Seven years (and Helm Crag)

It's seven years today since I first met the Minx in person! And we have come to The Yan, just north of Grasmere, to celebrate.

After last night's wonderful meal at The Jumble Room, we decided to walk into Grasmere, today. My good friend and colleague, Steve, does a lot of walking in the Lakes with his young children, and he'd recommended walking up Helm Crag, taking in the rock formation called 'the lion and the lamb'.

I think most people start off in Grasmere to do this walk but that was our destination and the route from The Yan was straightforward enough, so we set off after breakfast, following the lanes to where the path started. I have to say we were incredibly lucky with the weather: it was cool but the sun was shining and Cumbria, or at least this part of it, looked magnificent.

It did turn out to be more of a climb than a walk in places but we were in no hurry and didn't see anyone until we reached the top, where we saw loads of people coming up the other route from Grasmere, which we proceeded to take down.

The path back goes right through the grounds of Lancrigg Hotel and, on a whim, we decided to stop there for lunch. Amazingly, it was warm enough to sit outside and so we did, reading our books, sipping our drinks, and working our way through the most extraordinarily good (and large) Ploughman's Platter.  

After that it was a mooch around Grasmere and then a walk back to The Yan that involved some undulating roads but nothing that could be counted as a climb. 

And finally, we had dinner at The Yan, which was very good (although not as warm and convivial as The Jumble Room). In all sorts of ways, the day summed up just how lovely the last seven years have been, hanging out with someone I love.

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No scales
Reading: 'In Aleppo Once' by Taqui Altounyan