This weekend just gone, O and I decided to test our new tent out and escape to the Lake District. We (Oscar) packed up the car and drove down straight after work. We'd chosen Sykeside Campsite right in the heart of Dovedale Valley to pitch our tent in for the weekend. The campsite itself was great. Plenty of amenities and with two pubs attached, what more could you need?! There were lots of sheep with their little lambs roaming about and we'd been warned about badgers, but I didn't managed to spot any. On a side note, I really wanted to take a little lamb home with me, but Oscar wouldn't let me :( He said that it's Mum would miss it, which is true I guess...but I'm pretty sure it would be happy living with me! The campsite was a little too busy for our liking, so next time I think we'll seek out a smaller one, but we couldn't fault the location. We were literally at the bottom of a valley surrounded by the fells. Waking up to such a sight and then watching the sun set behind those great mountains and hills is something I won't forget in a hurry.
We had checked the weather forecast before leaving and knew that we were in for a wet and windy weekend, but luckily our new shiny tent stood up to Mother Nature. We had no service on our phones, so we switched them off for the entire weekend and relied on our trusty camera for taking photos. I didn't take as many photos as I would've liked, but to be honest, it was just lovely to enjoy ourselves without any technology for a change. Switching off and spending time mindfully with each other is just what we needed.
We started our weekend off in Ambleside to visit our favourite little bakery, The Apple Pie. If you've never been, the food here is amazing and the cafe is so cosy. I really recommend it, even just for the pastries alone! We then decided, in true Oscar and Louise style, to visit the local distillery and brewery! We've been to the Hawkshead Brewery before and it's now become one of our favourite haunts in the Lakes. It's a little tricky to get to, but the beer and food is really worth the trip. The Lakes Distillery only opened last year, so we were keen to visit an English whisky distillery!
The distillery setting and buildings are beautiful. The tour itself was a little expensive considering the distillery wasn't in production, we spent a lot of time watching videos and we weren't allowed to take photos. But it is a young company, so hopefully these things will improve. The whisky we tried (and that they sell) is a blend, as their single malt is still maturing. For a blend is was actually lovely, which surprised me! They also distill vodka and gin and let me tell you, the gin is fantastic. We may have added a few bottles of whisky and gin to our collection! The distillery has a restaurant attached, so we decided to stop here for some lunch. Alas, Oscar had been making poor food choices all weekend and accidentally ordered a salt beef salad, which he thought was a sandwich. So even though the food was pretty good, poor Oscar left feeling still a little hungry!
The brewery didn't disappoint! Oscar ordered a Ploughman's lunch platter to make up for his disappointing salad and we had a few half pints of their finest beer whilst almost falling asleep on the comfiest leather sofa known to man. I'm a huge fan of their lager, but Oscar is more of an ale and bitter man!
We found a Booths supermarket in Windermere to stock up on some late dinner essentials. We bought enough antipasti (antipasto?) ingredients to feed an army, and of course some red wine and beer to go along side it. The cheesemonger was really spot on with his recommendations, as the brie, stilton and cheddar we bought were seriously droolworthy. We spent the evening slathering crusty bread with butter, cheese and salami whilst drinking said red wine out of our camping mugs. Unfortunately it started raining around 8pm, so we had to retreat inside our tent and watch the sunset through our little windows. We whiled away the hours playing Scrabble and cards, before falling asleep to the sound of rain hitting our tent. Isn't that sound the most therapeutic? This little escape was just what the doctor ordered before O heads down to Norfolk this Sunday. Now that we've got this camping malarkey down, we're planning on heading up to the Highlands with our tent for a few days when O comes back home. Oscar is trying to persuade me that he'll need to buy a few more camping essentials first...any excuse! ;)
How were your weekends? Have you been camping recently? I've been a little blog awol lately, so would love to hear about your adventures and news :)
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