Writing, fatshion, me: Trip to Cumbria

On the Tuesday of our holiday we first of all went to Cockermouth to meet my friend Rachael. She lives in Carlisle but had got the bus to meet us in Cockermouth as there's quite a few shops to look at there. It was raining when we got there and Lee had to park quite a way out, but I met Rachael and we looked at these bollards which had the words "yan, tan, tethera, methera, pimp" on them. This is the Cumbrian system for counting sheep - there's a similar Yorkshire one which is "yan, tan, tether, mether, pip". I love old language like this and I love that Cockermouth is keeping it alive in this way!

We went in a couple of shops but as it was raining we got an early lunch. We went into the New Bookshop which had a lovely Young Adult section, I spent ages looking at it and decided to buy myself two books. The bookshop has a cafe at the back and it had a ton of vegetarian choices, so after the previous two days' disappointment Lee said we should stay there. I had a baked goat's cheese with honey, served with a bunch of salads, and Rachael had a cheese scone. I'm not sure what Lee had but I'm going to bet it was a jacket potato with tuna. The cafe had a range of homemade puddings so I had a piece of chocolate cake, Lee I think had a brownie, and Rachael had a fruit scone with cream and jam. She likes scones!

We walked up to Wordsworth's house which is at the end of the high street, and then decided to go elsewhere in search of the sea. It wasn't raining and was quite hot by this point. Rachael says we kidnapped her haha. We stopped in Whitehaven and walked for half an hour on the marina, which is really pretty. The sun was shining and for me it just felt nice to be outside in it. We drove up to Workington but the train tracks run along the seafront so we couldn't see where to stop. We ended up in Maryport again and decided to play the mini golf which goes around the aquarium. Rachael won, I came last! It was a fun course though with some interesting holes.

We took Rachael to the train station to go home and then stopped again in Allonby for an ice cream again. Once again we were in the house pretty early to relax, which we both needed. Lee made pan haggerty - his one is just potatoes, onions, cheese and butter. He always makes it on holiday because it's quite labour intensive but always delicious. It was perfect!

I was hoping we'd be able to see the sunset but, although we walked out of the cottage to see, there were too many clouds for us to see it properly. It was a shame!

Yan tan tethera methera pimp

Looking up river, apparently it quite often bursts its banks

I love old lettering like this on the side of buildings. A glimpse of history

Hot chocolate with marshmallows to put on yourself

Baked goat's cheese with salads - so nice!

Chocolate cake

Lee took this of Rachael and me

Looking up the main street

Wordsworth's house - he had another further into the Lake District which is more famous, but he lived here too

Looking down on to the beach at Whitehaven

I liked this statue/sculpture

Rachael playing mini golf

Lee playing mini golf - this one had a slide you had to get your ball up and over

Me feeling happy in the sunshine

At a memorial park in Maryport

Salted caramel ice cream and a fudge stick in Allonby

I took my rainbow shoes with me on holiday and thought they were perfect for the day as it was raining when we left, although when the sun came out my feet were quite hot!