Last week was our half term and after a weekend at Cub and Beaver camp we spent a few days in the Lake District. We were staying in a cottage not far from Keswick, and despite some pretty miserable weather it was lovely to get away and spend some time away from home. I was definitely grateful that I made it through another half term without catching covid and we didn’t have to cancel any of our plans!

I went up to the Lakes with my mum on Monday evening, leaving the boys at home with Barry. They were at a Street Monkeys holiday camp on Tuesday so Barry brought them up after that and arrived by tea time. It meant me and my mum got to spend a very pleasant day in Keswick wandering round the shops and having lunch out. I got myself some new walking boots – my old ones didn’t do a very good job of keeping my feet dry when we walked up Pendle Hill in January, and when I thought about it I realised they were about 15 years old so I think I was definitely due a new pair!

On Wednesday the weather forecast was pretty awful with all the storms that hit the UK last week. Luckily Keswick had plenty of indoor activities to keep us occupied. First we went to The Puzzling Place – a small but fun place to pass an hour. It’s full of optical illusions and interactive exhibits like the anti-gravity room where I took this picture of Toby…

I think my favourite was the Ames Room, which plays with perspective and lets you take pictures like this one of a giant Gabe and tiny Toby!

After The Puzzling Place we went to Keswick’s famous Pencil Museum. Again, it’s not very big but the boys got quizzes to complete as we looked round, a few free pencils and a photo with the biggest coloured pencil in the world! What more could you ask for?

We got quite lucky with the weather on Thursday, and in a break between storms we actually had a dry day! It was still quite cold and windy but we managed to get out for a short walk to see the Bowder Stone, and down to the river Derwent where I took this picture of Gabe, stick in hand as always!

We were due to stay in the Lakes until Friday but with another storm on the way we decided to leave after tea on Thursday so we didn’t have to drive home through awful weather. We all really enjoyed our break away though – it was just nice to be somewhere else, with some lovely views, a cosy log burner and time with each other.

We’re back to school and work now, but already counting down to the Easter holidays, and another break away – this one has been rescheduled twice since Easter 2020, so we’re hoping we actually get to go this time!

Whether your half term was last week or this, I hope you’re enjoying some time off from school, and the weather isn’t hampering your plans too much.

This is my ninth year taking part in this linky celebrating childhood, based on a poem by Kahlil Gibran, “You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth” .

If you’d like to see the rest of my Living Arrows posts you can find them all here.