In the UK, SKI is an acronym for “ Spend the Kids Inheritance!”

We have been trying hard to do this and as such have spent a week in Englands LAKE DISTRICT, labelled the wettest place in England! And believe you me it lived up to its reputation!

It has been a long time since we spent time vacationing in the UK and also a while since we spent time on vacation with the whole family. The last time was in Morocco and we were a family of 10 and now we are 13!

Himself had a significant birthday and trying to fit in the celebration, with Taylor Swift ( x2), major school exam results ( excellent) and the amazingly challenging CHILL SWIM, which to the uninitiated, is a mere 18 km swim from End to End (Guess where?)Lake Windermere! daughter thought it a good idea to enter this Chill Swim event and even persuaded a couple of mates to join her!

Therefore we all decamped to Windermere a lake-side town in Cumbria. We rented a house(s) built in 1671, large enough for us all to be together but not together when time and space was needed.

We spent the week celebrating the aforementioned birthday with many fun things organised by the big kids, we had dinner catered twice by Lucy ( Lucy’s on a plate), had two great BBQs beautifully cooked by “The Boys” ( even managing to shelter from the incessant downpour), Lunch out in a Lakeside restaurant, dinner out, twice, once at Lucy’s restaurant and once at a Michelin starred restaurant. So it would seem that the week was spent eating and drinking! And it was!

Orrest Head House, where we stayed, was perfect, a garden large enough to play Hide and Seek ( except it was WET, apparently a river runs under the house, not a good sign). However, having the two houses ( House and Cottage) meant we had ample room for hide and seek, for the 6 kids and oodles of space for the always in demand Treasure Hunt. Passing time away did not seem to be an issue. The young ones were dispatched to Beatrix Potter world , whilst the swimmers went swimming and the runners running. Walkers explored the neighbourhood including Orrest Head, where is the most amazing view of Lake Windermere!

Hiring a traditional boat gave us all a view of the route for the Saturday 18 km swim, and a plan was developed to enable us all to wave and cheer her on her way as well as to greet her arrival at the finish !Simple, take the Chain Link Ferry to the opposite side of the lake and install ourselves at the 6 km mark and then drive over the hills and though the woods to the Ambleside end of said Lake, which was indeed the finish mark.

Lucy’s on a plate catered twice for us. Indeed we ordered basically the same meal twice and actually it worked well, most of it was cold with a couple of dishes to pop in the oven. We needed to eat earlier than we would have done normally, with little ones to consider.

Finally, but not finally, he reached his birthday . Unfortunately, many had to leave after breakfast, school and work beckoned for big and small. So we had birthday cake for breakfast! I had made a Basque Cheesecake, the week before, frozen and transported, hidden to Windermere. Subsequently , defrosted in secret, a red fruit coulis made and candles inserted! But what a lot of candles! They almost melted before I had them lit! However, done it was, and Himself blew them out in one swoop! WOW!

Weirdly it would seem that restaurants in the Windermere area choose names for their dishes, which actually makes choosing somewhat more complicated than it should be. What on earth are Collywobbles? Or Cocka doodle Oink? Black Belly Way? King of Spain. Well, Cauliflower, Chicken burger, Pork Belly braised and pressed and Prawns with Chorizo? Well that had us fooled. #1 daughter and I both thought we had ordered Prawns, well we had but somehow or other we got a retro prawn cocktail in a Marie Rose sauce, Disappointed yes! Something I would never ever ever had ordered! But there you go, some you win and some you lose!

Finally Finally and Finally the last men standing ( just the three of us, swimmer, him and myself) ate at Gilpin. A Michelin starred restaurant somewhere in the back of Windermere. swimmer has not been drinking so she drove. Dinner was lovely, food innovative , including a rice pudding that somehow I need to recreate at home! Things were lacking though, but won’t bore you! Will we go back? Unlikely, it’s a long way from London !

And so as with everything, it all had to end.The weather decided to return to being dull, dreary and wet as we drove back down the M6 towards London. But, more is yet to come, Big kids have surprises in store , as do I and smaller big kids are taking Himself to an Escape room ( he might never come back !)