Sketching Out a Great Holiday

Pencil puns are harder than I expected, I clearly need to sharpen my wits...

It finally arrived, the great sibling getaway! What started as a lakes getaway in 2017 has come full circle - since then we've done Disneyland Paris, took a break with Covid, then Wales, and Dundee last year. Honestly, this trip was a highlights tour of all our favourite things to do in the lakes. 

We changed it up a bit with our brother, as part of his 40th birthday celebrations, coming along with everyone's favourite Pouty McPoutface. Owing mostly to the extra dog we decided to break the party in 2, one for the dogs, so hubby, Missy, Maisie, my brother and I, and the other my sister with her husband and both kids. I knew it would change up the dynamic of the holiday, but it was more so than I expected. 

We started in Keswick. Owing to being much earlier risers than my brother, Missy, Hubby and I enjoyed the Derwent Pencil Museum which has undergone a revamp since we were last there. They still allow dogs and, armed with our quizzes, it made for a very nice morning out of the worst of the sun. Then we met up for lunch with my brother, took both dogs a walk by the river, then headed down to the site.

White Cross Bay is a great site. Walking distance to Brockhole and the pier for the boat to Windermere, a mere 6 minutes from Ambleside by car and right on the lake itself. We arrived, checked in, parked up, located my sister and her family and then all went to play in the water, letting the dogs cool down again.

Of course we started with the boats. This was really the one day that was pretty independent from my sisters family as we did the Walkers Ticket. Whilst they joined us in Brockhole and to Ambleside, we hopped on the next boat for Wray Castle whilst my niece and nephew hunted down chocolate dipped ice creams.

Once at Wray castle, we started the 4 mile walk to Ferry House. At 22C, I spent the whole holiday panicking about Missy overheating, but it was all in the shade of the forest or along the waters edge where both Missy and Maisie dipped thier paws to keep cool. This was the key thing for Hubby and I - in years past we tried this route and, owing to a much younger Missy trotting to get past all the ramblers, we effectively jogged the first mile and had to quit the route as I about died from the exercise. Needless to say, Missy is more sedate on walks these days, st least until she spots a squirrel or rabbit.

Once we successfully completed the 4 miles, we hopped on the boat to Windermere and celebrated with chocolate dipped ice creams of our own.

Wednesday was mostly focused on Brockhole and was a proper family day. The treetop adventure had been closed the day before and, at my brothers casual suggestion, that was the plan. I sat out with the dogs as I knew hubby would be sitting out on Thursdays plans.

I was unsure of how both dogs would feel about thier dad's up in the trees, but they were perfectly behaved for me. I managed a cup of tea, some "wild crafting" and then they were all coming down the zip line, buzzing about the adventure. It was the talk of lunch as we ate at Brockhole and enjoyed some of the wider scenery it offered. 

We split paths again, an afternoon swimming in the kids agenda whilst we decided to explore both Skelghyll Wood and Stagshaw Garden. The views we're absolutely stunning, so we'll worth squeezing into the tiny car park for! 

Thursday was definitely the sisters day. We started off with the big "must do" of my sisters - the Stott Bobbin Mill. I did give my brother the choice of opting out, but he was game for anything so came along with us. We were again blessed with superb weather and, as the kids ran about with their bobbin-keys for the kids quiz, the dogs enjoyed a sunny stroll. They no longer allow dogs on the tour, so hubby sat out whilst I joined the main party. 

The tour was superb and everyone enjoyed it, particularly my nephew who received the bobbin that split in half during the demonstration. The gift shop was subsequently raided of all bobbins and, after shaking my sister down by the ankles and determining that she hadn't stolen anything, we were on route to Kendal. 

I was getting very concerned about Missy at this point. Whilst technically no hotter than the days prior, this was our first "inland" day and she was panting like a freight train. Now, let me be clear, she loves to bake herself in the sun and then has to lie on the floor in the hall to cool down.  The heat and the panting weren't really the issue, it was adding in walking that was worrying me. 

