So did Saturday bring good fortune…?

I woke, opened my curtains in expectation and the skies were heavy with cloud

Jocky had been in touch the day before to say he was in London as his father was in hospital; my heart sank to my boots; but then said his son, Josh, who I’d also met, would take me if the weather allowed – my heart rose back into position again…..

I’d had several txt conversations with Josh but he said it was 50/50 the night before….🙈

Anyway this morning, there seemed to be little wind even though it was cloudy, so I was a tad confused. A sudden doubt came over me – was he worried about taking me up there 🤔

I txt him a message saying I wanted him to be honest with me and if the weather was ok but he didn’t feel comfortable, simply to tell me instead of ‘we can’t fly’…..

His response was reassuringly comforting:

“If it were possible to fly I’d be up the hill immediately with you”

But sadly calmness on the ground doesn’t always mean calmness in the sky and he explained that there were gusts of 42Km an hour, faster than the paraglide, so we’d end up going backwards, making it dangerous. So it was a no show again, but at least I knew why. We said we’d look the early hours of Sunday morning before I leave with David and at tea time to see if that was a possibility, after I’d got back from setting Sylvia free in paradise. So everything crossed again.

What to do today though? I decided yo take a jaunt on the bus, first to Windermere for me then to walk down to Bowness and buy my supper…..yes, all the way to Windermere for a baguette from my favourite deli shop…🤣

The bus rides from Keswick and so relaxing, so stunning and the journey to Windermere takes you through Grasmere and Ambleside and everywhere in between. 

Lake after lake appears…

One by one, each different, some small, some large…

It’s never easy taking photos through the window of a bus and today not many turned out. But the bus ride there and back is well worth it, simply for the ride….

Once I got back, I went to my room for a cuppa or two before catching my favourite bus, the 77. It’s a circular route starting and ending in Keswick and last just under 2 hours. The bus is small because of the tiny roads it has to navigate, often turning into single track. Car drivers drive at their peril, the roads so narrow and often having to reverse to allow the bus to get through. Many fail miserably and someone else takes the wheel for them. The bus drivers are like the formula one of the countryside, so expert in these narrow situations, knowing exactly how close to get to the edge…

Through Buttermere and up the Honiston Pass before sinking down into Borrodale Valley and home again. Once more most of my photos didn’t come out apart from this one of Buttermere..

And this of the sheep having a narrow escape from the vehicles

Once back home I decided I needed to stretch my legs after all the sitting and trundled to Friars Cragg….the first close up of lambs I’d seen since arriving

The sun had been a rarity all day, but as I reached my favourite spot, the sun peaked through the grey clouds

My bench was occupied so I couldn’t sit and ponder and I saw David had txted me to say he’d arrived, so we met for a quick hello before he was meeting Gill and Roland for supper – a hug and tears shed, stories told before I left for home….

The huge Monkey Tree outside Appletrees looking awesome in the evening light

Typically, as I’m typing this in the evening….I looked up and blue sky and the late evening sun decided to make an appearance out of my window …🙄

Tomorrow will be a difficult day, sad happy and every other emotion possible as we set my lovely friend Sylvia free……AND will I or won’t I do my blooming paraglide….? 🤞