The Lake District is not a large area, 30 miles (50km) long and 30 (50km) miles wide, but nature rules here. Its a lush and green playground of valleys, fells (small mountains), forests and lakes. Dramatic viewscapes are everywhere and people come to the Lake District by the thousands to drive, cycle and/or walk through this magnificent landscape.
The plan for today was to walk around a nearby lake called Derwentwater and then have lunch and tour the largest town in the North Lake District, Keswick (KEZ-ick). Our day started off sunny and warm but by the time we finished breakfast and headed out the clouds had come in and it slowly deteriorated from there. The Lake District has many lakes, mostly created by the receding glaciers of the last ice age. Derwentwater is one of the most popular lakes with boat cruises, plenty of trails around its perimeter and Keswick is only a 10 minute walk away. We parked the car and walked through Keswick and headed for the main trail along the lake. Its quite scenic as it follows the lake and goes through forests and sheep fields. However, after about 45 minutes into our walk the wind picked up considerably and we could see darkening skies coming towards us. We decided that we are fair weather walkers and turned around to head back to town. It was a good decision as we almost made it back before the rain started. In Keswick we stopped for tea and scones while we waited out the weather. The rain stopped but it was still quite overcast and windy so we decided to stroll around the town. Keswick used to be an important mining center for slate, copper and lead since the 10th century but tourism took over in the 19th century when city slickers got excited about "communing with nature". Its still that way today as pubs, tea rooms and hiking gear shops line the streets of the quaint town. Hopefully, the weather will improve tomorrow and allow for more hiking and exploring.
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