lake on the road there. This reservoir supplies 11% of the water for the north-west, or one glass of water in nine — it is also deadly cold, so swimming is not an option! We stopped off, and walked down to the lake, passing a rather active cascade on the way. There's a lot of water around here! The lake itself is quite scenic, and we weren't the only people walking its shores! On the way back up to the van, Warren wasn't quite sure whether Susie was aiming for the van, or the ice-cream van that was parked near it. Let's say that the ice-creams were very nice!

Fences on the fells

One of our neighbours

We moved away from this carpark (which was pay-and-display after a certain time), down the hill to a lay-by beside a field with a couple of llamas and dominated by a huge fell. There is a camping-area off one end of it. It was here that we settled in for the night.

Distance driven — today, 38 miles ( 61 km ); to date, 5,831 miles ( 9,384 km )