Lake District

Prior to my arrival in the UK, Andrew visited the Lake District.  It's a national park that is less than an hour's drive from Carlisle and we've been wanting to make it back there together.  This past Saturday, we were able to borrow a car from OM and drive down to the Lake District.

We started off by hiking to a good look-out point that Andrew had been shown by some friends from OM:

We did a bit more hiking/walking around Keswick:

We were able to see quite a few herdwick sheep.  These sheep, native to the Lake District, are known to be some of the hardiest of sheep.  They are also, interestingly, the only breed of sheep whose wool naturally grays with age:

As the day went on, the weather became less pleasant and more wet.  The Lake District was still beautiful, but more the kind of beauty that is better enjoyed from the dry warmth of the car.  We drove through the Kirkstone Pass.  Andrew had been through the pass before; this time it was more cloudy, wet, and cold than in early September, but still very beautiful.

We opted not to do much hiking in the Lakes due to the wet weather, and instead drove back to Carlisle.  By the time we arrived back in Carlisle, the weather had dried up a bit, and we were able to walk through a park near where we live.