We got to the castle and made a beeline for the city centre for some food. A huge shout out to the Pizza Express there. We had to sit outside owing to the dogs and, without prompting, we were handed a huge old margarine tub full of ice water for Missy. At last, my last minute panic buy of a neon orange cool vest was put to use. Dipped in the water and secured on Missy and she perked up right away. 

Content that she was well, my sister and I split off for the Quaker Tapestry Museum. Again I asked my brother if he wanted to decline, and this time he did! Clearly viewing tapestries was a step to far for him.

The museum was thoroughly enjoyable. I thought it was  going to be a collection of old tapestries, not the Quaker equivalent of the Bayeux Tapestry which told the history of the Quakers. So it was a pleasant surprise.

Just as we finished up in the gift shop hubby rang, it was fine, but Maisie had broken her good streak and chased a rabbit. He had to rescue her after she got trapped in brambles, but all was well, but they were done now, were we?

So we all congregated back at the car. Maisie was scolded for being naughty and all was well again. 

We celebrated the end of the holiday with desserts at the pub, which my sister snuck away to join us in. A toast was made to a good holiday and all was well in the world. 

We finished off the week back in Keswick, this time revisiting the Puzzling Place. It's an oldie but a goodie and the kids loved it, though I don't think Missy wants swapped out for a daschund anytime soon.

And then it was lunch and into our separate cars to go back home. Upon pulling into the driveway, hubby, Missy and myself looked at one another an knew the holiday blues were awaiting. I got a message from my brother, Maisie had refused dinner and was sulking, so clearly we weren't the only ones! 

I did get an invite out for a dog walk yesterday with my brother, so clearly I didn't drive him mad on holiday! Missy was in her cool coat again for it, but safe than sorry, its very hot! 

Al in all, a very good holiday. I did miss crafting with my sister in the evenings, but in the whole felt it had balanced out well. 

Until next time! 

Lowther Castle

The border is officially open and today marked the great border dash, and a brand new adventure for all of us: Lowther Castle. Not only was it a new adventure, but I got to see my sister for the first time in 8 months, the castle being a perfect 2 hour drive for us both - ideal for day tripping. 

I shall be quick: whilst we managed to refrain from tears, it was a close call. My emotional cup is full, her cup is full and everything in the world looks a bit brighter and I'm feeling more optimistic for the future. Now, onto the day;

Lowther Castle is an odd attraction, built in the 19th Century and demolished in the 1950s, it was left desolate for years. Then it was transformed. There is something for everyone, ruins, gardens within gardens, wildlife aplenty and, a big hit with the kids, one of the biggest adventure playgrounds I have ever seen. With the exception of the adventure playground, dogs are permitted across the site (and being honest, Missy would not have wanted to step a paw amongst the bustling children - strolling through rock gardens and endless rows of daffodils are far more her style). I always find it interesting how differently I look at a place when I go with neices and nephews (7 and 3 in this case) - ordinarily we wouldn't have ventured near the playground, but here we were taking turns to frantically chase a giggling child determined to find every zip wire and slide. 

Due to Covid, the exhibition about the castle was shut, as was the shop and the cafe was doing take away only. They also asked we only have one adult per child in the playground. All of which was fair enough - the outside tables were plenty and most had umbrellas up (although we were fortunate that the weather was dry).

Outside of the playground (by far the most popular thing for the kids) there was plenty to see and do around the gardens. Each area has a unique feel, from wildflower meadows, an avenue of tree swings, stone gardens and finely cultivated rose gardens. Ponds and fountains, weird and wonderful statues and ornate stair cases that led to nowhere. Before we knew it, we had burned through 4 hours and exhausted both kids. 

If we had been staying locally (and I've pencilled it in for a revisit on my next lakes holiday) we would have ventured across the wider estate where there was more ruins and folk were out enjoying the bank holiday weekend on bikes. I could have easily spent an entire day there. However, there was a 2 hour drive home to go and my hubby was exhausted from his first proper week back at work. 

