Camping in the UK - Lakes district

So your probably wondering... How the heck do these people get to do so many vacations?  Well I'll tell you... Our family mission in the UK is one thing... TRAVEL! See the things that are important and find the place that we might want to retire. Cause let's be honest retiring in Maryland sounds boring!

Any way, with the furlough we have been required to take mandatory days without pay. A bitter sweet scenario really.  Here's a 20% pay cut and a day off.  Luckily, we have no outstanding debt so we are able to take the hit and walk away figuring out how to travel with less cash.  And the answer to that is.... CAMPING!!!

So this is how we did it...
1. Bought a second hand tent! Yup, that's right! Used once but totally worth it. It's a British tent so it's amazingly waterproof (cause it rains a lot here!)
2. Shop for all food at the base! The economy is still 1.6 to the $1 so no more buying food out in the world. Keep it simple and avoid the processed American junk. Hard to do but well worth the budget!
3. No alcohol! - Camping with a toddler that is constantly trying to put her life in danger this is a no brainier.
4. Cheap Campsites - All over the UK there are working farms that rent out spaces for cheap. We paid 5 pounds per person. And running drinking water is available, hot showers and toilets!
5. Take the Dog! - no dog sitting here. It's an arm and a leg to board Brian... so we take him with us.

6. Save your Pounds for the sites! - There are so many sites all over this country. I'm a fan of history so we always hit the most important historical things in the area.

Our first camping trip (and Sophie's first camping trip) was to the Lakes District - North and Westish England.  It's fantastic there! Great hiking and amazing people! We saw the towns where Beatrix Potter was inspired to write Peter Rabbit (which just happens to be Sophie's favourite show at the moment) and the place where Wordsworth was inspired to write his poetry. The landscape is amazing with hidden lakes and tall peaks to climb. Tons of animals! But not the kind you would find in the US. More tame animals like cows, sheep, birds, rabbits, etc.

Speaking of rabbits... fun fact: Lots of tourists come through the lakes district (probably because its one of the most beautiful places in England). We saw tons of Americans and Asians (is this still PC?). And the best part of the trip was when Sophie ploughed through all the tourists to watch the peter rabbit screen at the Beatrix Potter story. No one gets in her way when it comes to Peter Rabbit. The girl has passion!