We didn't change our plans, they were changed for us!

A month ago almost to the day I wrote that " we're spending a week in Kendal* before going back to Kantara, (changing the oil and filter), and going out on another cruise." I was wrong. That was wishful thinking. (Just to remind myself, this is what Kantara looks like.) (*It wasn't Kendal, it was Cautley, Sedbergh, some fourteen miles away.)

(And this is a canal.)

It's true that the weather's not been particularly inviting over the past weeks, and friends and acquaintances who have been out in it have reported some pretty soggy experiences and severely restricted travelling. (Just to remind myself, this is what that looks like.)

But, just as we seem to have entered a dry and sunny spell, we've had to deal with a dying central heating boiler, trees, hedges and shrubs that have started to take over the front garden, negotiations with the builders of next-door's extension regarding our boundary fence, and the need for a new side gate,and my need for new specs. It all takes time, and it all has to be done here.

(Just to remind myself, this is what the garden looks like when it doesn't have trees, hedges and shrubs that need to be cut back.)

On the bright side, Steve and Karolina have just today started to move into their first home together.

Last Sunday was Father's Day. We'd planned to have a family lunch in Verulamium Park, but the weather didn't look very promising. Well, if it did, it was promising to rain. So we ate at home, and went down to the park afterwards to make the most of the newly-appeared sun and do the Old St Albans Treasure Trail together.

Then back to the house for coffee and cake and cream. Perfect!

Yesterday I ordered new glasses. Three pairs. Arm and leg time. Won't be ready for two weeks. Any hope of being back on Kantara soon have been further scotched. Talking of being scotched, it was Rabbie Burns who said, in his best tartan accent, no doubt, "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang oft agley.”, which, being roughly translated, means, "If you make plans, too bad."

A week in the Lakes - our last day

...so we had to make the most of it. The skies and the weather forecast told us in no uncertain terms that today was going to give us good weather. At least, that's how I saw it. Time to walk to Cautley Spout. There it is in the distance - see it? Much zoomed-in-on.

We met no more than a dozen other people on the whole there-and-back journey. And the horse being ridden by one of them. It was a beautiful, tranquil place. Even the sheep were quiet. Cuckoos, whinchats and stonechats competed with each other (and, no doubt, several other species I didn't spot) but that only contributed to the peacefulness.

We took out time. Others seemed to be in a bit of a hurry, but we had a lot to look at, and took hundreds of photos. We didn't go right up to the spout itself. The final climb looked rather too steep for us, and I don't think we would have gained much from it other than exhaustion. After clambering around the lower falls you see above, we strolled back to the car.

The car was parked right next to the 400-year-old Cross Keys Temperance Inn. There can't be many inns in the world that don't have a license to sell alcohol!

"Because we are a Temperance Inn we cannot sell you any alcohol. However, you are most welcome to bring along the drinks of your choice when you dine with us. We will provide corkscrews and glasses, but there is no corkage charge."

It's a very strange, fascinating, beautiful historic building. We enjoyed a good light lunch there before driving a couple of miles down the road to the 19th century St Mark's Church.

The former vicarage

And, finally, we found St Andrew's Church in Sedbergh accessible, though only after a funeral had finished.

And we arrived back at the farm in the same dry and mild weather. 

We weren't in a hurry to leave on Friday morning, though we were to wish later on in the day that we'd started the journey at around 6:00. The first hour or so was fine, both with regard to traffic and weather, but the rain did come, sometimes very heavily, and, with it, the traffic. A lot of water on the roads, spray on windscreens, a shunt and a lorry's burst tyre all contributed to the 250-mile journey taking seven hours, but the week's holiday had been well worth it.