First things first… it’s COLD in New York City this weekend! After weeks and weeks of abnormally warm temperatures in the northeast this fall, the weathermen have been warning of the oncoming arctic blast for days. And of course, today was the day I planned all of my outdoor activities. But the cold didn’t prevent me from enjoying the sites.
If you know me at all, it’s safe to say you’re probably wondering what exactly the person who hates cities is doing spending a weekend in the busiest of them all: New York City. Well, let me enlighten you. I’ve officially dubbed this my “Year of Travel”, and intend to go somewhere every month from now until August. But why New York? Growing up in Connecticut, I’ve visited NYC several times on day trips. My stepmother and I used to come here every December for a day of checking out the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and seeing the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. I’ve seen Central Park and Times Square. But I’ve never actually done the full tourist thing in the Big Apple. I’ve contemplated a day trip the last couple of summers, but for some reason never actually made it happen. So now I’m making it happen.
My decision this morning was to go out and do everything I could today, since it’s my last day of vacation, or take it easy and go for a nice drive instead. Spoiler alert: I kind of did both. I didn’t do the longer drive I had planned, but did hike one of the iconic peaks in the Lake District.
It happened. I started thinking about home today, and now I want to… yep, go home. Maybe it’s because today was another cloudy, overcast, dreary day in the Lake District. I didn’t sleep well last night (I blame it on a slight overindulgence in cider last night), but was still up before 5:00 AM. I spent the morning doing very little before having breakfast and setting off on the 9:50 AM boat from Waterhead Pier to Bowness-on-Windermere. I could just as easily driven the 5 miles, but finding parking (or more accurately, paying for parking… most lots have pay machines which only take coins and you need about £4 or £5 worth) is proving to be a bit of a challenge.
I popped out of bed at 5:00AM as usual, and managed to put another 8 miles on my hiking shoes today. After a sunrise walk by the lake and breakfast, I started off the morning in the direction of Glenridding and Ullswater, going over the Kirkstone Pass from Ambleside via “The Struggle”. The road is twisty and narrow (and up to a 25% gradient!) as it rises up to the highest pass in the Lake District. Once over the pass, the road winds its way down to the village of Patterdale and then Glenridding.
Well, I didn’t run a marathon today, but it certainly felt a bit like it. Instead I hiked/walked about 12 miles over a fell, through a village, and along a coffin road. I didn’t set out to do quite so much walking, it just sort of happened. I tend to have trouble with decision making (ask anyone who knows how many things I buy and then end up returning to the store…), so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I only had a general sense that I wanted to visit Rydal and Grasmere today and do some kind of walk.
Today started off damp and dreary, and pretty much stayed that way all day. I started the morning (after a lovely 10 hour sleep… I’ve slept better the last two nights than I have in the past 6 months!) with church at St. Martin’s in nearby Bowness-on-Windermere. It was an Anglican service, and very liturgical, but it was nice to enjoy the old church and the music. I even got to sample a hot cross bun after the service!
My legs are probably going to hate me tomorrow, but I spent the majority of the day walking today. I managed to stay up until 8PM last night, and slept through until 5:30 this morning. (In other words, pretty much my normal sleep schedule.) I went for a short walk around Jenkin’s field along the shores of Lake Windermere before breakfast, then set off to hike up to High Sweden Bridge. The route starts from Ambleside (about a mile from my hotel) with a steady climb up Sweden Bridge Road before turning into a footpath. The trail follows stone walls along the eastern bank of Scandale Beck as it winds upward to the High Sweden Bridge, an old packhorse bridge crossing the river. I stopped for a few pictures, then continued the climb to the top of the ridgeline before dropping back down into Ambleside. By the time I made it back to my hotel in Waterhead, I was ready for a cat nap!
I’ll just say it again: I love the U.K. I mean, what’s not to love about English cider and scones with clotted cream? They certainly have it down when it comes to food on this side of the pond. And a week away from people and reality, enjoying the English food and countryside, is exactly what I need right now.
Home. A place I love to return to, but also love leaving once in awhile. The hotel I stayed in last night was the only one that had an optional breakfast rate, so I decided to book “room only” and go out for breakfast this morning. I had seen a little cafe called So CoCo, which specializes in chocolate but has a full breakfast menu, on my walk yesterday. Who can pass that up? (Hint: not me!) I had already decided to have Eggs Benedict this morning, but the scones were calling to me. So my last scone was actually a breakfast scone! Then it was off to the airport for my hop down to London, followed by a 3.5 hour layover before my flight to Boston.
Traveling with Laura 