On Friday, our first full day in Keswick, George and I decided to try a walk. It wasn’t very far, so it seemed like a good one to start with. But we flatlanders forget that maps don’t always show elevation. So it was a little more challenging than we expected, but totally worth it.

Here’s how you tackle a stroll to the top of a mountain hill.

First, you start with a hearty breakfast. What you don’t see here is the sausage, bacon, egg, mushrooms, and hashbrown I ate before taking the picture. (I should mention here that we stayed at the very excellent Stonegarth B&B, recommended by my coworker Rachel. The breakfasts were beyond delicious and the proprietors kind and friendly.)

Next, you walk through town to get to the visitor’s centre so you can get a map so you can get lost before finding your way to the start of the walk. Admire the flowers along the way.

Finally, you arrive at the path in question. Oh look, there’s the lake! Our first glimpse since arriving in the Lake District. This one is Derwentwater.

Mountains! And sheep!

We go thisaway:

Ah ha! Castlehead Wood! That’s where we’re going.

It’s this kind of picturesque path through a meadow that makes our long journey to Keswick worth it. Are you kidding me?

Uh oh. Elevation. A lot of it. But the views are our reward. At this point we realized why everyone had walking sticks.

We made it to the top of Castlehead! What I don’t have photos of is the really steep bit to get to the top. I was concentrating more on not dying than getting photos. But once we get to the top…woah.

Gorgeous, eh?