Lake District Weekend Christmas Break

The Lake District at any time of year is special but at Christmas it seems to be that bit more special, maybe it is the Autumnal colours on the hills and fells that is still hanging around with that colder air in the atmosphere giving it a feeling of calm and relaxation but in no doubt it is also the towns and villages lighting up the dark days and early nights with the shop windows all lit up selling festive gifts and foods, the pubs warm glow of light and sounds of cheer inviting you inside to get out of the cold and the quaint cottages with the festive decorations and smell of the coal and wood fires drifting around with families gathered inside. It all sounds like the beginning of a Christmas story or film and you’d be right that’s exactly what it feels like !

We try to get to the Lakes around Christmas it has become a bit of a tradition and now even more special with little Coben. We booked a room at the the famous Badger Hotel at Rydal for Saturday night but we decided to head up on Friday after Katie had finished work and stop in the van somewhere, this way we are up there and have all day Saturday to explore we find doing this makes the weekend feel much longer rather than arriving midday Saturday and losing the whole morning. After looking at the maps I decided on finding a spot near Sizergh Castle so we could explore this on the Saturday it also is a National Trust site and we are members so we get in without costs which is a bonus. Scouring google maps for areas that looked suitable for a van park up for the night I identified a spot in a entrance way to some woods which looked ideal. We set off from home around 6.30pm after packing the van with everything and more but still feeling like we had forgotten something this is what happens when you have a baby paranoia sets in ! We arrived at the spot around 9.30pm and we both felt fine here so we stopped. Sometimes when parking up somewhere in the van you just get a strange uneasy feeling it doesnt feel right and we always trust our instincts so if this is the case we will always move on.

Luck would have it the night temperature wasnt too bad and we didnt even need to fire up the heater up and had a good nights sleep all 3 of us. The plan for Saturday was to go to Sizergh Castle and explore some of the walks there which is just what we did. We decided to do the longer route which would take us up to Heslington Fell which has some great views. The route took us through Parkland, Woodland and up on to the fells the total length was around 5 mile. Check out our routes section HERE for full details. We got back to the van around lunchtime so had a good old hearty van lunch which consisted of vegetable soup and a banquette cant beat it.

With time getting on we passed on visiting the castle and gardens that will be for another visit but we did head to the Wild Play area. The idea of this is to be all natural features that have been used to create obstacles to climb, balance and jump across following riddles along the way. Coben loves walking and thoroughly enjoyed clambering and falling over trees and rocks. Definitely one to recommend for the kids although it should be better signposted as it confused us a bit trying to find the start of the trail. The trail is around a mile in length and there are lots of things to tire the kids out.

Once the trial was completed we headed back to the van and headed to the destination for the night which was the Glen Rothay Hotel also known as the badger hotel famous for its well you guessed it badgers ! We checked in got showered and changed then headed out for a short walk across to Rydal water just as the sun was disappearing behind the mountains. Before losing the light we headed back to the hotel for a good beer and some great food, I can highly recommend the Steak and ale pie best pie I’ve had for a while !

So I hear you ask …,,,,, Did you see any Badgers ? Well the hotel put food out for the local badgers every night but as it is slightly out of the season the staff did tell us that there may only be one or two but sadly we didn’t see any that night but we have done previously so we can say that they do appear. The hotel have a badger cam on there website so you don’t need to stand out all night in the cold behind a bush waiting for them to appear you could even take a look right now as your sat at home and see if you spot any badgers on there I believe the best time is after 8pm but not too long after at this time of year.

Sunday morning arrived and it was a misty and wet one we went down for breakfast and what a breakfast it was it certainly set us up for the day. The days plan was to head into Grasmere which if you didn’t know is famous for its Gingerbread (and definitely has to be tried) have a wander around the village and head upto Alan bank to visit the gardens and house which was once home to the National Trust founder and holds views through the valley and onto the fells.

So after the breakfast we got our stuff together and loaded the van, the rain was on and off and the sun was trying to make an appearance so off we went hoping for the best with the weather. We arrived in Grasmere parked up put the waterproofs on and took a walk into the village which has many hotels, pubs cafes and shops, our favourite is the Herdy shop if you haven’t come across the Herdy brand a Herdy is a breed of sheep which you will find up on the fells in the lake district it is a very cute and kind looking sheep. The brand has become popular and you can find Herdy merchandise all over the country now infact one of Cobens first teddys we bought him was a Herdy teddy.

After visiting a few shops we headed up to Alan Bank but unfortunately it was closed so thats one to visit another time. We headed back down and did more shopping well we really just bought some fudge I mean who can resist handmade fudge ! There are a few options of short walks around Grasmere one popular one takes in the magnificent church and graveyard St Oswalds made famous as it is home to William Wordsworths grave. We walked along the River Rothay taking us back to the van, the rain had started again so a quick look at the O.S map I identified an area to walk and explore just up the road at Wythburn Forest next to Thirlmere Lake.

Upon arriving at the car park which is behind a lovely little church named Wythburn Church we had a bit of food and fed Coben some dinner then got the walking boots on and headed out. There was an information board with info about the area and also highlighting a walk which was waymarked so we followed this with a bit of adjustment to take in a view point. The walk started with a steep sharp incline but once this was climbed the going was easy following a wide gravel road passing many waterfalls in full flow carrying the water down from high up on the fells Coben was in his carrier on my back and enjoyed seeing these waterfalls in full force asking for more which was comical. 🙂 We reached the viewpoint and took in the view of Thirlmere before turning back and doing a loop following the waymarked route taking us back through a wooded area to another waterfall before following a singletrack path back to the car park. The walk was about 3.5 mile which was just right as time was getting on and we were heading home that afternoon. One of the advantages of having a van is you can make a brew wherever and whenever so a quick brew was made and enjoyed before heading back home.

‘Just Get outside ‘ You’ll always be glad you did and You’ll feel better for it. We guarantee it.