Well we’ve survived the challenge without a car journey in sight. But I have to say I think we had things easy as the location of Lakeside Hotel is just so convenient, just a few steps away from both a ferry pier and a train station, making life without your own four wheels relatively straight-forward.
On Monday morning we decided to take a step back in time and travel by steam. We wandered just a few metres from the hotel and took the Lakeside and Haverthwaite railway to the end of the line, stopping to have a good old, slightly soggy, play in the platform-side playground where Sophie and Jessica continued their railway adventure on a pretend train. Sophie has always been a fan of steam trains so she didn’t need much convincing that it was a better way of getting about than our car. Of course with steam trains, it isn’t so much a way of getting somewhere as an experience in itself.
Back at Lakeside we had a pit-stop at the café by the station before taking an incredibly short stroll to the Lakes Aquarium. Both Sophie and Jessica were captivated by the sea creatures, fish and otters there with Jessica practicing her fairly recently-acquired walking skills by staggering from tank to tank, pointing at everything she could.
The highlight of the aquarium for us was the fancy dress outfits positioned around the displays. The girls transformed themselves into lobsters, crabs, otters and pirates. And Sophie completed a special quiz (with a little bit of help) to get a medal at the end. After the aquarium, we headed to the hotel pool where the girls got the chance to splash about while I relaxed in the Jacuzzi, sauna and steam room – bliss!
Tuesday saw us check out of the hotel. It was wonderfully luxurious and the staff were always keen to help, even getting us a tray of bread so we could feed the ducks and swans on the lake. But although the hotel was family-friendly, some of the other guests most certainly weren’t and we had quite a few glares and negative comments from people who seemed affronted at the idea of eating their breakfast or dinner in the vicinity of small children.
On Tuesday morning we headed back to Bowness by boat with Windermere Lake Cruses, taking a stroll through the town before immersing ourselves in a children’s fantasy at the World of Beatrix Potter. The attraction saw us walk through scenes from her classic animal tales with Peter Rabbit and Mrs Tiggywinkle proving great favourites with Sophie.
A return trip on the boat saw us back in Lakeside and at the end of our holiday. We all had a fantastic time and would definitely return to the Lake District in the future. I think the challenge has made us a bit more open to exploring alternatives to using our car, although I think it is always nice to have the option of driving yourself as a back-up if the public transport options aren’t too great.
Lakeside was such a convenient location that leaving the car behind was no real hardship but I can imagine that wouldn’t be true everywhere. But it is always a good idea to realise there is more than one way of getting from A to B.
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