We've been to the Lake District quite a lot but we hadn't yet made it with O so when we got a chance to stay in a friends flat in Kendal for a few days we jumped at the chance! I was heavily pregnant at the time so the trip wasn't quite adventurous as we might normally do as I couldn't walk very far at this point, however, we had a lovely trip and did some things we might not ordinarily have done.
Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway
On the first day we headed to Haverthwaite Station to take a ride on the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway. The train is a proper team engines that pulls along traditional 1950’s carriages. O absolutely loves trains but he was quite unsure at first having never seen a real steam engine working before. He was fascinated but took a little bit of convincing onto the train. Once he was on and we got going he absolutely loved it!
Before we boarded the train we had a little look around the station gift shop and also got a drink from the cafe. It's quite a cute little place. There is also a lovely playground for children but it had rained quite a lot when we got there so we didn't use it.
The return ticket to Lakeside and back for the three of us was £22 (adults £11 each and O being under 3 was free).
At Lakeside we then went into the Lakes Aquarium for £20 for all of us. It's fairly small but still lots of things to see - as well as lots of types of fish there were stingrays, otters and lots of reptiles. O enjoyed wandering around and seeing everything. My highlight was the otters - but I love Otters! We probably spent around an hour in here and then had a little more time to kill before our return train so we went and got a tea.
If you want you can also tag on a cruise onto the railway journey for an additional cost but we didn't have time to factor this in with O's nap on this occasion.
Ambleside
We then napped O in the car on the way to Ambleside to get some lunch (we had given O a packed lunch on the return train). We happened across Stiles which was great and ticked the box for what we needed - relaxed - a good menu A (gluten free) (there was also a good children's menu if we had not already given O some lunch) and a window seat perfect for O to watch the cars go by. We then headed to a really great playground in Rothay Park.
Thirlmere
The next day we headed off to Keswick and on the way we decided to stop off at Lake Thirlmere to have a short walk. We wanted to at least get out and walk somewhere and this was easy and short enough with me waddling along 8 months oregnant. We parked up and as soon as we did the heavens opened, so we got our rain gear on and headed down to the lake. We hadn't read the map properly and didn't realise it was all downhill so I was dreading the walk back up but it was a lovely little potter on the lake.
Keswick
Again the weather wasn't great so we headed straight to a cafe to find something to eat. We stopped at Brysons tea room for some food. Whilst it has a good menu for both O and A (gluten free) we found the service to be quite poor so we probably wouldn't head back.
A then took O out in the pushchair for a nap and I wandered around Keswick looking at all the nice independent shops. Again it's somewhere I'd recommend going for a potter.
To finish the day we went on a cruise of Derwentwater. It cost £30 for us all (O was free) and it was a lovely hour well spent.
Accomodation
We stayed in Kendal at a friends place for free which was very handy. However, we did realise while there that it wasn't very child friendly so likely won't stay there again despite it not costing anything. We're on the lookout for some child friendly accommodation so if anyone has any recommendations then send me a message or comment on the blog! Depending on how many recommendations I get I might do a post to give people some suggestions.
Where we ate
Cortillo Lounge, Kendal - we headed here as it looked child friendly, had gluten free options for A and had space. They had high chairs and some toys for children which was a nice touch. The food was nice but nothing to write home about. I wouldn't necessarily rush back but I'd happily go back.
Fish Express, Kendal - we decided to get a takeaway given I was tired and we decided on fish and chips. We chose this place as it had gluten free options for A. They were absolutely delicious so I would definitely recommend.
We also ate at Brysons in Keswick and Stiles in Ambleside which Ive mentioned earlier in the blog.
Where we really wanted to eat was Comida in Kendal but we couldn't get a table. Hopefully on our next time at the Lakes!
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