Camping with friends in the Lake District: Northern England

I specially took a half day off for camping last Friday. We decided to set off at 3ish so I dashed back from work and started packing: food, drink and of course camping equipment.

My husband said he needed a pillow. “I have to have shower gel,” I said to myself, munching on some crisps (no time for lunch!)



The weather was not looking good, and on Thursday night I rang the friends who we were going with. I explained that we might not come depending on the weather, because they were going to bring food for us, and I didn’t want them to take too much.

We checked the weather forecast every day, which was quite useless as it changed almost every hour. We hesitated: should we go or should we not? There was a little voice in my head fighting for my laziness and freedom, but we finally went.

We met our friends at the campsite, and enjoyed nice food during a heavy downpour and gusting winds.

I finally went to bed and slept at 2330 but got up at 0600 when the sky was bright but cloudy. Later on/After breakfast I went to Beatrix Potter’s house, which is now a museum: a very nice cosy cottage with gardens and a stable.

Unfortunately the weather went bad again just when we were exploring the cottage, and the heavy downpour wet me through. I quickly finished the visiting, jumped back into the car and drove to the campsite. A wet but pleasant weekend!

Pacific Asia (2)

Following my last post dated 24th July, after Hsinchu, we travelled to the south of Taiwan – Kaohsiung by High Speed Rail (HSR).

Usually, when travel between the north and the south of Taiwan, it takes 7 hours on the motorway otherwise the quickest way to get there is to fly. And now, due to the fact that the HSR has been completed, the pattern of travelling through Taiwan has significantly changed; there is a much greater volume of people going to Kaohsiung for both business and pleasure.

We stayed in a hotel which was situated in the landmark 85 Sky Tower at the centre of the Kaohsiung city's new business and shopping district; we were staggered at the height and the layout of the hotel, and the elevator brought us up the 39 floors in 35 seconds.

At night, in order to experience a local nightlife, we accepted an invitation of a friend to a club downtown. The entrance fee was about £6 pp and… drinks were inclusive, smoking allowed in the premises. Isn’t that heaven for holidaying or clubbing people?? However, they did check ID before we went in and only allowed the age of 21 or 21+ to enter.

One of the famous attractions of Taiwan is Hot Springs. Different locations gave different formations and water type so, it is recommended to try as many as possible when you travel up and down the country.

Most Hot Springs keep skin smooth; others may claim holistic treatments. You are able to ask for a private room or mucking in the public pool with other visitors of the same gender. Sitting in the hot springs pool between 10 and 15 minutes, and plunging into the completely cold water pool for a few seconds gives your skin a sudden temperature massage, and also powers up your heart beat (perhaps for the people who suffer from heart disease these treatments are not recommended). It’s good fun and washes the tiredness away after you have done the whole procedure.

I’d say, I really had a good time in Taiwan, it is a small country but it has got a bit of everything that travellers want and fancy.