Tuesday 18th August pm - Carlyle Castle We had lunch at a French Bagette Shop and it was nice not to have chips served up with our filled rolls. Afterwards we headed for Carlyle Castle and as part of our English Heritage passes got in free. Some English castles evoke romantic images of knights and fair maidens but this is not one of those. It is nearly 900 years old and has been the scene of so many sieges throughout the ages and it has always been the home ...

Tuesday 18th August - Carlyle We left Keswick after saying our goodbyes to Andrew and Tracey and headed up the motorway to Carlyle. It only took about 50 minutes and as it was way too early for us to check into our B&B we headed into the main part of town for a coffee. We found a park almost opposite The Lanes Shopping Centre and paid our Pay and Display. £2.70 for 3 hours. You cannot go around England without coins in your pocket as it costs at every c...

Monday 17th Windermere pm We got off the boat at Bowater and were so hot decided to get the bus back to our B&B and forgo the stop at Grasmere. However the 555 bus back only left from the Windermere Railway station so we set off up the road. All up hill, very hot and after about 1 mile decided to go back to the lake and get the Hop on Hop off bus and see if that would meet up with the 555. Shaw enough the bus eventually arrived and by now we were fried f...

Monday 17th August Ambleside late am We got on the double decker bus and in about half an hour we were getting off in Ambleside after going via Lakes Thirlmere, Grasmere and Rydal. We thought that the village of Grasmere was worth a stop on the way home, just for a look. We started to wander the streets of Ambleside and every 2nd shop is selling gear for tramping, climbing and boating. There are lots of eateries of various sorts so a pub for lunch was loo...

Monday 17th August Keswick am We had a lovely breakfast and Tracey looked after us very well. We haven't had much more than cereals on any day but decided to have poached eggs and a bit of bacon. That is until we saw the fruit! Laid out on the sideboard were about 12 bowls of different fruits, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, mango, peaches, pineapple, prunes, currants, apricots, you name it, it was here. So we had fruit and yoghurt then poached egg...