We returned from our holiday yesterday - we spent a week in a holiday house near Rydal, not far from Windermere, with my parents, uncle, aunt and grandmother. (The siblings were at home, working and looking after my parents' cats and our guinea pigs.)
It was very restful, but rather wet. We had one day when it was sunny in the morning, and several days when it rained torrentially for most of the day. These stepping stones* were just along the road from the house. This is what they looked like when we got here**. By midweek, they were completely underwater.
The weather rather put a damper on my plan to go for lots and lots of healthful walks - we did manage three walks, but none was longer than a couple of miles. It was long enough to discover that I will really need to get some better walking shoes. I spent most of the week wearing these, which are perfectly comfy, but since I wear them to work I had better get something a bit more mud-resistant.
We did go to Blackwell (very pretty Arts and Crafts house, highly recommended), Brantwood (the home of John Ruskin), Hawkshead village, Hawkshead Brewery (which is not in fact in Hawkshead at all, and which would probably have been more interesting if we'd managed to be there on a Saturday), and Dove Cottage.
We also took a trip on the Eskdale and Ravenglass steam railway, took a boat trip on Lake Windermere and had a wander round various villages. Which all sounds quite busy, but on the other hand there was also rather a lot of lying around on sofas reading books or doing the crossword. And, as J puts it, "eating two meals a day", by which he means going out somewhere for lunch and then eating a cooked meal in the evening as well. Which we did.So although I feel rested, I also feel that the past week has contained more food and less physical activity than might be entirely optimal...
Time for another system-reboot, I think. And time to get back on the bike.
*My camera is not working and J was taking film photos which have not yet been developed, so the pictures in this post were found on Google Images.
** Except that it wasn't so sunny and the trees had a lot more leaves.
4 comments:
The issue of getting exercise on this sort of holiday is problematic...and one of the reasons I don't like this sort of holiday. It seems that there is pressure to do things "as a family" and I can't just take myself off for a 2 hour run if that's what I feel like.
Of course, awful weather complicates things too!
Despite the above, just sitting around and allowing time for interpersonal interactions to develop and grow of their own accord has a lot to commend it.
I rather like the opportunity to do things with my family, but I know what you mean. I think you need a light touch, and not to force people to tag along - we did split into smaller groups on occasion. J and I went for some walks by ourselves.
If we'd been going for two weeks, I think we'd probably have taken my parents' second car, which would have given us more options. It wasn't really worth the hassle for a week.
Beautiful pics! I just saw your little sad-faced message at Quixotic's blog. I'm having a drawing, too, so march over and sign up. Then, you'll be twice as likely to win a book. I like happy faces. :)
My father's family comes from the Lake District, and John Ruskin features in the family history too! Not in a genetic way though.
I just love the photo of the stepping stones. Beautiful! Inactivity and I are well acquainted right now. I do not want to mention what it is doing to the hips. Sigh. But walking is somethign I really love. Especially in the mountains. I live in hope that the sun will shine.
Thanks for visiting!I will be back.
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