We were all given a block of wood, a knife (very sharp), a cloth, a pencil and a plaster. The plaster, we were told, was to put round our thumb at the beginning to protect it, and to avoid any cuts later on. The block of wood had been roughly cut to get rid of a lot of the corner waste in order to save a bit of time. So this is what we started off with (roughly…)
We were then taught the basic techniques of using the knife and finding the right way to cut the wood, feeling for the grain, and what we were trying to achieve on the day. More tea and coffee appeared mid-morning, with lunch at about 1pm. By this time none of us had really spoken to each other and we'd all been too busy concentrating on what we were doing! Lunch was a choice of homemade soup and then a choice of either fruit roulade or bread and butter pudding and custard - all equally delicious.
Then back to work to see how far we could get before then end of the day. The afternoon was broken up by more tea and coffee, along with scones with jam and cream! By the time we were leaving we had all just about managed to get a decent looking bird out of the block of wood. After using just a knife and sandpaper, this is what I came home with ……
I have to admit to being really pleased with it too! It was such a relaxing day - quite intense, but so good to be able to spend a day trying something new and finding that I enjoyed it so much that I want to try out more whittling at home!
The weekend has been lovely too. I'd booked a hotel for me and DH for last night - just a last minute thing that I didn't even discuss with him, just went ahead and booked it on Tuesday morning! I knew DD was out last night with her boyfriend and his family, so it was an ideal opportunity for us to get away for the night. The weather was awful on the journey to the hotel - very wet and horrible - but the hotel was lovely. It felt like it was in the middle of nowhere, but was only a few miles away from Keswick in the Lake District, the Swinside Inn After a good meal and a couple of drinks we headed off to bed.
We'd taken Oscar with us, and being Oscar, he woke us up quite early - 6am in fact. Far too early to get up properly, but we had to take him out as he was pretty desperate. I'm kind of glad he got us up when he did as the views were lovely at that time in the morning.
We went back to bed for a little while after letting Oscar out, and woke up to this view from our room …..
Amazing - what a difference in just over an hour!
After a good breakfast we checked out and headed off to Dodd Wood by the side of Bassenthwaite Lake. With blue sky and sunshine it was just lovely. Unfortunately the walk became a bit too much for me - too wet and slippy with a steep drop at the side, and my back was really sore, so we turned round and headed in the opposite direction towards Ling How.
I'm so glad we did the walk that we did now. As we climbed up the hill to Ling How not only did we get some stunning views of Bassenthwaite Lake, but as we reached the top of the hill, the shape of Skiddaw appeared bit by bit, covered in snow, and then we could see opening up in front of us. It was breathtaking - so beautiful.
We didn't walk much further - the path started to get a bit steeper and with snow on the tops we decided to stop for a snack and then head back down.
It was very hard to leave such a fabulous place…..
However, knowing that DD is on earlies again this week, and knowing we had a two hour journey home, we set off back to the van, with yet more amazing views on the way back….
We had a slight detour on the way back, via Castlerigg Stone Circle. I've been wanting to see them for ages, but we haven't had time before. So we parked up and had a wander round. It was lovely to be able to wander round them without any restrictions or any touristy souvenirs or anything. The only thing that was there apart from the stones was an ice-cream van parked up on the side of the road! So, as it was a nice day we each had some ice-cream!
And then time for home. And by the time we got home the sunshine had gone and the wind had picked up a bit.
What a fabulous few days.
#walking #LakeDistrict #Hillwalking
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