Simone Reddington

As somebody who hates getting dirty and is in a terrible mood if I haven’t had a comfortable night’s sleep, the idea of camping outdoors has never particularly appealed to me.  However, I am also someone who hates the idea of missing out and I haven’t been away on a proper holiday this summer.  Therefore, when two of my best friends asked if I wanted to go camping in the Lake District with them when I had a week of annual leave to use up at work, I thought I might as well. 

I have visited the Lakes several times before, on caravan holidays with my family, and it is one of the most beautiful places on planet Earth.  We pitched our tent at Side Farm Campsite, in the village of Patterdale.  The campsite is cheap enough, with decent shower facilities, and offers stunning views of Ullswater lake.  Unfortunately, the 2026 heatwave had cooled down by the time we went camping, but the moody mist that topped the majestic mountains took my breath away.

We arrived early on our first day to make sure that we could pitch our tent on a decent spot.  Once the tent was sorted and we unpacked everything, we then drove to the village of Pooley Bridge.  We went for a walk before rewarding ourselves with pints and ice cream which holidays are all about.  Pooley Bridge is an absolutely gorgeous little village, with lots of independent bars, cafés and shops.  I could have quite easily spent a full weekend there!

We then headed back to our campsite where we had barbequed meats for our evening before chilling in our tent, where we watched old episodes of The Story of Tracy Beaker (yes, we are turning 30 next year).  We woke up early the next morning, and my friend Nicola cooked a delicious fried breakfast on her handy portable stove before we headed out for our next adventure. 

We drove to the town of Keswick where we embarked on a 10-mile-long circular trek.  I have never walked so far in my life but I actually really enjoyed it.  The views were absolutely stunning, and we even came across some alpacas! We had so much fun and giggled a lot during the walk so it didn’t feel as difficult as I expected a 10 mile hike to be.  However, we were very ready for a pint afterwards!

On our last full day, we were uncertain what to do as the weather wasn’t forecast to be very good.   We went on a lovely, chilled walk around Ullswater where we saw swans and ducks, before heading into Glenridding for a nose around the village.  We popped into the village hall, which was hosting a craft fair that weekend.  When we headed back to the campsite, we enjoyed a few cans of cider around the campsite before going back out for tea at one of the local pubs.  I would highly recommend the White Lion Inn in Patterdale for delicious food in a friendly ambience.  I ordered the fish and chips, which tasted amazing.  The staff in the pub were very friendly, and we enjoyed playing card games in the cosy pub.  We returned to our tent just in time before the heavens opened.  It was a shame that it didn’t stay dry on our camping trip, but I think we can all agree that England needed some torrential rain after this blazing hot summer.

When we drove home, I was very happy to have a proper shower and be reunited with my own bed.  However, despite never thinking of myself as an outdoorsy girl, I did really enjoy my camping trip.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ll always prefer a hotel room and three nights in the wild was quite enough for me, but I would definitely go camping again.  I tried something new and really enjoyed it, making some happy memories with my besties.  That’s what life is all about.