Nab Cottage
Rydal
July 30/12
My dearest Wife,
I expect you have received my two post cards on successive mornings, now you will be looking for a letter.
We are so far dodging the rain beautifully. As I neared Windermere on Monday I began to wonder how I should get here on a cycle with a dry skin, K had seen Miss Perry off a little earlier in the afternoon and waited for me and as I told you the rain kindly stopped to enable us to get here and then set in for the night and cleared this morning at breakfast time and enabled us to have a pleasant ride, after early dinner we started at 2P.M. through Grasmere up Dunmail Raise to Thirlmere taking shelter once from a sharp short downpour, proceeding we rode right along the left side of Thirlmere and on a little way up the lovely valley of S John where stands the Triermain Castle Rock, tell Judy to look up Scott’s poem the “Bridal of Triermain” and then she will want to see the spot herself, we rode back along the other side of the lake and had a good tea at an excellent inn en route, near which starts the easiest climb up Helvellyn, a little further on another shower caused a stop at Wythburn where is one of the smallest Churches in the country, it was open so we had a look in and got shelter at the same time, it soon cleared and we rode on and got a splendid run down from Dunmail’s Raise to Grasmere, here feeling still energetic we made a little detour up the Easedale valley and afterwards home which we reached about 8 o’clock just as rain was coming on again and very heavily too. We have had another good meal, having voracious appetites and shall get off to bed in good time as if fine we want to go to Ullswater and that means first the ascent to the Kirkstone pass.
My knee is standing the work pretty well and I think is less tender, I keep it well attended to as far as possible.
I wonder if you were able to get to Abbey Manor to-day, you must get some more drives.
Much love to you and the girls from Kathleen and myself
Your loving Husband
Julius Sladden
