yewdale valley and tarn hows

The forecast for Wednesday had been consistently bleak since the weekend, but by this morning had been subjected to fine-grained analysis. Allright, said the weather forecasters, we'll give you a relatively fine day with calm conditions... until 2pm, when ye shall be subjected to rising winds, [engage terrible, angry-Gandalf voice] and by 4pm the worst storm of the year.

Right ho then... So off we set, sticking to lowlands today but determined to make the most of the meteorological clemency. Led by a dazzling orange guide from the local information centre (err, photocopied for 20p, not staff member with scurvy or similar) we wandered from Coniston up the Yewdale Valley. Below overcast skies, we followed precise instructions from one field to the next:

...and so on. The instructions were great; the walk superb. The author of the instructions (if sadly deceased) is no doubt resting comfortably in their precisely-trimmed grave. The 8km walk meandered over gentle hill and dale of a 4000 acre estate that was formerly owned by Beatrix Potter. At some point she sold half of the estate to the National Trust, gifting the remainder upon her death. This land is the quintessential backdrop of romantic period dramas. It was quietly breathtaking, and seeing it draped in autumnal beauty we have no doubt we came at the right time of year.

The route sadly took us past Yewdale Farm's tea room, where desiring to support local industry we offered our patronage through two hot chocolates and possibly the best scone I have ever eaten. Arriving via a six-inch deep mud track, they allow boots in their indoor tearoom and have industrial carpeting to cope. A nice touch for ramblers (er, the walking, not the blogging?). Up past an attractive waterfall and we had to concede the attractiveness of Tarn Hows, a created lake which has genuine aesthetic quality beyond the simple popularity of being accessible by car.

Finally, on a different note I wanted to mention that the Tunisian Dates that we bought at the start of the week as a snack say, “Keep in a fresh place.” We've been moving them around the room each day, but we're starting to run out of ideas for new places to put them... Any suggestions?