Fred Whitton Challenge

I slipped out just after 7.00 this morning for a walk around the village with my camera, then after breakfast Smithers and I watched the church service from All Saints’, Woodford Wells on my laptop. We enjoyed seeing the patriotic bunting draped above the altar!

We didn’t venture out in the car today, for the very good reason that the Fred Whitton Challenge was taking place, which meant that over 2,000 cyclists were whizzing  past Langdale all afternoon. The challenge starts in Grasmere at 6.00 am and takes in all the main Lake District passes – Kirkstone, Honister, Newlands, Whinlatter, Hardknott, Wrynose and Blea Tarn, before returning through the Great Langdale valley past our estate and heading back to the finish in Grasmere. It’s a 112-mile route, which can take between about six and eleven hours, depending on skill level.

So today I have created two collages, one to record the Fred Whitton cyclists and the other to record our somewhat less energetic day. It shows the robin I spotted on my early walk, my laptop screen showing our Vicar introducing morning prayer, a dipper which I saw in the beck outside our lodge, some locals sheltering under a shady tree and one more view of the coronation flags before they are taken down. (As always, the collages look better in large.)