The Road to Wigan Pier: 9 Mile Orwell Walk - 6.08.08

With us becoming so enthusiastic about this hiking business I thought it a good time to invest in a really sturdy pair of walking shoes, so what better way to walk them in than with a 9 mile walk. The walk we chose was listed in the AA book as a tour around Orwell country, starting in the industrial working class town of Wigan and winding along the Leeds-Liverpool canal to Haigh Hall, set out in the Lancashire countryside. I had never really thought of Wigan as a hiker's destination (my family had only ever been there to visit the Wigan Pier museum, which has now closed due to a decline in visitor numbers) but it really was lovely. I always find it amusing to see people out on their canal barge holidays, trying to navigate the endless stream of locks in the hilly regions of Britain. I had thought that 9 miles on the relative flat would be quite gentle, as I usually find steep descents to be the real killer, but it was suitably tiring and we slept well afterwards.

Lake District - 13-17.07.08

The heart of England's Lake District, in Cumbria, is about a 90 minute drive from our humble little home in Manchester and lies directly south west of the Scottish border. Four nights of camping amidst craggy mountains and beautiful lakes, on what was the first trip to Cumbria for both of us (we always travelled south for our family holidays), has certainly made us want to go back for more. In only a few days we managed to cram an awful lot of sight-seeing and hiking, in changeable British weather.

Day 1:
-3 mile walk to Castelrigg Stone Circle.
-Walk around the local town of Keswick (pronounced "Kezzick").

Day 2:
-Tour of William Wordworth's childhood home in Cockermouth (National Trust).
-6 mile walk from the campsite into Threlkeld, a village perched on the side of the Blencathra range of mountains.

Day 3:
-Cars of the Stars Museum, containing 2 Batmobiles, Herbie, Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang, 007 Aston Martin, Knight Rider, Trotters Independent Traders Robin Reliant (3 wheeled van, tax in the post) and much, much more...
-Crazy golf (Miniature golf).
-Rowing on Derwentwater.
-5 mile walk up through the Great Wood, near Keswick.
-Ice cream in Keswick.

Day 4:
-Serious hike up a mountain, opposite the magnificent Helvellyn and rising from Thirlmere resevoir, from which Manchester sources its water supply. We made it all the way to Bell Crags, reaching a peak from which the views were truly awesome. Along the way we encountered waterfalls, a tarn (set amongst lush green woodland), craggy paths, fallen trees, sheep balanced on rocky hills, soggy moorland and a downhill stream (which also doubled as our path back to the car park). We arrived back at our vehicle quite exhausted and thoroughly pleased with our achievement.
-Walk around Grasmere, where Wordsworth spent many of his later years. We somehow ended up in the middle of a group, led by a Japanese tour guide, to Wordsworth's grave.

Day 5:
-Sizergh Castle (pronounced "Sizer"), another National Trust property. We've certainly been making the most of our membership.









This creature seemed to be a permanent feature of the holiday and joined us for breakfast every morning...




Wordsworth House, Cockermouth


View from Bassenthwaite Lake - the only official lake in The Lake District...




St Mary's Church, Threlkeld



Cars of the Stars, Keswick








The BIG Hike










The Peak, next to Bell Crags






This really could go on the next edition of The Lake District Ordnance Survey map...


St Oswald's Church, Grasmere - burial place of William Wordsworth


Sizergh Castle, Kendal - a family home to this day