- Thursday 16th May 2019
- The Lake District
So as mentioned before we are situated in the Borrowdale Valley on a farm called Seatoller at the foot of the Honister Pass.
This valley runs for ten miles long from Scafell Pike the highest point down to Derwentwater the lowest point.
Its one of the most popular places to hike, bike or climb as there are amazing mountains, amazing cycling routes and lots of low level crags all of which are easily accessible.
This can all be reached literally within 20 minutes of leaving Keswick, the main town.
The valley narrows into the spectacular “Jaws of Borrowdale” where the road and paths are squeezed into a gorge which clearly has been formed by a glacier, it really does look like a set of teeth!
You can see rich green pastures bordered by huge dry stone walls spread across the flat valley floor making neat fields, with a mixture of woodland and lots of sheep grazing…all this set amongst the wide panorama of the mountains surrounding Borrowdale. Its truly such a gorgeous place!
This area is also well known for its own weather system, with a very high amount of rainfall from clouds which develop and hover over the valley.
Seathwaite, which is a mile along the road from us has been found to be the wettest place in England with rainfall on average three metres or more per year!
But we never let that put us off, as the views more than make up for it, and we have had some beautiful weather with not a spot of rain…so far!
So the plan for this morning was to undertake a touristy drive as we wanted to check out the Honister Path and then in the afternoon we planned to explore the area by bike to give the legs a rest – did I just say that out loud!?
The Honister Path is a mountain pass located in the Lake District, its one of Cumbria’s highest passes.
It forms part of a beautiful circular scenic drive.
Driving it at parts was pretty scary as it was a very steep up and down with some narrow sections – scarcely wide enough for two cars, so we had to have our wits about us and on the really narrow parts make sure we could get to a place wide enough to pass other vehicles.
The scenery was amazing.
We stopped of at Keswick before heading back to the yurt to pick up some groceries and to our surprise there was a weekly market on in town which was nice to wander through.
Then it was time to get on the bikes. We decided to just cycle with no-where in particular in mind – certainly my mind was definitely in the opposite direction of the Honister Pass route which I know for a fact was in Andy’s mind!!!
Not before long we came across an Inn so of course we had to have a pit stop and quench our thirst, it was a lovely day so it was nice to just sit in the grounds.
Then we explored some more and came across another little hamlet, with an Inn and of course stopped once more before heading back home.
In the evening we decided to explore some more by foot and stumbled across a really old Mill purely by chance hidden away at the head of Borrowdale.
There was a plaque above the door which stated that the Mill used to grind corn in the valley and it was mentioned in a will of 1727. Imagine that!!
And the old wheel which was used from about 1800 was here!
It also had an amazing water wheel to the back of it.
It was a very beautiful old mill which had clearly been neglected but which was now being restored.
This magical little Mill must have many tales to tell.
Mary's Outdoor Adventure's 
Beautiful photos, Looks as if you have fallen in love with the Lake District since you added another day to your trip. I suppose you were able to get away from the crowds as most people just do the normal tourist circuit. The little villages looked idyllic but I wonder what it would be like in the winter? Really appreciate all your blogs as I’m sure it must take up quite a bit of time. I’ve had a very busy weekend ordering Martin around in the garden!!! At least that’s what you seem to think I do. I wanted to buy a raised planter but most of them were too big. We found one in a local Garden center so bought it and Martin put it together and filled it with compost so I’m ready to go. It’s waist high so I wont have to do any bending. Jane has been keeping us up to date with her weekend…completely different form yours but still looks good. I see she visited Roslyn Chapel, have you ever been there? You should really pay it a visit as it is a marvelous place with so many questions left unanswered.
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Took so many photos as per usual!! I really do enjoy the Lake District and find it very scenic indeed…the weather we had obviously helped alot…I always find these kinds of breaks very relaxing even if we are climbing mountains!! Yes we chose different routes and things to keep away from the crowds which was fine but it was nice to see so many people out on the hills….it’s definitely not like that here in Scotland!! We also found the hills/paths much more ‘manicured’ in the Lakes compared to that of Scotland which can be very rugged and untouched! The amount of small little villages/hamlets was amazing and more so what with everyone of them having their own Inn….quite handy for pit stops! The blogs were a bit of a pain to upload this time as either no signal or very little…and to upload those photos you need good signal….that’s why I had to redo the Scafell Pike one as it said everything was ok but when I looked there was text all over photos or vice versa…can be annoying! I enjoy writing the blogs and usually do them in the evenings when relaxing so it’s not a problem….keeps me in touch with you guys 🤗.
You know I joke about you giving Martin ‘the orders’ eh! 😂 Although when I text him later he might tell me different 😂😉…yes that’s a good idea regarding raised beds …we have some of those in our community gardens…like you say easier to reach….you using it to grow your own vegetables? It’s nice having something like that to potter about with..keeps you busy!
No I’ve never been to Roslyn Chapel ..least not that I can remember?
Hopefully that weather stayed good for you guys and the gardening and you managed to get a lot done xxx
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Hi Mary. Enjoyed your last two blogs and scenery, although responded to the Scafell Pike one by email as somehow couldn’t manage to leave a comment. You were really lucky with the weather as they do get a lot of rain (as one of the plaques you photographed said). I can remember on one of our visits standing under a tree in our raincoats eating our sandwiches in the rain.! Still it didn’t take away from our enjoyment or the beauty of the place. Pity there were so many people climbing Scafell Pike at the same time as you. Hope the tip about counting sheep helped you get some rest😴😴😀xx
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Hey Auntie Lena….so I did get your message and tried replying to you but it wouldn’t send for some reason?! The blog about Scafell Pike went a bit crazy for some reason and I had to re-do it all….technology….great when it works but when it doesn’t, nightmare!! Yes it was very busy indeed when we hit the summit and that was a weekday in May….can you imagine what it must look like in summer on a weekend….we were gobsmacked!! It actually was really nice to see though and so many people of all ages and in particular the older population up those mountains…I was impressed as its some trek up but they were doing it at their own pace in their own time enjoying their hike…hope it’s me in the future! So it never rained once, actually I lie it rained slightly during the night one night briefly, which was nice to hear and to take away the sheep noise 😂😉…but apart from that sunshine all the way which helps alot and feels good…warms the soul! Such a beautiful, idyllic place though! Thanks for the weather updates which were great as having no signal we couldn’t check so we would get your message coming in on top of the mountains 😂…it was great! As for the sheep counting comment!!!!! That was the last thing I wanted to be doing after having listening to them for 5 nights solid 😂😲…maybe not such a great idea to stay in a Yurt, beside a farm/valley full of sheep/lambs in springtime 🤔😂….I love the little creatures really 🤗 xxx
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