Our final day went pretty much according to plan, with only a couple of minor glitches (the sun, and the roof rack). We got up to Keswick on schedule, without any traffic problems, to find that our preferred car park was half empty and free of charge for the day in honour of the Royal Wedding! The sun was out and the sky was blue and we wasted no time in getting onto the lake.
There are several small islands on Derwent Water and we stuck to our plan and landed on one of them fairly early on with the intention of lazing around in the sun reading books and basking in the scenery. We only got a few bites into our sandwiches and a few pages into our books before the sun went behind the first in a series of clouds. Before long it was raining lightly and the wind had whipped itself into almost tornado like strength.
We decided to get back on the water and do some more exploring.
We made it to the far shore (the one below Cat Bells) easily, in fact it felt like we were surfing most of the way. Gong back was a different matter though. We were paddling directly into the wind and all the waves it had whipped up. It's a good job I had the spray deck on or most of the lake would have ended up in my boat! As it was, we both got completely soaked with spray and now have arms like Popeye from all the paddling against the waves.
Despite the weather we thoroughly enjoyed our day on the lake. As expected, it was much grander than Windermere.
Having said that though, I was pleasantly surprised by Windermere as in previous visits I have always thought it was nothing special compared to the other lakes.
On the whole, we have found the Lake District to be very kayak friendly. From our limited experience, it is often difficult to find suitable launching/picnic sites and we have often had to pay to put the boats in on top of parking fees.
Although we've had to pay to park this week, all the boat launching and landing has been free and plentiful.
We've noticed a distinct lack of information for kayakers and canoeists about important practical matters. Like which lakes you are allowed on, where to get in and out, where to park, how much it costs, where to stay/camp etc. This goes for the whole country and is more of a problem for calm water than fast or white water. There are some guide books for river trips, but for a day trip, rivers are a problem when you reach your destination and are miles from your car.
I am thinking about starting a website to address the issue although as someone who knows nothing about websites this may be a project a long time in the making.
I have just realised I have not mentioned the roof rack! Claire checks the boats frequently during car journeys. By check, I mean leaning forward and peering up, and commenting that "they're still there". On our way down the M6, during one such check, one of the boats (my one!) had moved! Cue panic and a mini domestic about Claire being indecisive (i.e. "do I need to stop NOW or just drive to the upcoming service station at 30mph", "errrr... I'm not really sure").
Anyway, we made it to the services and adapted the slippy kayak holder with a rubber child's bracelet bought from the shop. Further modification and better tools are required for next time as the boat had moved again by the time we got home.
Our next big boat trip will hopefully be Scotland in the canoe in June. Not sure where about, or how long for yet.
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Location:Derwent Water
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