The Lake District - WHY???

[washedoutandabout]

Rain, drizzle and yet more rain. Grey sky, grey houses and damp. Everyone in anoraks. Mist and fog and more grey. Plus I’m here with a bunch of American relatives who are all gung-ho and outward-bound and very loud, shrill “upspeak” voices, who think even the grottiest pub is “Awesome!!” Plus DH loves it and is showing off on his competitive extreme hikes.

Help - take me back to Fulham!

AIBU to think this is hell on earth?

Do you have different leaves on the train line too?

I have only visited once but I found it enchanting, lovely place to be. When it rained went to Beatrix Potter place . All the Wordsworth connections are worth seeing. Only complaint is the parking costs

Only complaint is the parking costs
Is it that expensive versus London and other big cities? Actually, some care has been taken, I've heard, to price parking differentially to spread the car burden. The problem we find isn't so much cost as availability.

When I think of HS2 being built through one of the loveliest AONB in the UK, I always think people would've kicked up far more of a fuss had it been through the Lake District. I'm not sure why it gets all the fuss it does.

Hi good morning. Thankyou so much for the tips on Hellvellyn. We’re heading for that one today, so let’s hope the clue is not in the name The youngest DD not well though, so not sure if she’ll make it.

Also, when I said the rain is different in London to the the LD or West of the country in general, well it kind of is, really. I meant in the incessant way it falls. London only has half the rainfall of places like Wales and the Lakes, so obviously you notice a difference. You can go for months in London and see no rain at all and it very rarely lingers for days. I think the countryside in the west of the country is more beautiful than the east, but it’s noticeabley wetter, so horses for courses.

I'm glad the weather cleared up a bit. The lake District is lovely when you can see it . Enjoy the day!

the countryside in the west of the country is more beautiful than the east, but it’s noticeabley wetter

Yes, DH comes from the south-west of England and he couldn't understand why I complained about the weather in eastern Scotland until he worked in Cambridgeshire for a couple of years. Proper summers! Hot! Dry!

So basically you just don't like walking in the rain, or the countryside. You just happen to be in the lakes. YABVU.

'The countryside I love is somewhere like Provence for the lavender or the Amalfi coast for the sparkling sea and colourful villages. Or New England in the Autumn. The Great Ocean Road in Australia. Or the terraced mountains of Nepal.'

We have some outstanding countryside on our doorstep.

Unrivalled TBH

But then give me a Dale and our unique dry stone walls and I'm in heaven.

Don't even get me started on west coast of Ireland....

I'm guessing you'd hate it Op.

'The countryside I love is somewhere like Provence for the lavender or the Amalfi coast for the sparkling sea and colourful villages. Or New England in the Autumn. The Great Ocean Road in Australia. Or the terraced mountains of Nepal.

This is one of the most 'naice ham' posts that I have ever seen on Mumsnet.

Poor little rich girl.....

Glad to hear you’re enjoying it a bit more now! Tbh it really sounds like you’re just not a country person, which is absolutely fine - we’re all different.

Personally I love the countryside and walking and think the Lakes are lovely but for me they don’t hold a candle to the North York Moors or the Yorkshire Dales or the Peak District.

Give over Marvik. We all like different things and places. I abddutely love parts of Italy and South of France. I’m from a Med country, so maybe not surprising. And I was lucky enough to see the Himalayas when backpacking in my 20s and I never forgot those mountains. Also we lived in Australia for a while. Another stunning coastline imo is Northern California. There are so many places, but I guess people react differently for whatever reason.

That makes a bit more sense washedout. Thanks for the reply. Perhaps we are programmed to like certain landscapes - I grew up in the North of England. Not very far North, but the Peak District and the Pennines were never far away. Certainly when I've travelled in Europe I've seen beautiful places, but I retain a particular love for the wilder/more marginal parts of England and Wales. (My father was Welsh.) I think it's good to be able to appreciate what is pretty much on one's own doorstep - useful in terms of carbon footprint too. And for me living in a major city, means that I am always glad to be able to be somewhere that is greener and less crowded.

Glad you've found ways to enjoy parts of it - you're a better woman than me! I like the British coast, northern and bleak totally fine, southern and pebbly equally fab. I have no problem with rain or howling gales. But I hate inland water, and endless hills, no matter what the weather. North Wales or the Lakes are my idea of misery. Just thinking about them makes me feel trapped. Ugh.

This thread has made me want to buy a camper and spend a summer in the green hills!

Always find it to busy too and I only live and hour away, we go north Inverness area beautiful and peaceful ❤️

I don't like anywhere in the rain. I like being at home. I'm a home bird. If it's pleasant weather, not even necessarily sunny, just pleasant, I'm happy anywhere. I'm a fair-weather-camper.

YANBU. Not everyone likes active holidays in national parks. It's perfectly fair to prefer London to Lake District.

Op, much of the landscape you say you really appreciate is ones that you drive

I get it, OP.

It is my hell on earth. Expensive and overcrowded. I do not like walking either.

Scenery is okay but Scotland's scenery is far better.

I think when walking you do get a stronger sense of landscape. More of a sense of connection. It is also astonishingly easy to get away from people, if you avoid main routes and the most popular climbs. Recently I stayed 8 miles away from Keswick and walked here....

The million-dollar question is whether there are midges. If not, OP, then you should go to the Isle of Skye. Stunning, but it will have you begging to go back to the Lakes.

Nice when the suns out ☀️

It is my hell on earth. Expensive and overcrowded.

That's what I think of London!

Well we got up “Hell Hill” (as the kids call it) via the “easy” route and that’s me done. The view was nice, if a bit grey, but tbh, there’s a lovely view from the cottage we’re in. I guess for some people, the walk is the point, but I’m quite happy to just wander round anywhere without making an ordeal out of it. Anyway, that’s that then.

Back to London tomorrow!!!

YANBU. Parts of Wales are much, much more beautiful, and even better, they just seem to leave them be, not touristy or overcrowded and ridiculous amounts of tea shops everywhere. This is Lake Vyrnwy, where my mum used to live in mid Wales. Most people would assume it's Lake District, but it's just some unspoilt gem left to its own devices most of the time.