Summer Holidays in the Lake District
Summer holidays are in full swing here in the Lakes and there's loads of folk from all over the world enjoying the splendid scenery, intricate history, and of course the fun activities and adventures these mountains and valleys offer. This is exactly what our National Parks are all about, giving us all some time and space to breath, enjoy, relax, and marvel at the amazing place we live in. Yes it's a little busy around town and the queue at the grocery store is bigger and slower than usual, but who cares. Visitors are the lifeblood of the Lake District, and it's absolutely fantastic to see so many of all nationalities, long may it remain 🙂
The weather has also become more 'summer-like' - let's just say the rivers are looking well and the valleys green, you get the picture 🙂
We haven't been so active with the blog due to being ever so busy - thanks to all that have been out with us.
We spent a day on Pillar Rock with Ian from Northern Ireland. With a poor forecast this was looking a bit uncertain, and the High Level Traverse brought it home that a summit bid wasn't on the cards. Too wet and slippery and probably too cold! A good mountain day still enjoyed and new terrain explored for Ian.
We welcomed back the Edmondson family for their 3rd year of activities with us. This time was abseiling at Cathedral quarry in Little Langdale, with all doing the BIG abseil too. And a slide down Stoneycroft Ghyll in the Newlands valley near Keswick.
Another gorge trip was enjoyed with the Ames family, and Stickle Ghyll in Langdale gave us the perfect venue yet again.
And another sunny day came along for a day of Rock Climbing with the McMahon family. Some amazing skills displayed today and loads of routes climbed, we most definitely climbed Scout crags to bits. Lost count of the number of routes!
At the weekend we had the pleasure of a day in the beautiful Esk Gorge with 2 couples. So a nice small team meant we were able to move swiftly through the jumps and pools, enjoy the scrambles and waterfalls and always keep moving, keeping warm. The day was sunny which definitely added the wow factor to the day, with sparkling water and vivid greens throughout the valley floor.
The following day we welcomed back father & daughter team Andrew & Amelie. This time for a mix of gorge and rock scramble. Stoneycroft Ghyll was first up, with Jackdaw Ridge on Shepherds crag following after a brew at Lodore farm cafe. A good day that turned out quite sunny, again.
The photo at the top of this blog post is of Cathedral quarry. That's where we went next, with the Woodbridge family. I have no idea how many times i've been to this quarry, but I never tire of the atmosphere, or its impressiveness, such an amazing place (and great for playing with the new camera). All wanted to abseil the BIG wall, so after a 'warm up' we walked over to the top of that massive wall of slate and down they went, overhangs and all. Top effort.
We rounded up this day with another trip into Stickle Ghyll. This time welcoming back the O'Brian family for lots of watery fun. Oh, and whilst all this was going on, Patrick (Paddy) Cave was out on Shepherds Crag in Borrowdale with Roddy from York. This was to be his initiation to outdoor rock and what a place for it. Enjoying 4 multi-pitch climbs in the stunning Borrowdale valley. Big thanks to Paddy for providing another great day.
It's been wonderful to see so many friendly faces returning for more fun activities and adventures with us. We really hope to see you all again on your next visit to the area.
That's all for now folks, thanks for reading
Mark