It's been a good week all told, a few dog walks with my brother who had some annual leave and, despite being tired, hubby has been in a better place too. Here's hoping for a better run for the rest of the year! 

A List of Adventures!

Looking for somewhere a bit more unusual to take your four legged friends? It can be difficult scrawling through web pages trying to look for dog policies in places that someone somewhere has obscurely mentioned may be dog friendly, so to save everyone time, I've put together all of Missy's adventures into a list (broken by region) to hopefully save everyone else a little stress.

Missy out ghost hunting at the abandoned asylum!

Please share any suggestions of places we've yet to discover ourselves across the UK - Missy is always on the lookout for new adventures!

Scotland:

Edinburgh and the Lothians:

Walks:
Beecraigs Country Park
Antonine Wall/Falkirk Wheel
Bangour Village Hospital (abandoned asylum)
Union Canal (Ratho - Edinburgh)
Hermand Beechwood
Cramond Island
Cairns Castle
Pentlands
Cammo Estate
Korean War Memorial and Witchcraig Woods

Attractions:
Camera Obscura and World of Illusion
Summerhall Gallery
Almond Valley Heritage Centre
National Museum of Flight
Muiravonside Country Park
Bo'Ness and Kinneil Railway
Scottish Seabird Centre

Historic Scotland Sites:
Cairnpapple
Blackness Castle
Craigmillar Castle
Linlithgow Palace
Crichton Castle
Tantallon Castle (revisit)
Dirleton Castle and Gardens (revisit)
Dunfermline Abbey and Palace
Craignethan Castle
Thistle Knights Tours (Edinburgh Ghost Walk)


Events:
Bathgate Highland Games
Linlithgow Jousting
Siege on the Forth
Edinburgh Kiltwalk
Arthurs Ambles
Prepare to give Fire!
Dalkeith Show
40s/50s day @ Bo'Ness Railway

Kingdom of Fife:

Walks:

St Andrews Beach

Attractions:

Historic Scotland Sites:

Arbroath Abbey

St Marys
Ravenscraig Castle

Glasgow, Clyde and Ayrshire:

Walks:

Attractions:

New Lanark 

Glasgow Botanical Gardens

Historic Scotland Sites:

Bothwell Castle
Craignethan Castle

Perth, Kinross and Angus:

Walks:
Killiecrankie

Attractions:

Historic Scotland Sites:

Huntingtower Castle (dogs not permitted in buildings)

Bothwell Castle (revisit)

Events:
Perthshire Highland Games

Central and West:

Walks:

Attractions:

Loch Katrine Lake Cruise

Inverary Jail

Historic Scotland Sites:

Inchmahome Priory (revisited)

Castle Campbell and Gardens

Dumfries and Galloway:

Walks:

Attractions:
Crawick Multiverse

Historic Scotland Sites:

Caerlaverock Castle
Jedburgh Abbey
Dryburgh Abbey
Sweetheart Abbey
Lochmaben

North and Grampian:

Walks:
Culloden (dogs must be kept on leads)

Attractions:
Landmark Adventure Park
Jacobite Cruise Loch Ness
Dunnator Castle

Historic Scotland Sites:

Kildrummy Castle

Glenbuchat Castle

Corgarff Castles (dogs not permitted in buildings)
Fort George (dogs not permitted in buildings)
Clava Cairns

National Trust Sites:
Crathes Castle (dogs not permitted inside)

England:

Greater Manchester:

Walks:

Attractions:

Stockley Farm

White Peak Alpacas

East Lancashire Railway

Events:

Heald Green Festival

The Lakes:

Walks:
Grizedale Forest
Whinlatter Forest

Attractions:

Pencil Museum

Puzzling Place

Windermere Lake Cruises

Laurel and Hardy Museum

Stott Bobbin Mill

Lakeside Motor Museum

Haverwaithe Railway

Old Hall Farm

If you've found somewhere fun to go through this blog, Missy and I would love to hear about it - please let us know and share your travels with us!

