Ulswater

We had a leisurely drive along the side of Ulswater here and up to Penrith, having bought some hot cross buns and an apple pie from the Apple Pie shop in Ambleside. A stop in Penrith to buy fishing gear is almost compulsory on a fishing trip to Scotland.

There was time to walk the dog in Dunkeld ( we always like to look in awe at the parent tree of all the UK's larches) before finding our digs and high tea. High tea in Scotland is a bit strange. First they bring lots of toast, and I mean lots of toast, then there's the main meal, in this case Sunday roast. I like Sunday roast, but with toast? Then they bring lots of cakes and tea with more tea. I had a lager from the bar but they don't offer a wine menu, you'd need to ask for it. It all clicked when I realised this is all rooted in Presbyterian traditions. By 6.30 pm it's all over. 

It's cold, much colder than usual at this time of the year, the water looks good and I saw another osprey. They're returning north after the winter migration to Africa. Early bed, early rise, multiple layers of warm stuff and waterproofs  and down to the river.  

We both agreed that the hot cross buns were the best we'd ever had.