Please excuse my laziness causing the lateness of this post, but here finally is my blog about my trip to Kendal at the end of April! The rest of my Lake District adventure will be covered in due course…
So here goes.
My mate Brendan decided he wanted to do something fun for his birthday, and his idea of fun was to have our group (The Walking and Talking Society) climb Scafell Pike. A day trip to the highest hill in England morphed into a lads’ holiday in the Lake District when Joel jumped on board.
But as I had a bit of extra time, I decided to go up a day early and visit Kendal. The place, not the Jenner. As you do. It was my biggest drive yet and I loved it. The weather down south had been miserable but up north, the sun was out, the sky was blue, and my Spotify playlist kept banging out chunes.
I found a parking space and walked along the River Kent. Being mid-Spring, the blossom was still in bloom to add to the beauty of this picturesque town. I made my way to Kendal Market to find something I’d never seen or tried before: Kendal mint cake. Tbh I was expecting a cake – not a solid stick of toothpaste. However, it was nice – and the chocolate coated mint cake was delicious.
Talking of delicious, the quiche at The 2 Sisters was UNREAL. Chorizo, halloumi and spinach, topped off with a milkshake made with fresh strawberries (so fresh she had to run to the grocers to buy some!) and I’m honestly salivating as I type this out (BTW, name something with chorizo that ISN’T delicious. You can’t). The only downside about this beautiful lunch was the table beside me – it was full of old people talking about hospitals and operations and blood. Cheers, guys.
Belly replenished, I made my way to Kendal Castle. I was half-expecting that, as it was in the middle of the town, it would be full of people. It wasn’t. Good news. It reminded me of Beeston Castle in Cheshire, only ever so slightly less ruined.
Here’s me pretending I’m an Instagram girl.
I stuck around for the sunset. I sat on this bench that was obviously built for smooching couples, without a care in the world that I was by myself. With the sun below the horizon, I made my descent back into town. I stopped by this chippy for yet more food. The chippy owners were lovely and chatty and the chips and curry was great. But now it was time to head to the hotel and watch QI.
The next morning, I checked out of the Travelodge and re-entered Kendal. I then re-entered The 2 Sisters.
English breakfast with a pot of brown sauce (I’m salivating again – perhaps I’m hungry…) and of course, it was delicious. It’s definitely worth popping into The 2 Sisters. Plate clean, I headed off towards Kendal’s other castle – Castle Howe.
Castle Howe is a motte and bailey castle that you’d probably walk right past without noticing. But the mound you see (motte) is man-made and was built in 1087 by the Normans. The bailey is the flat piece of land before it (that I’m stood on). I think it’s amazing to think that this ancient piece of earthwork is nearly a thousand years old… On top of the motte stands an obelisk, built in 1788 to mark the centenary of the Glorious Revolution. History facts, BOOM.
It was time to leave Kendal and head 13 miles up the road to Ambleside, where I was to check into our campsite and await the arrival of the birthday boy…
TBC.
On these days, I logged my adventures on my Instagram Story (Dabanksy – #VidOnTour). The video is available here:
#VidOnTour 