We decided to go to Grasmere again and stay at the Wordsworth Hotel and be looked after by the excellent team there. On Christmas Eve we walked around Grasmere itself accompanied by four of the Grasmere staff who served mulled wine, prosecco and cake halfway round, before the heavens opened for five minutes, then we walked the last bit back and got dried out.
Christmas Day was full of good cheer and so were we. The camera stayed put and waited until Boxing Day where I wanted to capture the famous Wordsworth Duck Race. As my ducks from 2015 still hadn’t finished I was a bit loath to have another bet but as the proceeds all go to charity I relented – not to worry, they didn’t finish either. I was given instructions by good friends Martin and Maxine to make sure I got a half decent shot of the ducks going in. Then I hotfooted it to the end but missed the arrival of the first duck. Never mind, more prosecco, mulled wine and food to warm us all through. I felt sorry for one of the guys stuck in the water fishing out the ducks – he looked nithered. I said to him cheerfully “never mind, at least you’ve got your waterproof trousers on” – to which he replied “I’ve found out they’re not waterproof” – poor lad. I was impressed with Alex who was serving on the buffet – dressed in his suit, no overcoat and still serving prosecco the correct way.
On Boxing Day evening we were treated to a Dinner/Dance, started off with handbell ringers and carols and finished with a disco. The food and wine in between was lovely.The next morning we decided to do a last short walk, so we headed off towards Wordsworth’s cottage and instead of turning towards Rydal Water, we turned up the old coffin road and then left again up towards Alcock Tarn – I mean, how steep can it be? Answer – steep. The view from the top when we eventually got there was spectacular. Being overtaken by fit young 20somethings didn’t bother us, we took our time and used the stops to take photos.
All in all, a lovely break but our legs were pleased when we got home.
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