When I was a kid I didn't really like my birthdays that much. I know, sounds a bit harsh but hear me out. My birthday is on the 23rd of June and in Latvia, where I am from, it is actually a national holiday (I know, I know) because of the Summer solstice. Many Scandinavian countries also celebrate the longest day of the year. And my parents were avid travellers when they were young, both of them travelled most of the Soviet Union in their uni days. So every June 23rd they would meet with their travel friends somewhere in wilderness to camp and have good time. All children were of course brought along. Including me. Which means that I never really had a birthday party and I was always so jealous of my friends who could get all birthday parties with presents and cake. The only cake I ever got was a dry waffle cake, that you couldn't even blow the candles on because it would make the dry topping fly away. So my every birthday was celebrated in a rain (because it always rains in my birthday) and most likely in a tent...and I hated it! Oh the irony, because guess what I want to do now every birthday?? Yes! Go. Bloody. Camping. And that's exactly what we did this year.
This year we finally made it to the Lake District. And it was magical. We ended up choosing Low Wray Campsite because it is right next to the Lake Windmere and we wanted to paddle board as much as we could. We booked a spot a few months ago but once we arrived, we had a tiny bit on a slope allocated to us, looking over a bush. Not ideal. As much as we both despise complaining, this time we decided to do it. And oh my it payed off. We got moved to a completely different spot that we had to pay a bit extra but it couldn't be more perfect.
We ended up staying there for two nights as it was starting to rain on the last day so we retreated to a random B&B. But those few days that we spent in the campsite were amazing. We paddle boarded a lot. On one of the days we did 4 hour paddle boarding trip, my rough calculations say that we paddled for 10 km that day and covered the third of the Lake Windmere. I think the photos speak for themselves really.
On our last day we ended up visiting a few towns and going for a hike (where we got lost a lot). We popped in to Grasmere, but didn't love it to be honest. It is a stunning town but it was sooooooo busy. The queues were massive everywhere and it was nearly impossible to park. But we did get 'the best ginger bread in the world' from the famous Gingerbread Shop and bough a few books from the very cute Sam Read bookshop. After that we headed to Keswick and were basically blown away by it. The atmosphere was great and the high-street was all pedestrianised and buzzing with life. Definitely worth a visit for a nosy round the shops and a visit to many great pubs.
I am so happy that we finally made it to the Lake District. As it is such a lovely, green and luscious place in the UK. What holidays do you have planned this year?