Britain's Favourite View

Well, this weekend has been a pleasant change. Saturday afternoon was glorious and Saturday evening was a crystal clear night with stars everywhere and a nearly full moon. Having stayed in and watched a scary DVD (28 Weeks Later - ace) we took Suki out for a late night walk. At this point I need to apologise to the guy who had set up his video camera and laid out bread and other delights to attract the badger which he had just started to film as we walked past. Oops. He didn't say anything - just went inside looking pained. If you are reading this, then we are very very sorry! :-)

This morning (Sunday) we crossed the Wrynose and Hardknott passes to visit Wastwater, which that nice Sally Whittaker from Corrie chose as her (winning) entry in "Britain's Favourite View".

Now Sally and I have history - I remember Sally (the character) meeting Kevin playing tennis back in the late 70's and I shaved my 'tache off (unkowingly) on the same night that Kevin shaved his off. (OK, I knew I'd shaved mine off but I don't know HE had). Sally (the actress) and I also used to go the same gym in Hale (although I never actually saw her there as men and women had separate sessions, and I hardly ever went anyway).

Anyway I wanted to see if I agreed with her choice.

We drove over the Wrynose and Hardknott passes which is real macho driving stuff. Your passengers enjoy the dramatic scenery whilst you grip the wheel with both hands. You ought to experience this at least once (and possibly at most once)

Arriving at Nether Wasdale we had lunch at The Screes.


We had a really tasty butternut squash and thyme soup with a pint of Black Sheep, before making our way down to the lake. I was really impressed that even though we were there early and the pub didn't officially start serving food until 12, they still served us at about 11.40.

"I'll just put it on for you now - no problem" is how is SHOULD be, but so very often isn't!

Down at the lake we took the obligatory photos, although it was rather cloudy still. They looka bit "moody". If you want to see some more Summery looking ones go to our friend Ronnie Mullins' excellent site

On the way home we took the rather less suicidal Birker Pass through Ulpha and got home in the same time as we went - about an hour and a half each way for a little over 40 miles each way!

On the way we saw some more amazing scenery that had us asking "how on earth do you choose a favourite view out of all this?". I suppose that Wastwater wins because it has a beautiful lake framed by stunning fellsides. like Great Gable, but some of the other views we saw today were just as lovely if not so dramatic.