The Lake District

On Tuesday morning the David and Margaret King took us up to the Lake District, aka "The Lakes" England's largest National Park. It is located in the north of England, a several hour drive north from Southport where we are staying. The King's are avid hikers and have hiked some daunting mountains and braved some pretty extreme conditions in the last few years. They wanted to take us for what they consider a mild hike up Helm Crag, sometimes known as "The Lion and The Lamb" nicknamed for a rock formation at the top that appears to be a lion holding a lamb. We climbed over all 1,300 feet and then descended that same distance back to the bottom. Helm Crag is located in the town of Grasmere in the Lakes. Grasmere is a quaint little old world village, where you literally feel like you stepped back in time.

After walking through the town you eventually reach the foot of the mountain where it's all up from there. There are no steady slopes or slowly rising trails, it's a straight up rocky path that at times is like climbing stairs. The views are incredible no matter where you are along the trail, because there are very few trees to obscure

your view and mostly grass covered mountains. At times it gives the illusion of rolling hills rather than the steep mountain walls that climb high into the sky.

As we reached the crest of Helm Crag we found a relatively flat and wide summit ridge with 2

significant rock formations. One know as "The

Howitzer" sits on the northwest side of the summit and the other previously discussed is

"The Lion and The Lamb" located on the Southeast side looking out over Grasmere.

Standing atop "The Lion and The Lamb" with the strong wind in your face felt quite majestic over looking now a mere speck of a town. What a magnificent day to hike, lots of sun but at times slightly overcast just to keep you from boiling, because there are no trees to protect you from the sun. The way back down was no picnic either, it was tough on the ole' knees and your footing had to be secure or you would end up on yr' bum.

As the grand reward for the completion of our journey, David and Margaret so graciously treated us to a cream tea at a quaint little spot in Grasmere. For all the non-Brits; a cream tea includes a scone with butter, jam, and cream to spread on top with a cup of tea. Yummy how delicious, a nice time to sit and reflect on the recently completed yet still arduous journey up and down Helm Crag, that still loomed high over head.

As we will be traveling for the next week for Jon and Sophia's wedding I will be blogging, but you may not be reading until I can get to an Internet connection. Stay tuned for the next posting!

Until next time...