Friday 16th July

Everyone was really excited to begin their holiday today! We all met up and got to know each other, before setting in to unpack at our beautiful cottage.

Saturday 17th July

After a lovely, cooked breakfast that we all enjoyed out on the patio we jumped in the minibus. On route we were caught up in the middle of lots of sheep being herded to the farm. We had a great time watching the sheepdogs chasing them through the lane! We arrived at Beatrix Potter World, and it was wonderful, Robert and Jill loved the animal displays. Chris filled in the quiz as we walked while Rebecca took some great photos! On our way home we skimmed stones and took a quick dip in the lake to cool down, it was good fun. We came back to a lovely BBQ in the evening.

Sunday 18th July

Today we went to the National Trust’s ‘House of Beatrix Potter’, it was really interesting. We sat under an apple tree in the garden and had our lunch. After, we bought some lovely post cards, magnets and tea towels from the souvenir shop. We explored Keswick town, enjoying some ice cream by the lake. Then we saw fudge being made, before we came home and went for a walk in the nearby field. Rebecca managed to pick up a chicken before it flapped its wings and ran off! Finally, we had a lovely Sunday roast on the patio, what a fabulous day.

Monday 19th July

We visited Wray Castle today and made it there despite Debbie almost getting us lost! We went for a walk through the castle’s gardens where we had our lunch, with Robert and Rebecca going for a paddle in the lake afterwards. Then we followed the play trail and built a den in the forest together. Robert and Chris were like Indiana Jones as they climbed into the tree house! Gill and Rebecca were really fast as they whipped across the obstacles, we had great fun. In the evening we all got dressed up and went into Keswick town, we had a lovely pub dinner to finish the day.

Tuesday 20th July

Today we visited the Beatrix Potter Gallery, it was very interesting. The photos we saw will be put away for preservation for 8 years, what an experience! Then it was off to ‘Posies’ for lunch where the staff were so nice. On the way to the boat, we took a crazy winding road called ‘The Struggle’. We were really excited as we weren’t sure the van would make it! We had a ride on a steamboat and The Captain let us take photos at the steering wheel, it was great fun! That evening Claire and Debbie gave us a surprise ‘Italian Night’, it was a really nice day.

Wednesday 21st July

Today we went to Lake Windermere. We did a little souvenir shopping, had our lunch under a tree in the shade, before going into an air-conditioned cinema to watch Peter Rabbit 2. It was really good fun, Chris even laughed really loudly! We were the only ones in the cinema, so we had it all to ourselves! Afterwards we had a Chinese meal in a restaurant, which was a first for Christopher. After a very hot day, we got back to the cottage and chilled out until bedtime.

Thursday 22nd July

We went to visit where Beatrix Potter 1 was filmed today. We met a friendly sheep called Sam who loved us petting him, he even started nudging Chris to ask for some food! Next, we went to Caulston where we had a pizza lunch. Our waiter was called Jack, he was from Naples and spoke to us in Italian which pleased Gill. Robert said ciao to him and we all got back into our van to return to the cottage. We had a lovely last meal of fajitas together.

Friday 23rd July

Today it was time to head back home. We all agreed “what a great holiday we had all had!”.