The drive out to the Cathedral cave was scary. After the freeway and normal highway of the previous day, we entered the realm of the single track road once we were past Amberside. I kept wondering if I would end up being in one of the stories about the guy who followed Google directions until he drove off a cliff. When the road devolved from pavement into gravel, I found the next spot in the road wide enough for another car to pass by and parked.
Once we parked and got the kids out and started walking, we saw another parking lot, but since where I was was good enough and it was no more than 200 meters, I just left my car alone. The thing about English National Parks is that they're short on signs. Fortunately, there were enough hikers coming from where we were going that we knew we'd find it, and indeed some of them were so enthusiastic about the quarry that they stopped to tell us about it in case we were going to pass it up!
The cave was indeed big, with several openings into it, and an exit that led to a cliff-side rappel, where some climbers were working out a path. There was an old ruin that Bowen and Boen enjoyed playing in, and several paths down as well, including hidden bridges and vistas and old farm houses. Across the river, we could see buildings, and someone told us there was a pub there where we could get food.
Once on the footpath to the Three Shires Inn, it was the Lakes District as I remembered it: gorgeous and stunning.
Unfortunately, the food was as I remembered it as well: not really very good, but expensive. On the way back from the Cavern, we visited Grasmere, and there I bought a pamphlet for walking in Ambleside, since we were going to be there 4 nights.
Once in Ambleside, we checked into our hotel (which was too warm to stay in), and went for a walk down to the
bridge house. Then after that it was dinner time and then time to wind the kids down and bed.
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