Originally, I had a week booked for Donna's birthday; we were going to the Yorkshire Dales. But as I didn't know when/if I would be having my knee done, we moved it to next year. However, as the week neared, and with no surgery planned, we decided to book a week away anyway.
We had driven through the North Pennines before but never stayed in the area, so after some hunting, Donna found a lovely 4-bed cottage on the edge of Middleton-In-Teesdale. However, we couldn't go for 7 nights as Donna had a Sunday hospital appointment, and we also had a Sunday afternoon family meal book. So it was 6 nights, and we left after the meal, around 4:30 p.m., getting here a little before 7 p.m.
Also, I would have to work the Monday as I only had 4 days of annual leave left, so Donna just had a walk around the village and then chilled for the afternoon.
And so to Tuesday. We didn't have anything particularly tiring planned; our first port of call was only a 10-minute drive away, and then a walk of around 1/2 mile. We went to see Summerhill Force and Gibsons cave. It was a lovely waterfall set at the end of a short valley, and on one side was the cave, which curved around with a large overhang. Unfortunately, there was a wall stopping you from going under the overhang to get a better view.
Our next walk was from the same car park. We crossed the road and took the short walk to Low Force, where there are multiple cascades of water tumbling over the hardened Whin Sill. We had lunch there just sitting on the rocks and watching some youngsters doing some kayak training, then after a short walk, we headed back to the car. By the time we arrived back at the cottage, we had been out for 3hrs, and as the sun was out, it was time to sit out on the balcony with the newspaper and a coffee.
The weather forecast for Wednesday was very positive, with plenty of sun promised. So I booked a cruise on the Ullswater Steamer. We have never been to that part of the Lake District, and I love going on a boat, so it's a winner-winner.
We had to leave at 8am as we planned to get on the 9:45am sailing from Glenridding. When we set off, it was overcast, so we were wondering if the forecasters had got it wrong again, but no, the skies cleared as we arrived, and there was plenty of sun to enjoy.
The cruise takes you to Pooley Bridge and back and takes 2 hours, so plenty of time just to sit and enjoy the views. On the outward part of the journey, most of the lake was quite still, so we also managed to get some great reflections in the water.
After getting back to Glenridding around midday, we headed to Fell Bites for lunch. It had decent reviews, so we were expecting a good lunch. However, it wasn't great, with the microwave doing most of the work! Never mind; you live and learn.
Before heading back, we took a small tour of the Lakes, adding around an hour to our journey as we went through Ambleside, Grasmere and Keswick. Then, around an hour and a quarter back over the North Pennines to our cottage. A really enjoyable day out.
And on to Thursday, with no plans to move the car today, just a bus ride and then a walk back.
The bus wasn't until 11:18am, so I had an hour's walk in the morning down into the village. I had hoped to grab a coffee, but as it was before 9am, nowhere was open....understandably. So we had a chill until a little after 10:30am, then headed back down into the village to await the bus.
It was only a 15-minute journey to the village of Romaldkirk, where we picked up the old Tees Railway line to take us back to Middleton. The walk back to the cottage in was just short of 5 miles in total, and mainly on the flat. That said, I did still suffer with the knee, so clearly there aren't yet any hill climbs on the horizon.
I did manage to make Donna laugh, as for a mile or two, my innards had been gurgling, and I was desperately hoping that I could hold everything in until we got back to the cottage. However, eventually, the urge took over me, and I had to go into the hedge and let's just say "relieve myself", and no I don't mean a wee! A tad embarrassing, but the only other option doesn't bear thinking about.
We got back to the cottage around 2:30pm, and I was knackered to be honest, so the rest of the day was just relaxing around the cottage.
Our plan for Friday was to go and do the hike to Cauldron Snout, the waterfall that takes its feed from Cow Green reservoir. However, we decided against that for a number of reasons. One was that, yet again, my health concerns got in the way, plus, Sophie had been to hospital so we didn't want to be too far from the cottage in case we needed to head back.
So instead, we drove up to Cow Green, and just enjoyed the drive and the scenery, then stopped off back in Middleton to pick up some fish and chips and a lamb and mint pie for lunch. Then, the rest of the day, we just sat back and let the world go by. It had been a quiet week by normal standards but an enjoyable relaxing one.
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