This weekend Michelle and I made our way on the 6.05am train from Euston to Oxenholme, Lakes District to spend the weekend with Jono and Becky before they took off home to New Zealand. It was a 5am alarm, a quick dress and off to Nottinghill tube staition for the 1st tube at 5.27am which took us to Edgeware road, then the Hammersmith and city line took us the rest of the journey to Euston. Michelle was sceptical about trusting the tube to be on time, but some gentle reassuring paved the way. In the end we had plenty of time when we got to Euston to print our tickets, get breakfast from a french pastry shop and board the train. The train trip was 3 hours and consisted of eating, sleeping and doing crosswords. Becky was waiting for us on the platform at Oxenholme and her parents car waiting in the carpark for our weekend adventures. Under recommendation from Becky we headed to Grisdale forest for some mountain biking. The skies were grey and a slight sprinkle of rain threatened to get heavier. However this did not phase us. Michelle and I decided to hire the bikes with full suspension so we could do the Northstar track which was for people with Mountain Biking ability. Becky decided not to bike and opted for a hot drink and read of her book in the warm cafe. After a short briefing we were off up the stoney tracks and along gravel roads. Michelle slowly gained confidence throughout the ride and by the end she was passing me! We were challenged by the narrow bridges and found speed helped to stay balanced as we went across
them. The rain poured down and taking photos was a quick snap stop to keep the camera dry and us warm. After some fun down hills we finished back at the bike park, about 1 ½ hours after start. Dripping wet we found Becky dry and snug reading in the cafe. Michelle and I ran back to the car for warm clothes and quickly got changed so we could have some hot food. Lunch and teas at the Park Cafe were delicious. After lunch we headed to Barrow and the Foxton family home for showers and rest. I watched rugby with Joe and michelle had a half an hour nap. Then off to Asda for alcohol and snacks for the evening and home for dinner and to see Jono. Becky had invited some friends over for leaving drinks, people started arriving at about 7.30pm, the door bell continued to ring every few minutes after that. Jono and I engrossed ourselves in the Rugby League, NZ v Australia and most of the english people moved to the dinning room for food and x-factor. The league finished at 20 points all much to my disappointment after it looked as though NZ was going to win. 11.30 rolled around fast and Michelle and I decided to call it a night after a long but fun day. 8.30am and it was time to get up already. Becky fixed us bacon, eggs, and english muffins for breakfast and we took off for a stroll to the Furness Abbey and through the surrounding bush/paths, about an
hour later we arrived at the house, played basketball for a while with Chris and Joe, packed up and for in the car for a look around the Lakes District and mainly Lake Windermere and the town of Windermere. After driving a while and having trouble finding a park we got one near the lake. It was about 1.40pm and time for more food so we stopped at the first cafe for lunch, toasted sandwiches, scones and coffee to warm our insides. Then back out in the cold and ducking between showers we looked around Windermere, buying fudge, a magnet and looking at the Peter Rabbit shop. Finishing at the pub to watch some football Manchester United v Liverpool (0-2) coincidently Sim and Liza were also watching the game across the room from us. Great spotting by Jono and very random as we didn’t know they were in the area. At 3.45 and about 10 minutes of the game left it was time to leave and find Kendall for our train home. It didn’t take us long to find the station, as we drove the boys listened to the football as the reception came in and out. We got to the station about 45 minutes early as it was closer than Becky expected. That was fine though we sat in the car and chatted before heading into the station to check our train was on time. It was delayed by about 10
minutes which again was fine as we were still able to get our connecting train the Manchester Piccidilly. The train from Oxenholme to Manchester was packed and we got separate seats, the train from Manchester to Euston was not so busy and we got a table seat so were able to do crosswords. The tube home was smooth and we got in about 9.30 for shepherd’s pie, a shower and bed. A wet but fabulous weekend .
No comments:
Post a Comment