Waking up in the tent was like being back in the Alps. Once the sun hits the canvas, you have to abandon ship immediately or suffocate with heat stroke. Luckily, we were planning on an early start, so after a breakfast under the shade of the football clubs veranda, we drove the two minutes around to the head of the lake.
I think it's fair to say that conditions on the water were looking pretty good.
We seemed to be up before anyone else in Coniston, even though it was 9am by the time we were on the water. We had the lake to ourselves as we gently coasted southwards, while catching up with each others news.
One the day got going, the temperatures, even out on the lake, where there was just a glimmer of a breeze, were super hot. Beth taught us a few SUP Yoga moves and at times, we had to drape into the water to keep cool.
We stopped at Branwood (the big house opposite Coniston Hall), where there is now a little cafe, with a very nice looking terrace. So nice in far, people were queing to get a table, so we returned to the lake sure, where we'd left the boards and had the snack and water that we had with us as the Gondola puffed past.
All thoughts of trying to hike up mountains or even go climbing we a distant memory. The lake was the place to be for both enjoyment as well as survival!
A SUP, a Snorkel and a Swim later and we returned to the village for a final ice cream and walk around the place to see what had changed since the family holiday days. Then it was back on the road to Wales...
We've barely spent any time at The Cottage in the summer months, so it was nice to pop in and see how things were looking and use it as our very own holiday retreat. The meadow in the from garden was in full alpine bloom.
And we were even able to harvest some of the fruits and made some very nice milkshakes. It was a record breaking thirty degrees in the house when we arrived in 'the cool of the evening'!
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