Coniston, England
Thursday, September 19 – Early post today as our hiking was a little less strenuous. Also, not wasting a half hour stuck in an elevator does seem to make one more efficient–who knew??
I was up early this morning. I have suspended my morning jogs/workouts because I am thinking (perhaps wistfully) that our hiking is providing enough exercise. I guess I will find out when I return home.
Regardless, I had time for a walk as the sun was warming, and the fog was lifting. Got down to the lake and discovered there was a cut little fairy garden along the way. Took a little stroll, and it was just me and the sheep. Very idyllic.
Breakfast was back at the bar where our man of a thousand jobs was there to serve. He actually left for a bit to fix a shower. I am wondering if there is any hotel task he doesn’t do…
We decided that today was a good day for a slightly shorter, but still scenic hike. First, however, we had to walk into town for lunch provisions and sunglasses for Dan and Gail, as both of them had managed to lose theirs yesterday. Dan also lost his two week old ball cap on the bus yesterday evening–guess he was too enthralled with the near death experienced on every corner. Fortunately, this area has lots of hikers, thus, lots of outdoor gear shops, and they were back in business, and we were hitting the trail.
Today’s adventure took us up and around Tarn Hows. A tarn is a mountain lake or pond formed in a valley and carved out by a glacier. The route took us up through dome beautiful woods, past several waterfalls, and then around the tarn itself, which was fairly busy with other walkers and many dogs. Dan was delighted and made several new friends.
We ate our picnic lunch at the tarn and then made our way back to the Inn. The path contained a series of climbs and descent (seriously, could we just find one level and stick with it??) but we still returned earlier than we have on previous days.
We, of course, stopped at the bar for a beverage (one guess who poured the drinks) and then actually had a little time to read, relax, and get cleaned up for dinner!
We walked the 1/2 mile into town and enjoyed a nice dinner at a place recommended by a couple of other hikers who are also on an InnTravel itinerary. It was a good choice–salads and wood fired pizzas, a nice way to finish a very relaxed day.
Tomorrow, we move on to our final location!
28,016 steps;13.6 miles
Hotel:
Coniston Inn:
https://www.inncollectiongroup.com/coniston-inn/
Tarn Hows:
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/lake-district/tarn-hows-and-coniston
- Part of Lake District National Park
Hike #4 Options
Hike #4 – we chose Option B
Hike #4 Map
Breakfast:
Breakfast included at the Coniston Inn. Not quite as nice as the Merewood, but plenty of hot and cold items.
Lunch:
Another stop at the local SPAR for picnic supplies.
Dinner:
The Yewdale Pub at the Yewdale Inn:
https://www.yewdaleinn.com/the-yewdale-pub/
Excellent pizzas and salads a short (flat) walk from the inn.
I was slightly disappointed that we didn’t select the Old Man of Coniston route — Dan and I hiked that pre-Erin in 1996 so I had a bit of nostalgia for it. However, of all the options in the tour package, it was the most challenging, and after three days of hiking, I understood the desire for a more leisurely hike.
And, in all honesty, I enjoyed the more relaxed day, and the woods, waterfalls and lake were all beautiful. We were once again blessed with perfect weather and it was nice to have a little extra time at the end of the afternoon. No complaints!