THE
LAKES
Keswick The first place I went to was Keswick. The day we had chose happened to fall on the same day that Storm Ali hit Cumbria. My first thought when we set off was that the day was going to be long, wet and cold. However. once we got to the stone circle at Castlerigg, I realised the weather would probably work in our favour, and for me, it made the day much more interesting. The winds were so strong that it was hard to stay upright, and the dull skies made for much more atmospheric photos, rather than the typical tourist photos that you can often see from the Lake District.
Castlerigg Stone circle The Castlerigg stone circle was the first stop during the trip to Keswick. I had never been to Castlerigg before, and I was expecting the stone circle to be much bigger, similar to the Stone Henge. Once we had arrived I could see that wasn’t the casee, as the stones themselves weren’t much bigger than me. However, the surrouding scenery made up for the underwhelming rocks. We were on a high hill which allowed us to see mountains and valleys that were miles away. We then headed towrds the centre of Keswick to continue the trip.
Derwent Water
Derwent water was the last place we visisted during the trip. As we headed down the side of the lake, storm Ali was at it’s strongest. We got to the end of the path, and as we stood facing the lake, the winds whipped water across the surface of the water and sent it hurtling towards us. This was by far the most exciting part of the day. The storm had gradually been picking up throughought the day, and during the end of this trip the storm was raging. We were exhausted after being battered by the storm, and it seemed like a fitting end to the day before heading home.
Catbells After the trip to Keswick I decided I wanted to go back and explore the area further. The weather during my second trip to the area was much better. It was a fairly warm for a day in September and the sun was shining, so I decided to explore further and ended up at Catbells. I decided to get to the top and wasn’t disappointed, the views were amazing, you could see for miles across the landscape and the sun was hitting the mountains and lighting them up.
I found it intriguing how different the same area looked during different weather. The first trip was similar to how a storm would be described in a story book, and during the second trip the area looked like postcard pictures.
Catbells At the top The climb to the peak of the mountain took about an hour and included scrambling up the last section with my hands as well as my feet. Although I was exhausted, it was worth the effort for the views that were at the top. The way the sun was hitting the contours of the landscape was magical. After sitting for a while and taking in the views, I began the descent back to the bottom feeling satisfied with the trip.