Bobbins and Steam trains

Well, I've been back at work for just over a week and my Lakes holiday already seems like a lifetime ago. You've all probably guessed bynow, but the Lakes are one of my favourite places in the UK - the scenery is stunning, there's so much to see and do, you can get chocolate dipped ice creams and, most importantly, its super dog friendly.

This was a double-date of a family holiday; myself, hubby and Missy with my sister, her hubby and the two sprogs: 3 year old Felix and Inkling who was 11 weeks at that point. It was a challenge to the world - can we make a successful holiday that catered for small children, a dog and four adult nerds? In short, yes, yes you can!

 

Kick off was in Keswick and we found a lovely little American-style diner for lunch. We got lucky as, being a big party, they sat us upstairs and we literally had it to ourselves, which is great with a hyper three year old trying to speak to everyone at once and a dog who really just wants to stretch out over half the floor. We didn't spend a lot of time there as it was very busy and we wanted to get checked in. We had decided to try an AirBnB as getting a caravan/lodge that would fit us all in the first week of the English holidays was impossible, and managed to find a beautiful cottage half an hour away by Cartmel (home of sticky toffee pudding). The cottage was everything we'd hoped - spacious enough for all of us, but still cosy.

 

Tuesday was Windermere, we had to start off with the real tourist day. This was probably the only day that wasn't really Missy-friendly, but we worked around it by having the boys look after her whilst we girls did the Beatrix Potter Attraction and then m brother in law bravely volunteered to sit with her in a nice pub whilst the rest of us went to watch the Where's Peter Rabbit? puppet show, with a break in the middle where we all had fish and chips and ice cream by the water's edge.

I had a brilliant time - around the exhibition I explained all the stories to my niece and tried to get my nephew to enjoy Peter Rabbit. He seemed taken with Jeremy Fisher, but at 11 weeks, it's hard to tell - still, plenty of time! My sister rekindled her love of Mr Tod who then became something of a mascot-come-devious trickster for the rest of the holiday.  

Missy striking a pose at Kendal Castle

 Wednesday was our 'quiet' day. The BIL desperately wanted to go fishing, so the hubby and I left them to it (having studied marine biology, I have served my time when it comes to fish farms!) and went to the StottBobbin Mill. An English Heritage site, we got in free without Historic Scotland passes and were pleasantly surprised by how fascinating the whole thing turned out to be. We joined in on the tour and Missy was very well behaved for the whole tour, not being fussed about the noise of the mill as we watched the demonstrations of how they made the bobbins and showing little interest in the other dogs on the tour. It's nice to see people making use of the dog friendly attractions, and there was plenty of other dogs for Missy to say hi to by the time the tour finished.

After the mill, we went for a walk around the reservoir there (well, tried to, but got lost and the access laws in England are very different from home, so we gave up after Missy had burned off some energy chasing bunnies). Then we popped over to Kendal and had a look at the castle there and had a late lunch whilst sheltering from the rain before exploring the town centre then heading back.

 

The last full day was taken up by the Lakeside Motor Museum and the Lakeside and Haverwaithe Railway. This was a suggestion of my brother in law and, as my sisters family are very into steam trains, we decided to get the combo ticket and do both. It was all dog friendly and we had a nice quiet morning looking around the museum which is full of an assortment of cars and motorbikes. Having only a casual interest in cars, I enjoyed myself, but there was plenty more to watch/read for more avid fans.

Now, the website says you can walk to the railway but, with a toddler and a baby in a buggy, I would not recommend the route as most of it is on the road with only a line of white paint to help protect you from the traffic!

