The Lake District

From the 14th to 16th of February I took a trip with the Psychology Department here at Leeds to the Lake District! I heard that this was one place that you had to go to. I'm certainly glad I did.

Twenty-four of us from the department (mostly undergrads but a few Ph.D. students as well) took a 2 hour bus ride to the Lake District. The coach bus was nice and comfy, although there wasn't much room to store our luggage inside. I wish I had put my travel backpack in the storage area under the bus, because it got heavy on my lap very quickly. Halfway into the trip, the bus also became very, very warm, so much so that everyone was uncomfortable. Thankfully, we all made it to the Lake District without anyone passing out, etc.

We stayed at the Langdale Youth Hostel during our weekend trip, but because the path up to the hostel was too narrow, the bus had to drop us off at the foot of the hill. However, we did not have to hike uphill with all of our luggage, as the hostel had a truck with a trailer to lug all of our stuff up the hill. After loading our belongings onto the trailer, our group hiked up to the hostel, enjoying the scenery as we went.

I was pleasantly surprised with my first hostel experience. We had the whole hostel rented out for our group, so it was nice to not have to share rooms with random strangers (although in the beginning we were all strangers). Alyssa and I picked a room that had not been claimed yet, and a couple more people joined us as well. Since most of our group members had filled up the two of the larger communal bedrooms, we basically had a huge room full of beds to ourselves. This was nice as we each got our own bunk bed and were able to spread out. Here are some pictures of the hostel interior and the bedroom I stayed in:

On Saturday (15th) we were able to pick from a couple of hike options. Alyssa and I decided to go on the longer walk, along with one of our roommates, Evaleen. We were the only undergraduates out of our group who chose the longer hike. (Go us!) There were a few Ph.D. students who went on the walk as well, along with a couple adult leaders. I didn't take too many pictures during the hike, since the weather wasn't permitting photography that day (unless I wanted to ruin my camera...). However, I took a few shots at the beginning of the hike:

From here on, the weather got pretty ugly. At first it was just wind, which is typical for England. And then the rain came. That was normal too. But then the rain drops turned into snow! (Note: it had more of a slushy consistency, but it was still snow!!!) I was so excited! I've never experienced falling snow before (as far as I can remember), so of course I had to stick my tongue out to catch the falling snow. And I did that for longer than I probably should have. :)

However, the further we trekked up the mountain, the worse the wind, and inevitably the snow, became. Pretty soon the wind was pelting the snow into our faces, and it was so cold that our faces started stinging. This caused us to cut our hike short. Nevertheless, we still had a ways to go before we reached the end of our hike, which was a town down in the valley.

After much effort, we finally made it up the last huge hill of our hike. And that's when it happened: my downfall. (Literally). By that point of our hike, I was so confident that I wasn't going to fall, despite all of the slippery rocks and mud puddles. The moment when you become confident, my friends, is when you fall. And I went all out. We were making our way downhill, heading toward the end of our hike, when I must have stepped on a slippery pile of mud because, before I knew it, I was flying through the air and sliding down the hill. I didn't slide too far, but I knew I had landed in some mud by the distance I had traveled. And, lo and behold, I had mud all over my butt. And not just on the outside of my jeans. No, the mud traveled all the way through my jeans, past my fleece-lined tights, and easily traveled through my underwear....Basically, it felt like I was walking around with a dirty diaper for the rest of the hike. Not the most pleasant experience I have to say, but one that makes for a great story. 

And sorry, folks, I forgot to snap a picture of my soiled bum, but the story is more than enough for me.

However, Evaleen did remember to take a picture of us before our final descent into the town:

Alyssa, Evaleen, and I at the end of our hike! Excuse my odd appearance. I was trying to shield my eyes from the pelting wind and snow during the hike....

At last, we made it into the town, muddy butt and all. We took a much-needed lunch break inside a restaurant. We all got something to drink, but we secretly ate the packed lunches that we had brought (even though we got caught at one point). After about an hour and a half of resting, we did a little exploring. We found a gingerbread shop that is famous for their (surprise, surprise!) gingerbread. It was good but very powerful.

After we got our gingerbread, Evaleen, Alyssa, and I were ready to head back to the hostel. Even though, because of our damp clothing, it was a very cold walk back, we saw some beautiful scenery:

Someone had a private garden with a river flowing through it!

To the left, to the left....

This little area we walked through totally made me feel like I was in Snow White for some reason, but I wasn't complaining! Pictures don't give the place justice, but here are a couple:

Action shot of Alyssa. We were fairly close to the hostel at this point.

And at last, we made it back to the hostel. We then proceeded to take much needed showers and changed into some fresh clothes. Soon after that, we devoured our dinners and hung out for the rest of the evening.

The next day, after a very good night of sleep for me, we packed, ate breakfast, got some packed lunches, and got on our bus to go back to Leeds.

``````````````````````````

I really enjoyed this trip, and I would encourage anyone visiting England to take a trip up to the Lake District. Even though I only got to explore it a little, it was a great experience!