Thursday 7 May - Home

(Written on 7 May, posted on 14 May. Memory like a sieve these days!) 

I woke this morning glad that the prepayment for our pitch had stopped us from abandoning our trip a day early, as whatever I'd impinged in my back yesterday had completely resolved itself, whether by all of those stretches (not to mention some sciatic flossing) or just by the passage of time. What I therefore fancied doing was repeating Wednesday's circuit via Tilberthwaite, but I couldn't help but feel, given how incapacitated I was yesterday, that might be an overly ambitious plan. I opted instead for a 5km circuit into Coniston via the old railway track and back along the lake path, and Mick sprang out of bed to come with me. 

It was only when Mick asked how my leg was, a while after we set out, that I realised that I'd not even given it a thought, as not a single twinge was to be felt. How bizarre! Being pain-free on such a fine morning, as we passed through Coniston Hall campsite*, I thought it would be a fine idea to extend the circuit to Torver. Fortunately Mick remembered that Bertie's keys were in my possession before we parted ways. 

The extended circuit was only 8km, so I was back at Bertie in plenty of time to have elevenses before packing away and vacating our pitch. 

It would have been nice to have then stopped off somewhere for an All Day Breakfast, but given the cool temperatures and incoming rain, combined with the need to sit outside, we took a raincheck. Even though we're currently largely avoiding shops, I would also have liked to have nipped into a running shop in Ambleside to try on a specific pair of shoes, except that I'd established that they are currently out of stock of just two sizes, those (of course) being the two I wanted to try (arguably one size in two different widths).

So, home we came, but with good intentions to be heading northwards again in the not-too-distant future.   

(*I've been surprised this week at how quiet everywhere has been, and until today Coniston Hall Campsite has been all but deserted when we have passed through. This morning, however, there were a handful of vans and a few tents. A pitch for a van at Coniston Hall costs £24, for which you get a patch of grass (no electric) and access to one basic toilet block (where the showers are currently closed, per Covid restrictions). I appreciate that you have to pay a membership fee for the adjacent Caravan Club site, where we stayed, but a mid-week pitch there for 2 adults currently costs £18.90 for a hard-standing with unlimited electricity, with plush, heated toilet blocks never too many paces away and with motorhome service points. We've stayed at Coniston Hall in a backpacking tent in the past, but no way could I bring myself to pay £24 to park on a patch of grass and nothing more, particularly given what's on offer next door. (Incidentally, at Coniston Hall it 'only' costs £22 for a tent and car; if one was to go there in an Erica-sized camper, one could pitch a tent next to it and save £2, even though you were taking up twice the space. Somewhat nonsensical?))