What a glorious day it has turned out to be the sun is shining through the woodlands at the caravan site and all the campers are basking in the sun on their deckchairs. It is going to be a fantastic day exploring Keswick.

Our lifesaver Edna has emailed us info on Keswick places to see and to park at Booths Supermarket spend over £20.00 and you get your parking fee back.

Both of us are in high spirits today amazing how a good dose of sunshine puts you in a better mood and perhaps we don't want to go home today, but we still hate the unpredictable weather, parking the motorhome, carpark fees, roundabouts and no pullovers to view the beautiful scenery.

We always think of Tim as we drive along the A593 or any road really the horrible stone fence with bushes growing over in many sections especially on narrow roads and I now have the habit of saying one swear word starting with s--- when a vehicle comes in the opposite direction and you have put in a tiny layby for either of you to drive by.

A593 to Ambleside is a winding narrow two lane road through woodlands and farming countryside with blindspots of tight corners where homes or stone walls are on the bends plus being in the Lakes Districts you travel by many streams, brooks and pass over one lane bridges another hair-raising situation with vehicles roar up over the bridge from the opposite direction.

Thank god today there is no road maintenance being done near Ambleside plus who wants to work on Fathers Dad. Ambleside, at the head of Windermere and the foot of the Kirkstone Pass, is in the very heart of the Lake District with easy access to Grasmere, Keswick, Windermere and the Langdales. A vibrant, busy Victorian town built of dark grey slate surrounded by magnificent Lakeland fells and has its roots in the medieval woollen trade. Here like many of the other towns or villages there is easy access to an unrivalled range of water sports, walks, climbs, cycling and much more for the outdoor enthusiasts looking for a challenge and we are not one of them today. Just looking at all the hikers and cyclists climbing the mountains exhausts us.

Parking is a pain here plus it is very busy with everyone enjoying Fathers Day, all cafes, pubs, restaurants and shops are crowded so we pushed on to Grasmere. As Edna said the A591 is a wider road to drive on less stress for Richard and the views of the mountains, lakes on side are just like travelling through British Columbia in Canada.

Grasmere, cradled in a vale in the heart of the Lake District, is crowned with magnificent fells and mountains all around. From Dunmail Raise in the north, the vale of Grasmere opens up with the rugged peak of Helm Crag (otherwise known as 'the Lion and the Lamb’) sheltering the town to the south. The combination of scattered hamlets and farmsteads, verdant woodlands, and lush meadows fringing the lakes of Grasmere and Rydal Water and Loughrigg Tarn conjures up a quintessential image of romantic Lakeland. As I said before pity there were no pull over parking so you get out of your car and soak in the magnificent scenery and when there was one it was on the other side of the road with no room for a motorhome. That is why the English have small vehicles. This is Wordsworth country and it became his adopted home living in Dove Cottage. He described the vale of Grasmere and Rydal as ‘the loveliest spot that man hath ever found’.

Around every corner is a breathtaking view especially Thirlmere a pretty, clear lake with a wooded shoreline and small islands.

Keswick is another vibrant, busy larger Victorian town built of dark grey slate, with narrow passageways to shops and homes. A really beautiful town wish we could have booked a night here but as Edna said it is a very popular destination making it hard to book in a caravan site.

Once parked at Booths, shopping done and parking fee reimbursed we strolled the streets of Keswick. There are so many mountain and camping shops just like pubs and Inns I don’t know how the owners make a living. We were lucky enough to find one having a sale and we picked up a one burner gas BBQ so now the smoke alarm in the motorhome won’t go off when I cook plus no more lingering smells of fish. We will be like the other motorhome people cooking outdoors on little BBQ’s and I hope it doesn’t rain.

There is a Triathlon on at the moment so the town is very busy. Strolled down to Hope Park, can’t avoid the crowds to the magnificent Derwent Waters, the sun is quite warm now and we made a quick change before to our tee-shirts. Lots of people on the grass hillside to the shoreline of the lake basking in the sun or swimming, the ducks are swarming to be feed by the boat area where you can take tours of the lake in an old fashion wooden cruise boat. Walked along the promenade trail to the craggy headland of Friar’s Crag where we had our photo taken before the magnificent views of the islands in the lake, the sandy shoreline where people are swimming. It has been a really carefree beautiful day enjoying ourselves exploring Keswick and we topped it off by having a roast dinner at The Golden Lion Inn in the main Pedestrian Walk of town then backtracked along the A591 and A593 to Coniston Coppice Caravan site.