There are many sayings about some things being better the second time around. Things like kissing, sex and apparently, although this seems a little obvious, wearing new shoes! What about going to places? What is the measure of „better“ then?
This year we were fortunate to visit Lake Coniston for our second time in July 2023. For those that follow us, you’ll remember we had a glorious week in May where the sun shone and we kayaked nearly every day on the Lake. The weather forecast made us think this second time round may not be better, rain was forecast for pretty much every day.
Those avid followers will also know the road getting to the Coniston campsite is not always easy, there some „breathe in moments“, especially if you meet road users travelling in the opposite direction. After our experience in May we thought we’d try a different time to see if we could lower the chances of meeting other road users, we thought leaving a bit earlier would help us out. That may have worked except for the fact that anyone whose holiday ended on the Saturday in Coniston would be leaving by 11am, meaning our planned quiet route in was not as quiet as we‘d hoped! We “met†several Motorhomes and caravans coming the opposite way and one Moho from the Netherlands at a very tight point on the A5092 where it seemed like there was only space for a piece of paper between us. The drive in was a little more hair raising than the last visit and took us a while however we got to the campsite eventually!
We were hoping to get the pitch we’d had in May as it was close to the Lake, had good wifi, was level and had a load of space. In a bizarre twist of fate the campers that arrived just before us took that spot and so we settled for a spot half way down the campsite – almost mid way. This pitch was level and the rain hadn’t started yet and actually as the weather was not that great the location worked really well for us.
The reason for us returning to the Lakes was to see family who had booked a cottage in the village of Coniston. We showered and took the beautiful walk via the footpath above the A593 along Haws Bank to find the cottage they were staying at. This walk although missing being by the Lake is beautiful, you get to see Coniston from above and also a very beautiful garden that I have fallen in love with.
Although the weather was not as good as in May we managed to get in some great walks. As our family had cars, we drove to Elterwater and walked from Elterwater to Grasmere, we walked around Coniston Lake, from Elterwater to Skelwith Bridge, the two Langdales and we even did the boat trip to around Coniston and got to see the Peel Island the inspiration for Wild Cat Island in Swallows and Amazons and was the film location for the film adaptations and enjoyed stopping for tea and sandwiches at Brantwood House home of John Ruskin.
Thankfully, the weather was not as bad as the forecast and although we got caught in one downpour it didn’t stop us from enjoying the walks, the views and the company. The three dogs Merlin, Marley and Loki all managed to get on well enough and we enjoyed time both in Beatrix and at the cottage. Being with family meant we enjoyed some fantastic food both home cooked and eating out including lunch watching the cricket at the Tweedies. In fact, the main reason we got drenched on that walk back was because the Ashes cricket delayed our departure and the heavens opened just a few minutes from Elterwater.
This second trip was a great way to finally share some of our favourite Lake District walks with part of our family.
In summary our second trip to the Lakes was not better from a weather perspective, or even from a getting there, what it did have was great food, walks and company. In my mind it was different and enjoyable for different reasons. So is the second time always better – I’m going to say it depends what the second time is and how you are measuring better.
Hope you enjoyed this blog – remember to like and share if you think others may enjoy reading it.
Sally, Toby and Merlin
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