However, the short walk was worth it and we got to the railway. It's not a long journey to Lakeside from Haverwaithe, but its long enough to feel like you've gotten your money's worth and to have an experience. We ate at Lakeside and ended up having to split up from each other as nowhere allowed Missy in and, after running about with two small kids, my sister really needed a sit down and relax (note, if anyone working at Lakeside ever reads this, you're missing a trick, make one of the cafes dog friendly and you'll make a fortune!). So the hubby and I had hotdogs whilst looking out over the very scenic views of the water and shared a little with Missy.

To finish the day, we went into Cartmel. The hubby and I had already explored it on a morning dog walk so we knew to park at the priory and we found the local play park for Felix. We'd hit that point of knowing that it was the last day and no one wanted it to finish, so we decided to eat out for dinner and try some of the sticky toffee pudding.

It was perhaps the best sticky toffee I've ever had!

 

Friday was going home day, so we decided to milk it for what it was worth and went to the Old Hall Farm - a little vintage ice cream farm. Farms are funny places for dog owners, some are really happy to let them in and make a huge fuss when they see them, and others are like 'no dog shall pass!' and view them as sheep murdering monstrosities.

Fortunately, this was the former. Whist the pamphlet from the information centre indicated it was dog friendly, I hadn't really been able to find out any more than that, so it was a relief to realise that she was welcome everywhere on site. It's a labour of love attraction, and we had a lovely time mooching about and catching bits of the activities and tours as and when they suited us. Missy was obsessed with the pigs. She's seen cows before, and chickens and ducks and sheep and even alpacas, but not pigs. Every time we passed them she would drag us over and stand up against the wall of the sty to gaze in at them and, silently, give them her hardest stare. Frankly, under that gaze, I'm shocked they didn't turn to bacon and start frying themselves!

Felix was very unsure of the shire horses - they were much too big for her and, when one cheekily threw water over an unsuspecting (and subsequently very startled) Missy, decided she much preferred the little horses. And the engine shed.

Well, it was her holiday too, and if she wanted to look at engines that suited me just fine. We all stopped for ice cream (well, it would have been rude not to) and then decided that it was time to head our respective ways home.

I'm not sure whats worse, my handwriting or the sketch!

 A wonderful time had by all - and seeing as my sister is already planning next year's repeat trip for us all, I'm not just saying it!

Lake District

So that's us not long back from our week away in the  - I've posted before about how wonderfully dog friendly the area is and we were not disappointed a second time!

I wont witter away for too long, so here are the highlights!

Our first port of call was in Ulverston (about 40 minutes from where we were staying) to the Laurel and Hardy Museum. Its completely dog friendly and goes over the life of Stan Laurel who was born in the village. There is a little bit about Hardy too and there is a cinema screen constantly playing the movies. The chap who runs the place (his grandfather founded it) was very chatty and full of interesting facts. A definite recommend! 

We then went to the nearby Buddhist temple and took Missy on a nice walk along the 'beach'. We had planned on stopping at the Stott Bobbin Mill, but fortunately I noticed when putting in the postcode that as it was off-season, it happened to be shut the Tuesday.

Wednesday we did a cruise with Windermere Lake Cruises and did the green walkers route, which picked us up at Brockhole, took us to Ambleside (we found an amazing pet shop there and got Missy a new collar and a lovely tea shop) and then to Wray Castle. We had planned on walking out to the newly built view point but hadn't realised it would be a 6 mile round walk (next time we'll do it!). We had a theatre show booked for the evening, so instead did a 3 mile walk to a lovely old barn house that was another viewpoint. 

The show that we saw was "Meeting Mrs Bea" at the recently built Old Laundry House theatre. It was about Beatrix Potters later years as Mrs Helis when she had become an accomplished sheep farmer and had given up on writing stories - I wont say more than that, but if it tours by, or you can find the original radio play its based on, its well worth a watch.

Thursday was a busy day! We started out by hunting down the locally infamous orange sheep and enjoying a walk around Troutbeck which is were we were based for the holiday. The sheep did not disappoint and are much more orange in real life than either photo or video shows!

