The "Patter" in Patterdale

Patterdale is indeed a centre for exploring the Great Outdoors. It is probably less of a place for getting to "touristy" things like museums and country houses, or even concerts and cinemas - certainly not without appropriate road transport. However, the occasional dose of less than clement weather, such as we had today, is all part of life's experiences. Indeed, with the determined patter of rain on our exploits, we - as resourceful as ever - took all in our stride on this rainy "Day of the Lord". A morning walk and a reflective afternoon back at base were our gifts today, with a choice of evening eateries - the "White Lion" and the Hostel.

Our Morning Walk

The first part of our walk this Sunday morning was the scenic path from behind Patterdale Post Office to Thornhow, a path we had taken as part of our walk to Grisedale Tarn on Friday. It's certainly a scenic path in all weathers, with nice views towards the north end of Ullswater. However, having arrived at Thornhow, the rain became intense, and I felt that the quiet, autumnally resplendent, access road from down-town Patterdale should also provide me with access to a nice warm shower and dry-out back at base (the hostel). Others were slightly more adventurous, but eventually, they too, filtered back to the hostel. A noble attempt to defy the rain, which did not wish to be defied today!

The path behind Patterdale's "Post Office and General Stores" offers far-reaching views towards the northern end of Ullswater.

It's "Cabin Fever" Time!

Cabin Fever is Ralph's term for what you can get when staying indoors to weather out weather of an inclement nature. Admittedly we avoided a severe dose of the said fever, for it was only an afternoon that had succumbed to the whiles of Mother Nature. So we dried out after the morning's walk and explored what there was to explore in the hostel, all the while thinking of what we might do the next day, our last full day in Patterdale. The pictures below are samples of the afternoon's fruits of our explorative endeavours.

The walls of the dining area were graced by a number of pictures and three examples of "modern art" clevely created by stretching cloth over equi-sized wooden formers. Here you see a nicely executed drawing of the hostel as seen from the east looking
towards Oxford Crag in the background ...




... and this is the view looking out of the hostel's panoramic window - towards Boredale Hause and Place Fell. The dramatic sheets of rain against the mountain side are not picked up in this (still) picture, but the reflection of the lights in the hostel dining room in the glass give a sense of sunlight on this rainy day. Note the grass-covered flat roofs on parts of the hostel. Instead of mowing the lawn, one can go and mow the roof. I had last seen grass roofs on traditional Norwegian houses - the earth and grass providing heat insulation to the occupants of these Nordic abodes.




Here is the cat of Mat on the mat. Well, not exactly. This little ginger tiger belonged to one of the girls on the staff of the hostel. Matthew, however, put the young feline through its playful, but sharp-clawed, paces. Good training for a potential catcher of rodents and other "wee beasties".




With Scotland not too far away, this stag provided a distinct Highland air - complete with rain drops - to the hostel. This mute and rather rough-hewn creature has probably occupied his commanding position above the hostel stairwell for quite a few years, steadfastly refusing to hurl his weight upon the hostel guests climbing the said stair case to get to their hostel breakfasts and hostel dinners.

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