{"id":3172,"date":"2022-06-07T12:33:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-07T11:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stonekicking.co.uk\/?p=3172"},"modified":"2023-07-18T14:15:52","modified_gmt":"2023-07-18T13:15:52","slug":"day-32-ambleside-to-kendal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stonekicking.co.uk\/?p=3172","title":{"rendered":"Day 32. Ambleside to Kendal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chapel Stile to Kendal Day 2<\/strong>.
Distance today: 18.3 miles<\/strong>.
Total distance: 611.4 miles<\/strong>.
Accommodation: Airbnb<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plan was to get to Kendal. Once I got back to Ambleside, I made use of a map of local walks which I picked up from the Tourist Information yesterday. It was enough to successfully guide me out of town which, as has been established, is not my strong suit. For a short time I was then on familiar ground because I was heading out on an uphill path Penny and I had returned on when we did a circular walk. I lasted about half a mile before I got lost. When the instructions said stick to the main path<\/em>, was that the smaller path which carried straight on or the larger path which veered off to the side? At some point I gave up trying to stick to any particular route and just followed whatever country lanes appeared to be running roughly parallel with the lake. I was going rogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It really was a lovely day of walking. The sun was shining, the lanes were mainly traffic-free and there was a lushness to the landscape. I passed through a small hamlet which was home to an old farmhouse called Townend<\/a>. Together with the other farm buildings it definitely evoked a sense of being from another era, retaining its charm without being over-preserved<\/em>. I was doing my best to get lost again but luckily was steered back on course by a dog walker who showed me a shortcut to the road I needed to be on. Essentially I was trying to find a route to Kendal which didn’t require me to go all the way to Windermere. This took me through Ings and then on to Staveley where I stopped at Caf\u00e9 Eclec<\/a> for a cup of tea and a scone. It was entertaining to ear-wig the conversation of three ladies who lunch<\/em>, sat at a nearby table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I arrived in Kendal around 2ish and it for some reason it felt like another milestone. Maybe it because it marked the end of the hiking territory for a while. Time for another mini-pilgrimage. The last time I was there was with Penny 7 years ago and we had spent an evening in the bar at the Brewery Arts<\/a>. It felt fitting to have another pint there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After my usual last minute accommodation search, the best I could come up with was an Airbnb. It wasn’t particularly cheap but at least it was fairly central. When I got there the place wasn’t anything special but there was a pint of milk in the fridge and the owner did offer the use of their washing machine. Pretty much all of my day-to-day clothes went in there and after hanging everything out on a line, I stayed in my room, recharging and generally catching up on things. Out in the evening with a real hankering for a wood-fired pizza. It soon became apparent that I’d left it too late and after a fruitless search around town, I returned without having had pizza or beer. Time for another rehydrated meal. Somehow or other I managed to resist the temptation to switch on the television which, given my usual addiction, I thought was very commendable. I think at the heart of the decision was me enjoying not knowing what was going on in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n