We then took Missy out on a row boat and, whilst unsure at first, she quickly settled into it all, even risking a damp nose and peeking into the water a few times! Whilst Missy is an incredibly strong swimmer, she stoically makes a beeline to shore and does not enjoy the experience in the slightest , so we had no worry or concern that she would jump into the lake (living by a river that flows very strongly after rain, we did test that she could in fact swim not long after getting her, whilst she would allow me to carry her into the water, she did not venture in on her own free will!).

Our last day was going home through Keswick. The Pencil Museum was sadly closed for refurbishment, but we found some nice shops and a lovely little cafe to enjoy our last day in.

Its now Sunday and Missy is still quite tired from her adventures, and we're already planning the next one! Till next time!

Windermere Lake Cruises

Windermere Lake Cruises

Place Name: Windermere Lake Cruises

Location: Various around Lake Windermere

Cost: Varies depending on cruise type

Parking: various pay and display car parks - information is well provided on website

Time Required: 45 minutes to all day

Restrictions: Dogs to be kept on leads and not allowed on the furniture.

Refreshments: There is a small bar on most boats that does tea/coffee and alcoholic drinks

Website:  https://www.windermere-lakecruises.co.uk/

As you can expect with a name like Windermere Cruises, the attraction here was going out on either a launch boat or a steam boat on the lake. The company offers a variety of packages depending on where you sail from, how long you want to stay on the boat and whether you want to do a walk around Wray Castle as part of their seasonal walking cruise. The larger trips use the steamer, the smaller ones use the wooden launch boats.

The plan from day one had been to do one of the cruises on the lake, but like all great plans, other things came up and instead of a full day on the lake we only had time to fit in the 45minute Island Tour. With Missy being prone to the odd bout of travel sickness, it also made sense to just do a small ride just in case. The Island tour sails in and out of the Bowness harbour every half hour. The location allows for plenty of ice cream, duck feeding and strolls along the shore line before going onto the tour, and if you're up for it, more of the same once your back off the boat.

Once we'd bought our ticket (dogs go on free) we simply strolled onto the boat. The staff made no complaint to us sitting downstairs in the shelter on the nice soft chairs (Missy on the carpet) and had no problem with us all going onto the more exposed top level during the tour. The weather was fortunate enough that we stayed up top most of the time, but it's good to know that had the elements turned against us, we could all huddle downstairs together.

The boat set off and we had a guided tour of the different islands - it was interesting to see that one had simply eroded down to a single tree whilst others had been the film set to Swallows and Amazons whilst the largest was privately owned with its own house and everything! The only real complaint to be had was that the information was quite brief and the guidebook we had purchased covered all the tours so the information on just the islands was a touch sparse.

Missy stole the show as usual and we got a lot of compliments on how well behaved she was - truth be told not a lot phases her and she really does take new and odd surroundings in her stride. She thankfully didn't suffer any travel sickness and strolled quite calmly off the boat with us.

And yes, we did go back and have a second ice cream on our stroll along the shore line!

Overall rating : 4.5/5 - Timetables and maps were a touch confusing to figure out, but the staff were great with us. Great fun and a novel way to get about if you have a whole day to do it.

That's the last of the Lake District reviews for now, we hope to get back down again soon, but in the meantime please feel free to let me know any recommendations in the Scotland area!

attraction, Cumbria, dog, dog friendly, Dog walking, England, Windermere lake cruises, Lake District, missy, pet

Keswick - Pencil Museum and Puzzling Place

Place Name: Pencil Museum

Location: Keswick, England, CA12 5NG

Cost: Adults £4.50, Kids £3.50

Parking: Pay and display carpark to rear of building; £4 for all day

Time needed: hour to hour and a half

Restrictions: Must be on lead. If there is a demonstration on, dogs are not permitted in the cafe area but there is spaces to eat outside.

Refreshments: Cafe inside the gift shop area

Website:  http://www.pencilmuseum.co.uk/

The Pencil Museum was originally on the to-do list as a bit of a joke. One of the first places we found that allowed dogs inside, we simply had to take Missy and find out just how ridiculously twee the place would be...

