A Postcard From Coniston

A few years ago we decided that, although we love our retirement county of Suffolk, it would be nice to meet up with dear friends from up north at regular intervals. So in 2015 we agreed to rent a big house in Malham in Yorkshire and spend a long weekend together. Six of us managed to make it on that occasion and we've now had seven spring and winter breaks together with six or eight of us making it each time. All the houses we've rented, in Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Cumbria have been good but it's difficult to find a place with four en-suite bedrooms and, as we enjoyed The Gate House in Coniston so much in 2017, we've now been back there three times. 

Marion and I booked a full week and headed up to Cumbria on last Sunday and stayed overnight in Ulverston.

It's a nice little town that we've never visited before. There are plenty of reminders of its status as the home town of Stan Laurel.

We stocked up with supplies at Booths in Ulverston on Monday and made the short journey to Coniston to arrive at The Gate House late afternoon. 

Four beautiful bathrooms

All four of the bedrooms are sumptuously furnished

The view from our bedroom and one of three sitting rooms. 

And a spacious and perfectly equipped kitchen.

We had three days on our own before the friends arrived. We didn't think that everyone would want to climb Coniston Old Man so just the two of us went up on Tuesday. The views from the summit are spectacular but, whilst the weather was mild with only light breezes forecast, close to the top there was a howling icy gale. It was so strong that it blew my specs clean off my face and I was very lucky that they landed about twenty feet away and not down the mountainside.

A benefit of a November visit is the lack of crowds. I imagine that in summer the peak will be overrun.

Summit selfie

It's easy to get carried away with the camera in Cumbria. It is such a beautiful county

Two of our granddaughters love Swallows and Amazons so we photographed Bank Ground Farm, the setting for the children's adventures.

It's a good job we climbed on Tuesday as on Wednesday the Old Man had a layer of snow topping it.

Lake Head

The weather smiled on our friends who arrived on Thursday evening. This is Friday morning. 

Marion with friends Nita and Jane

Between Coniston and Tarn Hows

Mark at Tarn Hows. As a ten year old I used to fish off the rocks behind him.

Our friends for forty years Dave and Jane 

One of the prettiest spots in England

Autumn Colour

Fine dining courtesy of Jane and Nita

A boat ride to John Ruskin's Brantwood

On Sunday we walked up to the Coppermines a mile or so above the cottage. It's a spectacular industrial landscape in an area of outstanding natural beauty. 

No snow on top of the Old Man this time.

Before we left on Monday there was time for a roast chicken dinner on Sunday before settling down to watch the big match on TV. The cottage doesn't have Sky so I connected my laptop up to the TV. Everything was going fine and Liverpool were 1-0 up when this happened.

After ten minutes of frantic fiddling with wires and keyboard, the Sky signal returned and, with Liverpool now 2-0 up, I was able to watch the match. Great game. Excellent result.

We're back in Framlingham now. The next thing on the horizon is daughter Sarah's wedding in Scotland on 14th December. Between now and then there's Christmas shopping and a bit of babysitting in Kent. We're certainly going to be keeping busy.   

After hunting for fossils in Dorset, we couldn't resist this one found in Framlingham. Made by the excellent local glass artist Fiona Fawcett. We've added it to our growing collection of works by local artists.