Seph (aka Josie, Michael's eldest) caught the train down from Glasgow the previous night. All five of us loaded into Barbara's VW Golf and stopped for coffee at the UpFront gallery before driving on to Keswick at the head of Derwent Water. The gallery had some fairly strange artworks on display but the paintings by Barbara's friend Stephen Warner were very impressive. As were the various wooden furniture pieces which are works of art in themselves. Barbara's dining table and various other items in her house are all by the same craftsmen.
We parked in Kewsick and walked a portion of the walkway around the lake and then back again. Being a pleasant Saturday the number of people (and dogs) around was pretty astonishing. Obviously perfectly normal for this tourist area, but certainly not something we are used to.
After lunch in the Cafe next to the lake, we headed home with a brief stop at Castlerigg Stone Circle. These have been there for 4,500 years which is pretty incredible!
While we only made a small foray into The Lake District, the scenery is pretty impressive and it would have been good to embark on some more adventurous walks; if only to get away from most of the other visitors!
Miriam and Barbara did manage to purchase two large punnets of strawberries for a pound each from a market stall. They were desperate to sell their stock before the end of the day. These were enjoyed with lashings of cream for dessert .