autumn 2012 - 4-Seasons.de

88 Travel Travel 89
The best spot for
a football ground.
Unfortunately,
not even a bite on
England’s largest
lake.
children’s author Beatrix Potter. Sometimes we feel like we are in
the middle of one of her books, living with the rabbits, geese and
frogs. The boys are too old for that now.
Culture is on the schedule for the next day. Best to sell to teenagers
in a combo-package of picnic and ice cream. A magical location
can be found on the mountain plateau above the village of
Keswick. More than 5,000 years ago, people from the Bronze Age
created a stone circle. I am impressed and wonder how they carried
ten tonnes of rocks up the hill. The boys do not care. They use
the mystical rocks as boulders and climb around. At least, they
know to appreciate the fantastic view: the mountains Helvellyn,
Skiddaw and Blencathra are amongst the highest in the Lake
District and ideal for testing the pronunciation of 7th graders.
Moving houses: off to our next youth hostel Barrow House, a country
estate from the 18th century. The window of the pool table
room looks straight on to Derwant Water, our room window points
to Cat Bells, a mountain we want to approach the next day. We
start in style: our youth hostel has its own jetty on the beach. The
historical wooden boat goes around the lake and brings us to the
start of the hiking trail. Alfred Wainright, the pope of British hikers,
once wrote enthusiastically about Cat Bells. He climbed all
the 214 summits of the Lake District 50 years ago. Still today, it is
the aim of many hikers to climb all the »Wainwrights« of the area.
The weather has changed again. Dry but stormy. The path to the
peak is well-trodden, some parts you have to climb with hands and
feet. No problem for light-footed teenagers. Vertigo is a foreign
word for them. Teenagers always feel a bit immortal. The wind almost
blows us down from the mountain. Finally: the rough peak on
Nature instead of notebook.
No problem in such an
exciting area.
the top, Derwent Water down in the lovely valley – it is probably
the contrast that makes the landscape so very special. The secret
behind the English tradition of garden architecture is to be found
in the Lake District: Expect something different and new around
each corner! Back at the youth hostel the boys go and play another
game of soccer. Where do they get their energy from?
Harry Potter couldn’t have mastered it any better.
The days just fly in the Lake District. Whole mountain ranges have
been hollowed out by mining like a Swiss cheese but you cannot
see it. As a rule, you will not spot any hiking signposts. The next
lesson for the boys: improve the sense of direction with a map and
compass. Their parents can still teach them how to walk crosscountry
to the next town with a fish and chip shop. Let us start:
Where are we? Where do we want to go? How far away is it? Luis
locates our position, the track we are on and calculates the length
of the route. He sets the compass, puts his glasses back on
straight and starts walking up the next hill on his own, turns
around, waves and vanishes behind the next hilltop. We take another
path. I am a little bit worried. Unnecessarily as it turns out:
he is already on the other side in the boulder valley waiting for us
with a big grin. Harry Potter couldn’t have mastered it any better.
From then on, Luis is the owner of the compass. It does not help him
at the foot of the mountain. He stops as if glued to the spot in front
of a wall: An impressive viper enjoys the sun on the warm stones.
Luis is no fan of big snakes. His twin brother rescues him. Franz
starts dancing in his heavy boots and chases the viper away. >
The secret behind the English tradition of
garden architecture is to be found in the
Lake District: Expect something different
and new around each corner!