Magic of The Lakes: Part 2

It was midday already when got back on our planned route of driving through the lake countryside. The plan was to hit as many lakes as we can in the allotted time. I went online and found some sample route maps that tour companies used and adjusted it to our own needs. This is what it looked like. Our house was situated east of Keswick. 

We knew that there is no way to see everything in such a short period of time. And we didn't try. We wanted to feel the Lake District and to know why it's such a popular spot for thousands each year. Possibly it is the magical roads overgrown with greenery and so narrow rivaling crazy Welsh roads. 

Many times we had to stop or slow down to be able to pass some cars, but more times than not we were passed by some really wide vans zooming by us. We kind of had to close our eyes and hope for the best. Having the stone wall on both sides didn't help:)

Okay, back to the magic of the lakes. So maybe it's the stone cottages in the middle of nowhere, on the side of the hills. 

Or beautiful landscape with the aura of mystery that you can just feel in your lungs. 

Or beautiful pastures dotted with sheep dotted with different colors. 

We can't quite figure what it was about the Lakes. And we definitely were trying to take it all in while driving Robert's favorite road at Hardknott Pass. I thought I was going to die of fear we'd fall off the mountain, but it was very exhilarating for everyone else apparently. Just to give you an idea, this is the narrow road up a very-very steep hill (google maps image).

We had to pass a car only once on this pass going up and it was in a very convenient spot, so we got lucky!

And this is the road looking down. 

The top of the world! 

My adventurous boys. 

Well, hello sheep again. This time dotted with red. 

Our first official stop was at the lake called Wast Water. This lake is almost 3 miles long and is the deepest lake of England at 258 feet (79 m). 

It was a gorgeous lake! The lighting from the sun peeking through the clouds on one side of the lake was incredible. 

The kids thought it was absolutely freezing (this is end of May) but the wellies helped. 

We relaxed for a bit at this beautiful places. Should have brought our kayaks, we thought. 

If you like interesting weird murder facts, here is one for you about this lake;). I found it randomly while reading about West Water lake. 

Our next stop was Ennerdale Water. 

This was the perfect lake for practicing our skipping rocks technique. 

The kids wanted to stay for hours here. 

We wish we had time to hike around it. It's one of the smaller lakes that is not very frequently visited and thus is cleaner. 

Former President Clinton proposed to Hillary Clinton in 1973 at the banks of Ennerdale Water:) 

We were getting closer to dinner time, so we had to leave this unspoiled place, which is a shame. It was beautiful. 

After an ice cream stop (BEFORE dinner) we drove towards Buttermere Lake. We found a local hiker's pub Fish Inn to get some basic pub food, which was okay. We were stuffed, so we needed to go for a walk around the lake. Through the woods and beautiful footpaths. 

We attempted to take many family pictures but the sun lighting was tricky. 

And where is the lake here?:) Just wanted to get a better view of the hills. 

We loved this pair of sheep. Mama sheep and her baby, we think;)

We are getting sort of better at this, but can't see our faces any more:)) Can you hear the kids' groaning yet?

What in the world? Another one? I decided to mix it up a bit and took off my fleece jacket though:) 

Okay, finally a better one since the sun was setting now. 

Mama and baby sheep are back. They were really scared of Alex for some reason. 

Green places like this exist. 

Love the British. They know how to preserve stuff. No signs about "be careful, step up, don't sue us". You just know to be careful.

The walk was very easy and so beautiful. It was perfect for our after dinner venture. It was quite late by then, although it was still so light outside. We drove back to our house for a good night rest as we needed energy for the following day of hiking. 

Lyana.