A week in the Lake District

At 17, I thought I'd had fully outgrown family holidays, so was quite pleasantly surprised by the lovely week I spent in the Lake District with my family over Easter. We stayed in a quaint wee cottage in a picturesque village called Braithwaite, only a short distance from Keswick.
With the exception of 1 or 2 days the weather was stunning, making the hills behind the house very inviting to explore!


View over Keswick and Derwent Water

Over the week I ventured into Keswick, -  which was extremely busy due to it being Easter Weekend - finding some really nice shops and even a large market! I visited my grandparents in Ambleside and was able to get out mountain biking 4 of the 6 days at Whinlatter, the local trails centre, a mere 5 minute car journey from where we were staying! The trails were great and it was particularly handy to be located so close as I rarely have time at home to get out on my bike.

One highlight of the week was...paddleboarding!

This was quite unexpected, as after returning from Whinlatter one afternoon, we had gone to visit some friends of my parents. If I'm honest I wasn't particularly looking forward to this as these types of outings normally involve listening to a lot of chat about the 'good old days' and answering 500 questions about what I planned to do when I leave school. These friends live/work at a marina on Derwentwater lake, and after admiring some people who were splashing about on paddleboards on the lake from the balcony - which has the most amazing view - my brother and I were offered a shot!

Maybe it's not such a bad thing when your parents seem to have 102 contacts in the Lakes...

We were quickly kitted out in wetsuits and buoyancy aids and ready to get on the water. Now, although no stranger to watersports -I've done my fair share of kayaking, canoeing and even tried sailing - paddleboarding was something I had never done before, yet always wanted to do! As it happened, the day we went was one of the warmest of the week and out on the lake it was nothing short of glorious! We paddled out quite far and even went around a small island, before returning nearly 2 hours later. If I could offer one piece of advice, it would be to keep concentrating on what you're doing! Apparently watching and chanting 'fall, fall, fall!' at your brother only ends up in you losing your own balance and flailing helplessly before falling off backwards and being fully submerged in the water...much to his hilarity may I add! Thankfully the water was -surprisingly- not cold! Overall it was a brilliant afternoon and I'd love to do it again!

Over the week little revision was done - no regrets, ok maybe a little - but it was a great opportunity to relax, spend some proper time with my family and explore somewhere new!