Weeks have elapsed, and still, I’m talking about my holiday to the Lake District. To be fair, looking back, we squeezed quite a lot in despite not going out every day.

On the Tuesday of our week away we went to Coniston. I’m not sure if I’ve been to Coniston before, if I have, I can’t remember it. It was a considerable drive, and when I was ambling down a narrow winding country road to be faced with a cow in the middle of it, only the narrowness of the road prevented me from turning around and finding another route. I never feared cows before moving to Yorkshire, but I’ve met some real bad attitude Bovines since moving North.

We arrived in Coniston mid-afternoon and parked up. The sun was blazing! Coniston is a beautiful little village. The imposing peak of the ’Old man of Coniston’ stands guard over the picturesque little town, making it a haven for hikers. Taking up a seat outside a beautifully inviting looking Yewdale Inn, we enjoyed a delicious stonebaked pizza and some chips, before exploring the quirky little independent shops. It was here I was able to find some little gifts to take home.

Online I’d seen that there were places to eat overlooking the lake, so we took the rather long walk out of town and down to the lake. Unfortunately, there was only a coffee hut there (which did serve nice coffee and ice cream) but the view out over the lake itself was beautiful.

After a relaxing rest and coffee by the lake we made our way back up into town and back to the cottage. Thankfully I didn’t encounter the cow in the road again.

On our last full day in the Lakes, we visited Ambleside. It was one of the few bad weather days that we’d had all week. I was immediately disappointed that I hadn’t made time for Ambleside earlier in the week, when the weather was good.

Of all the villages that we’d visited, this seemed by far the most vibrant. Lined with little shops, and the most quirky house on a bridge that I ever did see. Hard to believe it once housed a family of eight! I’d quite like to spend a summer in it though. It’s like one of those tiny houses that sometimes pop up on your Pinterest feed, but with way more character.

We enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Apple Pie Cafe and Bakery, this was the nicest vegetarian meal I’d enjoyed all week. Dodging the rain, we hovered between little gift shops, including one amazing crystal shop that I could have spent hours, and lots of money in. As the rain got worse though, we sought shelter in a beautiful Inn. I’ve never been to a pub before that serves dinners for dogs, this place does, so of course it won a place in my heart.

We enjoyed a delicious dessert there, before battling through the downpour to get back to the car. We needed to get back home to pack for the journey that lay ahead of us the next day. Ambleside is definitely a place I want to return to, and perhaps even use as a base for a trip. I realised as we drove away that we had missed quite a bit of it, and it looked like such an inviting town.