Al Fresco

It was sunny so we decided to go up to Bowness. M wanted to try on a jacket at Lakeland leather and we looked forward to a leisurely  lunch in the Angel.

First stop at Abbey House  to walk around the grounds. Oh dear ! The path is churned up as they have been chopping down a lot of trees and shrubbery. Some of the trees may have been ash ( die back) but theyve also removed the splendid rhodedendron  bushes which looked wonderful in full flower and some  healthy looking  Laurel bushes.
The flowering currant and the hazel have gone too.  Obviously there are still a lot of trees left but it's a lot more open in places. Such a shame.

This is the 3rd place where we walk frequently that's been messed up. The abbey ruins is very muddy as they are slowly working in the grounds and the garden area by the Dock Museum is in the process of being 'upgraded' which basically means it's a sea of mud .

From Abbey House we drove up to Bowness . The roads were quiet and I was feeling hopeful but the place was crowded. Note to self Do NOT go to Bowness at the weekend! What a contrast to a few weeks ago! 

The car park was full so we had to turn round and drive back to Braithwaite Fold which is a large car park... well it usually is but 50 % is being used by yachts to overwinter there. 

But I found a parking place easily and went to get a ticket. What a palaver. I was 7th in line but didnt think it would take too long. Wrong!
Everyone in front of me was parping about with their phones , trying to get "the App" and taking forever to finally get a ticket as they couldn't quite download what was needed . It took each one of them ages. 
Finally it was my turn. I popped 5 £1 coins in the machine pressed one button and there was the ticket . Took 5 seconds. 
So much easier with cash!  

Away from the chaos we walked through the mini golf course as it's not being in used in winter but open to walk though . Very pleasant away from the crowds. 

The town was busy and when we climbed up the many steps to The Angel we were disappointed to see that it was packed. Very noisy too . We turned round and came out.

Back down the hill to Costa Coffee which has an outdoor seating area for dog owners. It was very pleasant as it wasnt windy there and the sun was warm enough to undo my jacket. 
We sat and enjoyed the sun. 

M decided he didnt like the jacket at Lakeland but he did find the walking trousers he wanted in Mountain warehouse and we got 15% off too. 
A stroll down to the lake ( icecream for M) then back up the hill to the quiet golf course where Fletch was able to mooch about off lead. 

In the end a pleasant day but we really should have known better to come up at the weekend. 
Extra shows there are open spaces but not many