starfish and coffee

The Drunken Duck is an excellent pub/restaurant between Hawkshead and Ambleside. It's pricey, but you get an excellent menu and great service from real people. So often places like this think it's compulsory to have snotty young staff but not The Duck. I had pigeon with figs and then spider crab with celeriac. Nice. Rhubarb Tart with Gingerbread Ice Cream for afters and an excellent bottle of wine throughout.

Afterwards we crossed Windermere on the ferry. The lake was chocka with 'pleasure craft' flying 'NO 10mph BAN' flags. There wasn't enough open water between them to hit 5mph, it all looked so un-fun. Also, the size of some of the boats must make it so frustrating on such a relatively modest and clogged up little pond when they should be in the Aegean. Other craft look hugely unsafe. Windermere on an August weekend is an accident waiting to happen.

A couple of years ago we stayed near a lake in Italy where the fastest thing allowed was a pedalo and it was still busy enough to support local shops and restaurants but was infinitely less scummy (and I don't mean algae).

Blackpool are losing 4-0. It's time for a beer.