Day 1 – Travel to the Lakes

Tom and Izzy had a 2 week half term break from school so we booked a cabin in the Lake District for 7 nights. Our cabin was next to Coniston Water which was a great base to explore the area. We arrived quite late on the Friday evening as it was a very slow drive up the M5/M6 from Gloucester but our cabin was lovely and came with a hot tub.

^{Arriving at our cabin in the evening}

Day 2 – Coniston Water and Tarn Hows

It was a bit of a misty day so we began by having a quick stop at Coniston Water and working on our atmospheric photography!

^{Coniston Water}

We then headed to Tarn Hows – a National Trust sight with lots of walking paths, some little waterfalls and a small lake. It was only 20 minutes away which was perfect as we didn’t want to spend too long travelling. Tom and Izzy spent ages climbing in the trees and playing on a rock in the lake.

^{Exploring Tarn Hows}

We returned to the cabin for an early evening so we could chill in the hot tub and watch some tv!

Day 3 – Hallin Fell and Aira Force

Our first stop of the day was Hallin Fell – about 1.5 hours away. On the journey we spotted some really cool cloud formations – it looked like the clouds were pouring over the hills.

^{We think Helvellyn was under the clouds}

We arrived at Hallin Fell and parked at the bottom. It doesn’t look like a tough hike as it is quite short but it is really steep.

The hike is definately worth it as the views from the top over Ullswater Lake are spectacular.

^{Top of Hallin Fell}

We then visited Aira Force which is a waterfall just the other side of Ullswater. It was a lovely walk through woodland to see the falls.

^{Aira Force Walk}

We then returned to our cabin for another evening in the hot tub!

Day 4 – Grizedale Forest

We had brought all our bikes with us so were determined to use them. We found a cycle trail at Grizedale Forest which was the other side of Coniston to where we were staying.

It was a great cycle trail – a bit hilly in places – but wasn’t very different to cycling in the Forest of Dean. However, it was the perfect time of year as all the leaves were changing colour on the trees.

^{Grizedale Forest cycle route}

As the sun had made an appearance we stopped off at Coniston Water on our way home to take some more photos

^{Coniston Water}

As it was Halloween the owners of the site where our cabin was decorated the area with pumpkins and Tom & Izzy dressed up and we made a Halloween trail for them.

Day 5 – Skiddaw (931 metres)

We wanted to climb a mountain whilst in the Lakes and chose Skiddaw – the 4th highest mountain in England. It was a beautiful morning so perfect conditions and only 1 hour 15 minutes away from our cabin.

We started our climb at 11am – taking our time – and reached the peak of Skiddaw Little Man (835m) at 12.15. The views of Derwent water as we climbed were stunning.

The peak of Little Man with Derwent Water in the background

We made it to the top of Skiddaw by 1pm and despite the sun it was absolutely freezing – but we were fully kitted out for it.

We headed back down the mountain and at the bottom was a coffee van – Bean on the Fells – so Tom & Izzy both had hot chocolates.

Day 6 – Buttermere

After mountain climbing we wanted a relatively flat walk so headed to Buttermere Lake to do the circular walk. It was another beautiful day so the scenery was lovely.

^{Stu and I taking our photo competition very seriously!}

^{Circular walk around Buttermere}

We drove home via the Honister Pass where we stopped for a bit and let Tom and Izzy explore the stream.

^{The Honister Pass}

Day 7 – The Zoo

For our final day we took the kids to the zoo. There was a snow leopard and the kids enjoyed feeding the giraffes.