L2L Day 47 Kendal to Bowness - 13 miles

My planned walk for tomorrow to Coniston was going to be a rather long 19 miles with some 'jeopardy' in the middle, thrown in for good measure - a ferry across Lake Windermere. I hadn't checked ferry timetables, would they be running and if so when??? I could be left waving, forlorn on the shore!!!

After a sensible chat with Sally, I reconsidered and rather than a rest day in Kendal, I decided to walk half way today and the other half tomorrow.

After breakfast I set off for Bowness on a cross country route with NO road walking - I wasn't expecting the heavy traffic......


and all helped by the weather being glorious, it was ideal. There was a gorgeous clear sky - cloudless first thing.

The route was a combination of
farmland and farms with the occasional (in only one instance fortunately) tethered sheepdog.

For some of the gates, I felt as though I should have trained on some Charles Atlas chest expanders before setting off. 


Those springs are tough!!!

The walking was varied and enjoyable



though some of the inclines were pretty steep.

The views of the Fells to the East 


and the Lake District to the West 


with Scafell and Helvelyn in the distance.




On the way, I called in to All Saints Church at Underbarrow. 


There was a lovely exhibition of village photographs....
The day that a cow fell into the swimming pool when it seems half the village turned up to pull her out...


and marrow weighing at the Produce show.




All the way, beautiful hedgerows and field flowers





And then withing a few hundred yards, 


the path descended onto the road into Bowness - a honeypot and with its ice cream shops and burger bars, coffee bars and pubs on the street, crazily expensive houses and cars, tourist busses and day trippers. I suspect that most people there won't understand or appreciate that only a matter of minutes away perfection actually exists.






A late sandwich lunch - over priced, the 16:30 bus back to Kendal and a rewarding pint of 'Boddies' in the Ring o Bells where I was introduced to Chester the Cockerpoo and helped out with some crossword answers.

All in a day's work! 

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