I’ve always heard that the weather in England is gloomy and horrid, but I thought that it was an exaggeration. It’s not. The weather here can be best described as gray. Luckily, with the first week of spring also came the first real rays of sun!

To make the most out of the sun’s rare appearance, a trip to the Lake District happened. Located in the Northwest of Cumbria, the Lake District is a national park that features stunning lakes and mountains. 

Initially, we were going to drive a couple hours there for a day trip on Saturday and head home at night. That seemed too rushed, so we decided to stay the night and explore Sunday as well. Of course, we booked a lovely room for the stay-over.

Oh, did I say room? I meant van. What started out as a joke–tossing a mattress and food in the back–turned into reality. It was definitely an upgrade from a lumpy tent, and we could park our hotel on wheels wherever we fancied. 




Between stuffing the mattress in the back of the van and the traffic moving at a snail’s pace (It was Mother’s Day in the U.K.), Saturday had a slow start. We made it to Lake Windermere in the afternoon with plenty of time to soak up the sun, eat our picnic, and grab an ice cream!

We continued around the lake until we found a little town to walk around. I had been eyeing this area for a weekend trip since I first arrived in the U.K., but I’m so glad that we waited until now. The weather was perfect the entire weekend, and definitely seemed more enjoyable than it would have during winter. The lakeside town was bustling with people drinking beers, eating ice cream cones, and taking pictures of the swarm of swans by the water. 

In order to get a spot staked out for our hotel on wheels, we hopped back in the van and headed for the next town. Keswick is a charming little town filled with markets located on the Derwentwater lake. We beelined for the lake to catch the sunset before dinner. My advice: Always choose to watch the sunset. I never pass up on it, and this trip was no exception! We plopped ourselves down on the end of a dock to watch the sun slowly sink behind the mountains.

 

While sitting, we were approached by a photographer, who apparently had been taking pictures of us watching the sunset. Here is one of the gorgeous shots he sent over.



Saturday was filled with laughs, winding roads, and loud 80’s music (courtesy of me). It would’ve been a shame to rush through it, so I’m really happy we decided to camp out over night. When the lake scene became too chilly, we headed over to a local pub and enjoyed a hearty meal before crashing in the van. 

Sunday was an adventure in itself, so stick around and I will write about our second day in the Lake District! Eventually….