I got two great sessions of RS1 choir rehearsal in this week. I feel like I’m really getting a great experience with them, both on the singing and social sides. I coworked with Stacie on Wednesday, and we got to discuss a lot, but she was called away when we decided to finally climb. We’ll be able to climb some other week.

On Thursday morning I left for the Lake District to hike with Lata. I met her at Euston station, and we grabbed our seats on the train heading north. I was in a ‘window’ seat, but it was really a bulkhead seat. I could peek out the windows next to the seats in front of me and the countryside was gorgeous as we went by. So many sheep.

We arrived at Oxenholme and did the quick transfer to the Windermere train. We got to the town of Windermere, which is still about a mile from the lake of Windermere. Lata checked in and we went to the lake. It was a lovely day, although a little chilly. We took a quick tour of the lake in a 45 minutes cruise in a big circle around the major islands. The one private inhabited island looked absurdly posh with a gaudy building right in the middle. We then took the ferry across and went to an observation platform. It was just a ruin, but originally had colored glass to see what the lake looks like in different seasons. I took some pictures through the replica glass, and it kind of worked. It was a gorgeous place, and we got so lucky on all the timings of the ferries and busses.

The next day we met on the bus to the Gasmere. It is a small town near another of the smaller lakes. We hiked up the hill to Alcock Tarn in the morning, which was a gorgeous hike. The hike got a little steep in places, but wasn’t too difficult. The Tarn was a nice little lake high in the hills. We came back to the town, and decided to grab lunch before hike 2 of the day.

The next hike was Helm Crag. This one went a little higher and out the other side of Grasmere. We went high up into the hills almost the to peak of one of the hills. On this hike we saw a ton of sheep close by, and then Lata pointed out that there was a sheep dog herding the sheep down in the valley. It was great to see it herding. I always love to see animals moving in flocks and herds and schools. It reminded me of a game I had made called counting sheep, where you play as a dog trying to get sheep into pens.

After the hikes we got some of the famous Grasmere gingerbread. I was pleasantly surprised when it was actually amazing gingerbread and not just a tourist trap. The gingerbread had a ton of candied ginger, and was delicious. We took the bus to Ambleside and then caught the ferry to Bowness and walked back up to Windermere. I met Lata for a lovely dinner at Francine’s, a cute French bistro style restaurant. The food was delicious. I really enjoyed the time getting to know Lata, although I fear I talked to much and asked too few questions.

On Saturday I headed back to London and met Zaheer for a climb at Castle. It was a good time, and we spent most of the time in the loft. Unsurprisingly the whole place was busy on a Saturday afternoon.

Sunday was all about the chores. This was an amazing week, and one of the examples of why I love being in the UK.

London Weekly 142