Sanity check

OK so we left the sunny, charming South of France behind and came to England. Then we headed for Northern England. And the skies are grey and it is raining and it is raining. It’s supposed to be summer here, yet the maximum temperature reached today was 12 degrees centigrade. I mean, really! I’m beginning to doubt our sanity.

In spite of the weather we walked down to Bowness this afternoon. Bowness is right by the lake and filled with tourists. For some reason we’ve yet to understand there are a huge number of Japanese tourists here.  They contrast strangely with the other main tourist group who are serious walkers fully kitted out and ready to take on anything.

Jennifer and I both grew up reading Swallows and Amazons so some time on the lake was essential. We hired a cute little boat and set out into the rain. The Mayfly was tiny and underpowered but she was so easy to steer on a huge lake after a week of sailing the 60-foot Grendal down thin canals.

I can’t say we saw a lot through the rain but we had a moment of explaining Arthur Ransom as the boys rolled their eyes in the face of another parental childhood story.