Storyline: 50 years later
April 17, 2018
After spending a couple of days with my cousins in Whitehaven it was time to once again head out on our own. Our next stop was the town of Keswick on Derwentwater. In the 1960s this was a sleepy town which my parents had sometimes used as the entry point to the family’s Lake District holidays. I was looking forward to revisiting the place, although I didn’t expect to recall anything specific. Yep, the expectations were correct. Somehow it had all changed in these last 50 years.
Diana:
Having lived with Alex’s memories for a long time, my anticipation was probably as high as his. The tale and the magic of the Ashness bridge was everywhere in our home. There are photos of it and a few credible attempts of his father to paint it. But most importantly there were many recollections of hiking in the area. I could never quite remember the name but it looked to me as many other crooked stone structures found in many corners of Europe. Yet this was special, perhaps because it has a special place in Alex’s and the entire family’s memories. The “awws”, the sparkles and excitement in Marian’s and Alex’s eyes when brother and sister were recalling their childhood. “Ah, Ashness Bridge!”
When planning our trip and booking days in Keswick I had to balance between budget and activities. Seemed to me quite a pricy place even though it was early in the season. With lots of effort I found a B&B that wouldn’t break the bank. Two nights it was. We’d hike as much as we could, but Ashness bridge was a must.
Cousin Richard once again volunteered to drive us. We passed through Whitehaven for one last time, laughed at the previous day’s confusion on the highway, when we had crossed Keswick twice, because Richard somehow took the wrong direction on the highway as we chatted, trying to catch up on all those years and we noticed only when we were close to Carlisle. So we knew the road well. Thanks, Richard, for the great company and impeccable touring! Unforgettable experiences!
Richard spend a couple more hours with us walking around the lake and trying to find a store very special to him. Not sure we found the store, but we had a great time and company again. When it was time to say goodbye, he dropped us in front of the B&B.
It was a grey, drizzly day and we were thankful that we didn’t have to drag our luggage around town from the bus stop. We were made immediately welcome by the hosts of the B&B. The house was immaculate and although our room on the top floor was cozy, it was bright and more than comfortable.
While Keswick has grown, together with the popularity of the Lake District, since I was last there, it has a lovely, mostly pedestrian-only centre. As a hub for vacation and outdoor activities, it’s full of pubs, restaurants galleries and hiking/outfitting stores.
It’s a 20-minute walk from the centre, past the theatre to the lake shore, where there were rental wooden rowboats and the iconic wooden launches that regularly circumnavigate the lake, ferrying hikers to and from their jump-off points and families on a comfortable tour.
Diana:
We walked the entire town, checked the bus station from where we’d depart for Carlisle when time came, poked our noses into the extremely expensive (for us) sport stores, Alex constantly mumbling about the great fish and chips they make in England. The Keswick fish and chips place was recommended to us by Richard, so it was about time to venture into this experience. It was a place just at the end of the square overlooking the church. It was past lunch time and not quite dinner time yet so we had the place almost to ourselves. Delicious!
In the evening while I sat in the dining room by the window reviewing our photos with a glass of wine, Alex made another tour of the town in the rain and took some more photos.
April 18, 2018
High on my wish list was a visit to Ashness Bridge, a small stone structure famous for its style and its views. We could take a bus to the end of the road leading to the bridge, or walk there along the shore of Derwentwater. We chose the latter, and headed off on a cool, windy morning for what I thought might be an hour walk. The lake was angry and we saw no launches out as we walked along the frequently wet and muddy path along the shore.
It took much longer than expected to reach the start of the road, then the uphill haul to the bridge took another hour or so. We were damp, and a bit hungry when we finally got there, and given the time it had taken we just took a few photos (the light and lack of green vegetation at this time of year gave us a less than optimal experience) and headed back downhill. I suppose I was a bit let down. There was a new (to me) stone cabin by the bridge, built to give shelter to the hundreds (thousands) of visitors who would flock there in summer (But no toilets, D). Somehow it made the bridge less remote and “special”. The views, although somewhat monotonic at this time of year, were still gorgeous, with the stream full-flowing over rounded boulders as it made its way under the bridge down to Derwentwater, visible with its fells forming a lovely background under the lowering sky. Glad I went back, but probably wouldn’t bother next time as there are so many other opportunities for outdoor enjoyment in the area.
At the bottom of the hill we stopped in an old manor house-turned-hostel for a light lunch and to warm Diana a little. The stream that flowed below Ashness Bridge now fell here as a lovely waterfall and we took advantage of it for some more shots.
Back at the lake shore we decided to try out the launch, as we had seen it was running now that the lake was calmer. We hopped on at a stop near the hostel and stayed on all the way around the lake. Lovely views. And at this time of year, it wasn’t very busy.
Back in Keswick, tired, chilled and hungry, we shared an appetizer and main course at the Kings Arms hotel, after which we prepared for our move south to Yorkshire. In the morning we’d say goodbye to the Lake District. For me the visit had been more than enjoyable. The weather could have been better, but it also could have been much worse. Diana also enjoyed meeting her cousins by marriage, and experiencing some of the places from my boyhood. But we were both hoping for a bit of a break in the weather.
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