The most fun you will EVER have while being completely miserable.

Lake District.

It became a National Park in 1951, was the home to William Wordsworth (Daffodil poem - worth reading), covers over 885 squares and became a T3 favorite place of mine this past weekend!

Ambleside

On Thursday, after some an afternoon filled with roomie bonding, I loaded up on the top of a double decker coach and headed to the most anticipated trip of the semester. In November I tried booking this trip but overlooked which box I checked and ended up #10 on the waiting list once I landed in England. I was very upset but luck was on my side (again) and about a month ago they opened the trip up to more people. Double decker coaches just aren't my thing - they sway like no one business and the noise that is contained with the aisle drives me inanse. We finally pulled into our hostel driveway at 1:00 a.m.ish after a long trip of wrong turns  but we were finally there and able to get off the coach. I stayed with Carly, Erin and Jackie and we crashed shortly after check in.

On Friday morning we rode the bus into Ambleside (one of the many towns in the Lake District) and headed towards the tourist information center in search of hiking maps. Everywhere in the Lake District is an opportunity to hike and see BEAUTIFUL sights. Erin, Carly, Jackie and I decided to window shop a bit before we left for the trail. Our minds were set on hiking so we soon took off for the waterfall trail. The path along the waterfall was amazing (there's not enough adjectives to describe it)! At the top we ran into a little piece of art, knitting, hanging from a tree...just a little reminder of the hidden beauty that surrounds us. We frolicked around the trail and took plenty of pictures! This was also where I first fell into a river and soaked on leg up to my knee. Staying soaking wet was a common theme to this weekend!

Art in the most unusual places. 

 

Waterfall hike.

 

 We went back to Ambleside and continued our window shopping. I finally found a journal for my Momma: I plan on starting a journal that will go back and worth between us because I want to have the stories that have been told since childhood written down. We stopped and ate bagels and cheese outside of Tesco before going to a little cafe to enjoy Baileys and hot chocolate. That time in the cafe, sharing stories and discussing what we missed about home and what we were going to miss about Harlaxton, definitely warmed my heart. That night 16 of us decided to cook spaghetti in the hostel. It was so much fun chopping vegetables, singing songs and cooking with everyone. We even invited some random people who happened to be in the kitchen to eat with us. I'll never forget every one's laughter as dinner cooked and smiles as those who did dishes snapped each other with towels.

 

Two lane roads that were more like American one lane roads that the double decker coach handled like a pro.

 

Saturday was the single GREATEST day I've had since being at Harlaxton (well that's debatable but it was definitely T3)! At about 9:30ish we all arrived at our excursion garage and dressed in wet suits, helmets and buoyancy aids (life jackets). We really didn't know what to expect, but excitment was radiating throughout the garage. I, along with Erin, Carly, and 16 other Harlaxtoners, followed our guide towards a gyhll. A gyhll is basically a waterfall along a creek, and we were going to climb it! I have never been more excited to freeze my butt off! It is hard to describe how cold the water truly was, my feet screamed in pain when I first stepped in but I tried to keep the smile on my face. I stepped without knowing where my foot would go next, slipped and fell countless times, laughed out loud, encouraged others, others encouraged me and had an absolute blast climbing up that waterfall. My favorite part was when we got to a pool of clear water that seemed to be pretty deep. I climbed out onto the edge of a rock and our guide pushed me backwards into it. Picture trust falling into 30 something degree water. It filled my wet suit, soaked my face and leaked down from my hair onto the back of my neck. It was completely exhilarating!!! I even faced my fears and scaled the side of a slippery rock facing with no harness or anything. When we climbed out of the gyhll my feet were so numb I could not feel the next steps that I was taking, but they kept going forward so I at least knew I was moving.


I stayed in my wet suit through lunch, bundled back up after eating and headed for the lake that afternoon. Kayaking was the next adventure on the list for me. Reluctantly, because quite honestly I was frozen to the bone, I waded out into the water and jumped into the kayak. With frozen hands, face and toes I rowed and rowed to keep warm. We played "tag" in the boats and went from one "orange blob" to the next in the lake. Rain was hitting my face and water was splashing on me from the oars but the scenery was breathtaking.

I'm so bummed I didn't get any pictures of these adventures. I did not trust the whole LifeProof case on my iPhone. The mental images (which are going to be so much better than any picture I could have possibly taken) will have to do.

However, I have never been more thankful for dry clothing in my whole life. My fingertips were white and ached with every movement and my toes felt like they would break off. We made it back the garage and I dressed in the warmest attire that I had left. On the drive back to the hostel I thought about how much fun I had just had. I was COMPLETELY MISERABLE, yet ached for more and more. Adventures within the snow capped mountains and the calm lake was the most perfect "spring break" that I could have ever had.

The whole weekend Erin, Jackie, Carly and I had many bonding moments. I am truly blessed to have made these friends. All three of them are from Kansas and it blows my mind to think that without Harlaxton I would not have met them. We shared childhood stories, ambitions, truths and laughter all weekend long. I will truly miss these ladies when home calls my name in April.

Today was spent traveling back to my temporary "home" here. We stopped in Windmere for lunch and ate at Bryson's. Probably my favorite restaurant thus far. I can't wait to make "bangers and mash" (mashed potatoes, sausage and onion gravy) when I get back home to the states, I have to keep the English traditions going somehow. Windmere was set on the banks of one of the lakes in the Lake District and we got to see boats docked, swans and ducks swimming and about 20 ice cream shops. Such a quaint little place.

Windmere.

 

 

The Lake District was just what my soul needed. A hostel about a mile from the nearest town and overlooking a lake with snow capped mountains as its backdrop. No cell phone signal and no internet to keep me pre-occupied with things from back home. I was able to live in the moment and to enjoy every single minute of it. The memories I made from this trip will be near and dear to my heart forever.