It was now time to organise ‘round 3’ of our get together with friends. Round 1 was The West Highland Way and round 2 was Lake Lugano, Italy. As with any get together, there needs to be a bit of organising. Round 1 was organised my Aileen and me, showing off our almost OCD skills and ensuring everything ran to plan. This was a learning curve for Aileen and myself, as we quickly discovered insights into our ‘style’ of organising but the trip was a big success, hence the motivation to have round 2 and 3. After round, Aileen and I agreed that we would take on a more relaxed approach in the future and be less inclined to volunteer ourselves for the job of organising. Even though our friends would say things like ‘’You two are great at organising’’. So, it was with great relief that Gordon stepped up to the mark and organised round 2, which was also a big success although it did occasionally result in Aleen and me going off and doing our own things as we enjoy being active and our friends prefer a more sedate pace of life.
Round 3 was going to be interesting as this time the responsibly lay with a couple who openly admitted that they are terrible at organising things. Soon the date was set, once again it would be the month of May as this suited everyone. Now to find the perfect location, accommodation and activities.
Time passed by and our round 3 WhatsApp group chat would occasionally stir up some conversations such as – ‘What about a city break?’ ‘Are we heading North?’ ‘Are we heading South?’ ‘That’s far too expensive!’ ‘Where are we all going to sleep.’ ‘Is there a pub nearby?’ ‘That one gets bad reviews.’
Then silence! Meantime Aileen and I were making the most of 2016 but round 3 wasn’t far away from our thoughts and our organising personalities were beginning to stir. Surfacing at night over a glass of wine, forcing us to sit in front of the laptop in search of that elusive venue for round 3.
I don’t know if it was luck or a clear symptom of our aforementioned joint personality traits but we soon came across a place that looked perfect High Swinside Holiday cottages. Great location, pub nearby, reasonable price, good sized accommodation, available for our dates and an outside Jacuzzi with an amazing view.
We quickly got onto WhatsApp and posted our suggestion to the group. Everyone liked it and agreed that we would all meet up there in May, much to the relief of our two friends who can’t organise.
High Swinside Holiday cottages can be found in the Lake District, England and is 8 miles from Keswick or 6 miles from Cockermouth. You leave the B5289 and head along a single-track road but this just adds to the feeling of getting away from it all and results in uninterrupted views. There are 3 accommodation options and we stayed in The Farmhouse, which was ideal for a party of 4 couples.
We would definitely recommend staying here. Our host was very helpful and the descriptions on her website were accurate. Below are some photo memories to help give you a flavour of what turned out to be an enjoyable couple of days.
A climb up Haystacks. Situated at the south-eastern end of the Buttermere Valley. Haystacks has become one of the most popular fells in the area. Wikipedia
The Wheatsheaf Inn, Lorton does some great food.
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