The Pencil museum is well sign posted and easy to find. The car park gives you all day parking for £4, and that comes with a £1.50 off entry voucher, so we didn't begrudge that, especially as we'd already made plans to be spending the day in Keswick so the parking suited.  We had decided that we were going to stop for lunch first, so were a little caught out that due to the demonstration, Missy wasn't allowed into the cafe area (there's a small additional room that they are normally allowed in). There was plenty of outside sitting, so we braved the chill and ate out, though in hindsight there was a million dog friendly cafes and pubs barely five minutes away, so we should have just looked elsewhere.

We were pleasantly surprised within the museum - if anything, if wasn't big enough! There was a history on pencils and graphite in general, a section about the spy pencils from WW2, machinery and videos explaining how pencils are made and even tiny pencil lead sculptures! The floors were all carpeted so Missy was quite happy to lie down whilst we watched the videos.

The strangest thing for us was that no one batted an eyelid with having Missy in with us! She had a tremendous fuss made over her by the staff in the gift shop, bu other than that we were left to our own devices.

Overall rating : 5/5 - Surprisingly interesting and informative, staff were absolutely brilliant and really pleased to see us.

I now have a sausage dog!

Puzzling Place

Place Name: Puzzling Place

Location: Keswick, England, CA12 5DZ

Cost: Adults £3.75, Kids £2.90

Parking: A short walk from the Pencil Museum car park (£4 all day pay and display)

Time Required: 1 hour

Restrictions: None.

Refreshments: None.

Website:  http://www.puzzlingplace.co.uk/

This was a quick stop for after the Pencil Museum and the hubby particularly likes his puzzles and optical illusions. It was a short walk from where we'd parked which was ideal for us and was relatively well sign posted.

Up a flight of stairs and we entered a small shop before paying to go into the main attraction. For less than £4 it had a good mix of optical illusion posters, holograms and some very clever camera mounted sets that made it look like you were walking on the wall and things. Some of the holograms were a little worse for wear, but other than that it was well laid out, clean and very enjoyable.

Getting Missy to pose with the illusions was a little tricky, but other than that, we all had a good time!

Overall rating : 3/5 - A nice cheap way to kill an hour, but the low price does reflect on the exhibits.

Whinlatter Forest

Place Name:  Whinlatter Forest

Location: Lake District, England, CA12 5TW

Cost: Free

Parking: Plenty, pay and display

Walking distance: Variable, 1 hour to all day

Restrictions: Dogs are not allowed into the visitors centre, shop or cafe

Refreshments: Cafe by visitors centre (dogs allowed in outside seating area)

Website:  http://www.forestry.gov.uk/whinlatter

Whinlatter is the big brother of Grizedale which I reviewed previously. On that note, I will quickly start on their similarities and differences which are worth bearing in mind.

The parking is again pay and display, though more sensibly broken into hour blocks. I was more prepared this time and had plenty of change! A Go Ape is located within the forest, though this one felt more discretely placed to one side and tons of mountain bike trails. Missy, as I said previously, is on fairly strict lead walks because of her claw, so the odd bike whizzing by wasn't a problem, but should be noted for those who let their dogs free range, especially as the year warms up.

More carvings to find!

The one major difference that did surprise me is that the cafe in this one is not dog friendly (well, they can sit out under a shelter on a porch) and the prices are a touch more expensive - but you expect that when one place uses teabags and the other serves you loose tea leaves, a strainer and a menagerie of pots for it all!

Without sounding snobbish about trees, this forest is part of the forestry commission for felling and is a wave of evergreens. It is predominantly firs and pines with the odd lone birch tree making a spindly break for it. However, the forest still retains a natural feel, unlike the eerie endless rows of some forests and is well populated with birds and such. It is also huge. With the parking meter ever ticking in the back of my mind, we didn't stray off the marked routes (we did two walks, the yellow short walk and the blue medium walk) but there was plenty of 'off road' stuff to explore should you be a frequent visitor or decide to do a whole day.

