Travel blog posts will continue to be sparse for a little while because it’s still so uncertain trying to get abroad at the min! so I’m back, just under (maybe a little over) a year later, heading on another long car journey, this time to the Lake District for a week of adventure! I’ve never been to the Lake District but as a keen kayaker and paddle boarder, I was hoping that I might get some decent weather so I could spend the week exploring different lakes and getting some time on the water in.

It felt like a mission to get there. I feel like Kent is just a million miles from most places in the UK I’d be keen to explore, anyway, I headed off. On arrival, I went into one of the towns closest to where I was staying (Windermere) and grabbed a bite to eat and sat, in the sunshine, on the lake listening to nature surround me. I saw some people on the lake and couldn’t help myself, I was so keen to get out on the water. So I ran back to my car and grabbed some of my wet gear and went a rented a kayak for a couple hours so I could watch the sun begin to set on the lake, it was bliss.

The next day was a perfect opportunity to get out on the water again, but the weather wasn’t that great in the morning so I held off the lake and headed down to Lancaster and Morecambe for the morning and had a wander around the area. I found somewhere for coffee (as always!) and took some time to read my current book and chill out. I still felt tired from the car journey up so having a bit of time to unwind and regather my thoughts was really nice. No matter where I am, home or away, I always find myself having to be doing something and going at 100mph constantly and I have to remind myself that actually stopping for a moment is okay, is healthy, and is needed to maintain a sense of balance and purpose. Anyway, the weather finally started to clear up so I headed to grab some lunch and off to Windermere to do some more kayaking. I love kayaking, it is one of my favourite things to do, being out on the water, paddling around and really just having the chance to be by yourself, reflecting, is bliss. I put my headphones in, picked a podcast and spent a couple of hours out exploring Lake Windermere. I didn’t get very far at all (it’s huge!) but did enjoy the views and being out in the sunshine, on the water, in my shorts and sunglasses. The reflection of the water from the sunshine sparkled like glitter and it was such a beautiful view with all the mountains in the background.

Day 3 up north and I travelled down a little to Preston to meet up with my old boss and we went for lunch. We went to a beautiful restaurant, the Glasshouse at Stydd. It was surrounded by fairytale forestry and stunning gardens to walk around. Very picturesque. We had the loveliest time catching up and I was so happy to see her, after all, Kent is quite a distance from Preston so catching up face-to-face is few and far between. After spending the day with her and some of her family, I headed back up to the Lakes and was already super keen to get back on the water, so I headed back out to a lake and finished the day with some paddle boarding. I could never pick my fave between kayaking and paddle boarding as they both (to me) offer completely different experiences, but I love keeping up with both of them as then I always have a choice depending on how I feel on the day. It was beautiful to get out on the lake just before sunset again to soak up the last rays and catch the sun going down behind the mountains before heading back to my accommodation for the evening.

More paddle boarding at Windermere was in store on Day 4. I headed up to Lake Windermere in the morning, put my wetsuit on and headed out on the lake for a couple of hours. There were again some stunning views and I was so reluctant to come off the water, as I was armed with snacks and a drink in my wet bag so had everything I needed to stay out on the water for as long as I wanted. Although, I didn’t quite realise how warm and sunny it would be that early in the morning and when I took my wetsuit off at the end of my session, had some of the worst wetsuit tan lines I’ve ever had on my hands, feet and neck! Anyway, I had to come off eventually as I had booked a kayaking session at Lake Keswick in the afternoon for some more exploring on a different lake. Keswick had always appealed to me as it had little islands in the lake that you could kayak up too, jump out and explore before hopping back in your kayak again on the lake. Before my session I went to the little café on site and grabbed a coffee (there will always be a theme here), and a scone, and chilled for a little while. I then got geared up and headed out, it was stunning and the views were just something else. Lake Keswick was further up the district and therefore (if my geography is correct), closer to some of the mountains, so it felt like you were encased and surrounded completely whilst out on the water. I feel so happy and content whilst I’m out kayaking and paddle boarding, the journey is my own, I can explore however I want, at my own pace, and there is so much opportunity that comes with it, this of course meaning that I really didn’t want to go back to land, but I did. After kayaking in the afternoon I realised that I had spent around seven hours of the day on water now, so needed to grab some dinner before heading back to my accommodation for the night.

Day 5 and my final day in the Lake District. I don’t think I was ready to come home yet, I was told my many that I brought the sunshine with me from Kent as it was the warmest weather they had had in ages, and I was having the best time. I got up and had some breakfast before packing up my stuff and loading my car, I then headed to Lake Coniston to drive a boat (a little different!) as I wanted one final time on the water before grabbing some lunch and beginning the journey home. Boat driving was easier than I thought it would be and provided a completely different perspective to the lake than what I had experienced before, also a drier one, given that I was amount to embark on at least an eight hour journey home… It was nice to be able to have the experience to drive the boat around the lake and explore in a different way, again, take some pics and soak in the scenery of a new lake, and my final lake, of my trip. After my session was over I grabbed some lunch and began the journey home.

En route back to Kent, I stopped en route ay my aunt and uncle’s house, they live in Preston so was just under two hours into my journey. I hadn’t told them I was coming so was hoping they would be there, and that they would recognise me! I hadn’t seen them in years so it was nice to make an uncalled surprise visit to say hello. When I got to the front door there was some slight hesitation but they then knew who I was and I stopped for a cuppa before getting back on the motorway. It was so nice to be able to catchup with them after so long of not seeing them, we laughed and joked, and then I had to say goodbye to continue, from what my maps was telling me, a nine hour journey home… I think I would have rather stayed at The Lakes.

Anyway, another adventure complete. Smile and catchup soon! Mads xxx