Buttermere

Tuesday
After a wonderful breakfast at our accommodation, we headed over to Buttermere to do some walking. It’s been a number of years since we were last there, and I had forgotten how steep and narrow the approach was - I was very glad Roger was driving! Unfortunately, the weather had deteriorated as we drove, and by the time we got there the clouds were really low over the hills, and it was beginning to drizzle. Undaunted, we set off from the southern end of the lake, and walked along the shore. Even in the low cloud it is still such a beautiful setting. As I mentioned yesterday, Laura is still somewhat limited by her foot, and had to ask us to slow down once or twice! When we reached the far end of the lake, we decided to continue into the village, and get a cup of tea, which proved to be a good decision, as at this point it began to rain a little more steadily. The cafe was quite busy with other people having similar thoughts to get out of the rain!We ended up getting a bite to eat to accompany our tea, and by the time we left, the rain was easing again, and as we walked back along the other shore, the clouds gradually began to lift and break up slightly, allowing shafts of sunlight to partially illuminate the hills across the lake, creating beautiful scenes, and Laura and I both kept stopping to take photographs. Since the weather was improving we decided to extend our walk by starting up the path towards Haystacks. We only made it part way up, and then as the path became steeper, Laura felt it would be sensible for her to turn back, and since I hadn’t brought my hiking poles with me, I felt it was wise for me too, but even as far as we went, we still enjoyed some fine views. We found a lovely tea place to enjoy an ice cream/cake, before returning to our accommodation over the Honister Pass - a stunning drive. I’ve enclosed some extras to show the changing conditions