This was our home for the week at the amazing ‘North Lake Lodges’ in Aspatria, Cumbria. Totally private, totally accessible and totally somewhere I could pretend I was a rich Californian with a beach house holiday home! We loved it here. This was a holiday we really needed and we could not have been more lucky with the location or the weather. Definitely time to relax.
Aspatria actually sounds like somewhere in Italy rather than somewhere ten minutes from Cockermouth! Which was fitting since we could *almost* believe we were abroad the whole week, if we squinted a bit and ignored the very British breeze! Oh- did I mention the hot tub? Yes we had a hot tub. Not just any old hot tub either, one that was undercover with twinkly lights at night time and a plasma TV mounted on the wall. It looked like the Starship Enterprise. I know it’s not the 1980’s and I know it’s not Dallas and hot tubs have probably had their day but I LOVE A HOT TUB!! Haha! One I can watch Netflix in too? Erm.. yes please! But the best thing about it was how much Elin loved it too. She went in it loads and it was amazing to have the room in there for her to have a proper stretch out.
Not being familiar with the area at all we sort of flew by the seat of our pants in deciding where to go and what to do, a friendly local recommended the harbour Maryport on our first full day so we happily followed his advice and weren’t disappointed, it was a lovely little place with beautiful views and even an aquarium for Elin to look around!
Ok admittedly the aquarium was a bit tired-it was no ‘Sealife Centre’ and actually I think the fish shop in the Grosvenor Garden Centre has a bit more to it! But Elin didn’t care that it looked like someone had stored some tanks of fish in their shed and she did get to stroke a Sting Ray and see some neon pink Jellyfish. In fairness they didn’t charge Paul and I, saying they would put us down as carers which was lovely, plus there was a cafe so really what more can you ask?
I do love a harbour and this one was particularly beautiful I thought. I could have stayed there all day staring at the boats bobbing up and down. I think Elin really liked the different sounds and smells of being close to the ocean too.
Did I mention it was so clear we could see Scotland?!???? Wow (Yes Elin is wearing Dinosaur pants because she is progressive/doesn't conform to gender stereotypes and Disnosaur's can be for girls too, ok?!? Ummm plus we just really love how pretty brightly coloured Dinosaur's look hahaha)
On our second full day we took things easy and went for a look around Cockermouth. We found the house where Wordsworth lived, and more importantly than that a gorgeous coffee shop. Wordsworth’s house wasn’t accessible, but I’ll forgive the architects of 1770 for not having the foresight to stick a few ramps and wide doors in when they built it. Elin wasn’t bothered anyway, she’s more of a Dylan Thomas fan to be honest. It was worth a look though, especially the gardens.
The better-than-Wordsworths-house coffee shop. Show me an Americano in the sun and I’ll show you one happy Mummy!
So... maybe you’re wondering about Elin’s dystonia? Well I think the reason why we loved this holiday so much wasn’t just the weather, it was the fact that largely Elin’s dystonia stayed away. This, of course, was amazing given the weeks we’ve had recently. We think it’s to do with the addition of a full length back cushion in her chair, which helps to break her muscle tone patterns. It wasn’t fool proof but was particularly effective when travelling in the car, which made everything so much easier, especially the three hour journey to get to Aspatria. Just brilliant.
I don’t know about you but when I think of the Lake District this is really what I imagine. This is Keswick, where we haven’t been before and where we would definitely go again. It was stunning.
We even got to take Elin on a 50 minute boat ride across Derwent lake which she LOVED and so did we. Talk about peaceful. I could have sat on it all day!
Elin was so happy here, I think the fact that it was term time really helped as it was relatively quiet. Bliss.
You can see the boat we went on in the background of the below photo. I love this photo- it looks like it has a filter on but it really doesn't, the light was just so so beautiful. Amazing.
Elin REALLY loves the ducks and geese and all their funny noises! She did great listening.
The really good thing, we realised, about being in an open plan lodge was that Elin could be with us even when we needed to be in the Kitchen. This is something we will definitely be considering when looking at moving house! So lovely.
Elin’s (very apt) suitcase is nearly as big as her! This was taken just before we left and Elin was definitely the only one smiling! There’s nothing worse than leaving a lovely holiday! But we will absolutely be holding onto this one for a long time, a rest, re-charge and relax and proof that a change of scenery really can give you a different perspective. Things had started to feel a bit heavy for various reasons lately, but it seems there’s very little a (fairly) dystonia- free week in the sun won’t fix.
As if all that wasn’t quite enough, Elin sat so beautifully on the way home that we managed to call in on her brand new baby niece. Meet Miss Agnes Beatrice Wendy Drake (sister to Gruff with whom you’ll be familiar if you are a regular blog reader!) Cracking end to a cracking week.
Thank you for your continued interest in our miracle girl.
Hope you had a good week too, folks.
Xxx
