Keswick.........

.........and what a beautiful place it is.

With the Kings arms shut in Bowness we rang the local taxi company and he advised us to pop to the tea rooms whilst we waited.  We limped the 300yrds down to the tearooms and were welcomed with grace as we have been all week.  We chose to sit outside as going in would mean all of us taking our boots off, as it was a B&B as well, and we all knew that doing that would probably close the business down.
The service was exceptional and it was like having tea in The Alice of Wonderland, served with delicious piece of Dundee cake soaked, and I mean soaked in Brandy.

After a well earned cup of tea and Dundee cake we slowly proceeded to the taxi with Paul in the front entertaining the driver on route to Carlisle where we would catch the bus to Penrith and then the final bus to Keswick.

Once in Carlisle (the driver survived) Richard had to find a chemist for some travel sickness pills, as the rest of us double checked the bus times and which bus to get (as advised by Dawn). The bus for Penrith arrived spot on time and we scrambled onto the bus with only Paul braving the stairs to the top of the Double decker bus.

Once in Penrith we had about a half an hr wait for the bus to Keswick, so we popped over the road from the bus station to the Local pub and had a swift pint for the road.  Penrith was a small town with plenty of character, but with only being there for half an hr I can't really say much about it.

The route from Penrith to Keswick was spectacular with the Lake District opening up in front of you and the mountains hidden from the low cloud left a lot to the imagination to what they would look like on a clear day.

So we pitched tent at the well chosen camp site with views of Catbells and Skiddaw surrounding Derwent water.  The walk to Keswick town centre was a short 10 minute walk, so we got some fish and chips and ate them in the busy Market Square before heading to the pub for a celebratory drink.

To wake up the next morning with the views we had was just staggering and we were all sad to say goodbye to a wonderful week that was filled with laughter, and a group of friends that you couldn't ask any more, of it was just fantastic.  The six of us took the short walk to the town centre and all ordered a big fat boy full English breakfast, and with Tim amongst us we thought he was going to order a 2nd! I've never seen anyone eat as much and be only the same build as me!! (I swear he has hollow legs).  After breakfast, we went our seperate ways to wonder round the many shops of Keswick to get something for our gorgeous wives, headed back to camp and soaked up the majestic views one last time before the taxi arrived.

A fantastic week was had by all as we look forward to the next challenge.  I really hope you've enjoyed the blogs and following our progress throughout the week.

Andrew
xx