Its difficult to really get the full scale of the place

We did have time for a little look at the playgrounds. Yes, plural. Whoever came up with splitting a play park into little bite sized pieces and spreading it across a walk was probably a genius. The areas we looked at were well made and designed, and we may have indulged in a go at what was effectively a giant sand pit toy but with pea gravel. The website also promises the Gruffalo (a statue of a children's book character) who we failed to find, but I suspect that he was tucked away on a separate little path rather than on a main one.

Overall rating : 4/5 - The parking (again) and the fact that the cafe didn't allow dogs whilst the sister site did pulled the score down. However, the paths are well kept, facilities were great and overall a great place to visit that could either be a tremendous morning walk or an all day thing.

Is that rabbit I smell on the wind?

Grizedale Forest

Its a boar if you look long enough!

Place Name: Grizedale Forest

Location: Lake District, England LA22 0QJ

Cost: Free

Parking: Plenty, pay and display

Walking distance: Variable, 45 minutes to 2 hours

Restrictions: Dogs are not allowed into the visitors centre or shop.

Refreshments: Cafe by visitors centre is dog friendly

Website:  http://www.forestry.gov.uk/grizedale

For Missy's first proper holiday, we decided to start with one of the most dog friendly parts of the UK. Matt and I have previously visited the Lake District and felt Missy would enjoy the greener than green scenery.

The Grizedale forest struck us as a good one to do - it was nearby and it was sold in a similar way to Beecraigs (one of her favourite haunts). Signposting into Grizedale could have been a little better, but that is more likely the fault of my sat nav, which chooses the most convoluted and windiest routes possible.

Views were truly stunning, even Missy took a moment to appreciate them

Once we arrived and parked up, I was caught out by the pay and display. Furious re-reading of the pamphlet did show that this is advertised, so I can't say there was no warning, but it could have been a bit more obvious. With the largest route taking an estimated 5 hours, the 1 hour for £1.80 plus 45p for every twenty minutes thereafter (£7 for the day) seemed a bit ridiculous, although I suspect this is a ploy to 'encourage' everyone to buy their Discovery Pass which allows year round free parking.

Thankfully, that was the only gripe to be had. A quick tea and cake was purchased at the cafe which was a novel and new experience for Missy who hasn't done dog friendly cafes before and the prices were very reasonable and the cakes excellent.

Having paid for just an hour, we did one of the shorter 3.5 mile trails (we all walk much faster than the estimated average). They currently have a Superworm trail on at the moment, so much like Beecraigs, they keep renewing activities and information. It was nice to see a school group making their way about as well, so the area is certainly well used by people although, with the exception of song birds, there wasn't much wildlife - not a bad thing as Missy is recovering from a torn claw so we didn't want her chasing things, but it does make the place a little eerily quiet.

One of the things that they make a fuss about in this site is the 40+ sculptures to be found dotted around the place. We saw a handful (4 or 5) so I can see a real return element to try and find them all.

This huge wood cutter greets you on the way in

That was really all we had time for, minus a wee peek round the shop and a quick privvy break (good, clean facilities) but there is plenty more to do. The area co-hosts a large Go Ape tree climbing trail (there is a proper kennels at the car park, so the dog in theory can be dropped off if a member of the party doesn't want to miss out). There is also a large outdoor play area that is very new looking and nicely contained to the visitor centre side of the forest and, as I've previously said, the events change frequently, so it certainly seems  worth keeping an eye on the 'what's on' section of the website.

Overall rating : 4/5 - had the parking been free, or more reasonable (£2 or £3 for the day for upkeep would have been perfectly fine) then I would happily have given it a 5. As it was, with no option to park anywhere else, it seemed a tad unfair. Other than that, something for everyone to enjoy with or without the dog.