Mini golf

General

Elliott was good today. 

Activities

After breakfast we went to the Langdale for a while so Andrea could do more funeral organisation. While she worked on arrangements Elliott and I played table tennis in the Country Club there. Then we went for a walk past Elterwater. Elliott took his light sabre again and we had fun looking at the waterfalls in the river along the way:

We also had lunch at a pub along the route and Elliott had garlic bread.

After lunch we drove to Ambleside where we played mini golf in the park there. He really enjoyed the golf and enjoyed (independently) learning how to hit the ball with the golf clubs:

Then Elliott went on a "Dino Adventure" in the upstairs of The Rock Shop in Ambleside. This involved a treasure hunt in a mocked up jungle with Dinosaur models and roars in the background and the treasure was an Ammonite fossil. Then we had fish and chips for tea (and Elliott had chicken nuggets and chips instead) before we popped back to the Langdale for some more table tennis. After we got back to the cottage Elliott had his bath and wrote his diary before watching Ben 10 on the iPad again and then bed time. 

Brockhole Visitor Centre

General

Elliott was really good today and particularly enjoyed our bike ride.

Activities

After breakfast we went to Brockhole Visitor Centre by Lake Windemere where we hired bikes for the morning. We took the bike boat across the lake and went for a bike ride on the other side to Claife Viewing Station and then back towards Wray Castle. At first Elliott was quite tentative riding down hills and worried, but as he practiced using his brakes to regulate his speed he got really confident and was soon really enjoying riding up and down the hills:

When we got to Claife Viewing Station we also stopped for some elevenses:

After our ride we took the bike boat back to Brockhole Visitor Centre and had a picnic lunch by the adventure playground there. Elliott had some fun exploring the adventure playground. On the way back to the cottage we stopped at Ambleside to get some shopping when we got back we had pizza for tea. Then it was time for Elliott's bath and he wrote some more of his diary before watching some Ben 10 on the iPad before bed time.

Inside Out

General

Elliott was good today. He did seem tired after our cinema visit which I think was due to all the swimming earlier in the day so he had an early night.

Activities

After breakfast we went to the Langdale to go swimming which was good fun. As well as the pool there was a jacuzzi, an ice bucket shower and a rain forest shower with hot and cold settings that Elliott enjoyed turning cold while I was sampling it. He also did a lot of swimming as well as having lots of fun splashing around. After swimming we went back to the cottage and had rolls for lunch.

After lunch we drove to Ambleside where we watched Inside Out at Zeffirellis cinema, which was an old fashioned cinema. We all enjoyed Inside Out. After the cinema we headed back home and had spaghetti with meatballs for tea before Elliott wrote some more of his diary, played with his new mini Lego Slave 1 model that came with a Star Wars Lego magazine we bought from Ambleside and we read some more Jack Stalwart. Because he’d had a shower after swimming he just brushed his teeth and washed his face before bed time.

Coniston Water

General

Elliott was good today. During the boat ride he did go a little quiet towards the end but it turned out he needed the toilet. Fortunately there wasn’t much of the trip left and he hung on until we’d got back to shore.

Activities

After breakfast we went to the Langdale so Andrea could finalise some funeral arrangements as they had wi-fi there. Elliott and I played pinball on the public computers there and we also explored the swimming pool and spa area. He also spoke to you on the phone. After Andrea had finished we drove to Coniston Water where we had a picnic lunch by the lake.

After lunch we were hoping to hire bikes so we could go on a bike ride by the lake, but unfortunately they didn’t have any bikes left to hire. So instead we went on a boat ride around the river where we saw the site of Donald Campbell’s Bluebird water speed records and eventual demise, the island from Swallows and Amazon and lots of people boating and water skiing:

After the boat ride we popped in to the Bluebird café by the lake for tea and cake before heading back to the Langdale for Andrea to do some more organising. We also ate at the Langdale and Elliott had macaroni cheese. After we got back to the cottage Elliott had a bath, wrote some more in his diary and we read some more Jack Stalwart before bed time.

Wray Castle

General

Elliott was really good today.

Activities

After breakfast we drove to Wray Castle via Langdale where we had some coffees and Elliott and I played a game of pool. Wray Castle was a brilliant castle by Lake Windemere which had loads of rooms geared up for children and a really good adventure playground: 

We took the light sabres and had lots of light sabre fights both in the castle and in the grounds. We also had a picnic lunch by the castle and Elliott had ham and cheese rolls with bear fruit.

After lunch we walked down to Lake Windemere from the castle and saw lots of boats and canoes and even someone water skiing:

After that we drove back to the cottage and Elliott had a bath and wrote some more of his diary before chicken fajita tea. Then we headed out to the Langdale club as they have Sky television and we watched some of the Arsenal verses Liverpool game together as a treat with Elliott supporting Arsenal and me supporting Liverpool and some classic banter. After we got back it was straight to bed for Elliott because it was a little late.