On day 5, it was absolutely pouring in the Lake District, so we decided to go out for a drive. There was a National Trust church nearby that we thought we would go and visit - at least we'd stay dry inside the church!
Keld Chapel is a little church in a little village called Shap, about half an hour away. The church was free to enter, but you had to go to a house nearby to pick up the key! It was all so quaint! There wasn't a great deal inside the church but it was interesting just to poke around in. There also wasn't a lot of information about the church other than the National Trust thinks it was built around the 16th century. It might have been built to be part of the nearby Shap Abbey but no one is really sure.
It started hammering down again when we were back in the car. Visibility was poor and there was just water everywhere so we went back home for lunch and a cup of tea to warm up.
We had to go back out to Keswick in the afternoon, and the rain had calmed down somewhat, so while we were there we did a short detour to Castlerigg stone circle. This stone circle is thought to have been constructed around 3200BC, meaning that it is one of the earliest stone circles in Britain and possibly Europe. It varies in diameter but is between 29 and 32m wide, and some of the stones in the circle have been aligned with the midwinter sunrise and various lunar positions. It was all very fascinating.
It was a miserable afternoon so once we left Keswick, we headed back to the house. But in true English style, we stopped by the pub in a nearby village called Greystoke. The pub was called The Boot and Shoe in, and it was cosy and warm and inviting. The rain eased off while we were enjoying our drinks so we had a little walk around the village before heading back to our base. Ahh English weather... No wonder they like to talk about it SO much!
