We’re a bit slow this morning and leave the house at 8:30. Agricultural transportation test our patience when we drive trough the Lake District. It’s sunny today.
Luckily there is a parking spot left when we arrive at 9:45. We aim for a 7KM hike around Lake Buttermere, Cleo’s longest hike by far. But at least the path is relatively even and we don’t need to climb any mountains today.
It’s a 500M walk to the start and we walk the lake clock wise to avoid most people at the start of our walk. It’s quite warm and after another 500M the children already take off their clothes and take a dive in the mirror like lake.
After 30 minutes we get back on track. To help Cleo understand the distance, we use the metaphore that we start from her crown, we walk down her body, and are back at the car at her tows. That makes the hike a fun game.
When we are half way (Cleo’s belly button) we stumble upon a tea and ice cream truck. Perfect timing! We did not bring any snacks and the swimming and hiking sessions made us hungry.
We pass the halfway point and it’s a straight line back to the car park but with some unforeseen obstacles along the way, like a herd of sheep. It’s also getting a lot busier as time passes on, so we slalom our way back along the lake. Clouds move in and a chilly wind keeps us refreshed for the final push.
We regret the fact that we went for the free car park, 300m outside the town as we walk along the road, when we reach the car we have walked 8.41km, which Cleo also walked for the most part. As we drive back towards the coast, the sky once again clears and we enjoy a relaxing afternoon in the holiday park.
