This is the entrance to the toilet at the Flock-In Tearoom in Rosthwaite, Borrowdale. I've said in the past that I view the Lakes as being my spiritual homeland. This has to be the centre of my home (well, not the toilet you understand but the farm where the tearoom is located). Sarah and Steve provide a good contrast. I've been to the tearooms on several previous occasions but never sat in the garden before (well, I normally go in the rainy season (ie. one of the other 350 days a year!); it is an absolute delight to enjoy the view of the mountains and watch the antics of the Herdwick lambs just a few feet from the garden. Is 11.30am too early for a cream tea? Ummmm... NO! http://www.borrowdaleherdwick.co.uk/tea_flock_in.htm

No idea why I took this with my iPhone when I can see my proper camera near the toaster. This is Michelle, one of the "domestic servants", entertaining Master. Note that I kindly allowed them a glass of wine between chores alhough I appear to have drunk more of mine.

Me, Sarah's friend Michelle (a.k.a Shell), Sarah and Steve outside our base near Maryport, Cumbria. Our preparation for race day since our arrival in Cumbria had been full English breakfasts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (including sausages bought by the yard), cream teas Friday and Saturday, walks up Catbells and in Eskdale and a few bottles of wine - oh, and loads of laughs. A fine bunch of athletes, honed to the peak of physical condition. Ah.. yes, they were also taking part!

This is the Church of St. Olaf, Wasdale; the smallest church near the deepest lake and the highest mountain in England. I don't often get across to Wasdale as most of my visits seem to be to the eastern side of the Lakes. However, as we were staying near the west coast last weekend, in my role of unofficial guide, I decided that we should visit the dale. The earliest record of the church is from 1550, though it probably predates this, as the beams are said to come from a Viking longship. The church was dedicated to St Olaf in 1977, before which it had no name. The parson of that time, the Reverend Raymond Bowers, had friends in Norway, and it was he who suggested the name. One of the current churchwardens, Bill Bailey, has written a guide to the church and the Wasdale valley: The Vikings: Wasdale Head and Their Church. The book sought to clarify the age of the church; and to mark the 2nd millennium the Bishop of Penrith, the Right Reverend Richard Garrard, made a unilateral declaration—on the Sunday nearest the Feast of St Olaf, 30 July 2000—that the church building was at least 1,000 years old, dating from before AD 1000. At the same time, the bishop dedicated a "millennium stone" on the Wasdale Head Green, using the stone as an altar for the service.The church has long been associated with British climbers. The south window has a small pane within it with an etching of Napes Needle on Great Gable, serving as a memorial to members of the Fell & Rock Climbing Club who lost their lives in the First World War. A well-attended silence is kept every year on Remembrance Sunday at 11am.

Seen last Saturday in Wasdale, Lake District.

A flooded Grasmere, Lake District in October 2004. There's normally a pontoon going out to the boats but it was submerged on this day!

Another from my trip to the Pacific Northwest in 2010. This is on the George Washington Memorial Bridge which crosses the west end of Lake Union in Seattle. It has the second highest number of suicides in the US (the Golden Gate Bridge to the north of San Francisco has the dubious honour of being no. 1) with nine jumpers in 2006. Since my visit, a suicide barrier has been completed at a cost of $5 million. You may find this an odd subject for a holiday photo but I was researching for favourite photographic locations in the area in this appeared in at least two top 10s!

The Space Needle seen through the "Changing Form" sculpture in Kerry Park, Queen Anne district, Seattle, Washington. A hugely popular vantage point to view the sun going down on the city. I've tried getting this view on each visit I make to Seattle but usually there are people sat on the wall spoiling this view. I got lucky this time.

One from my 2010 trip to the Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. Jenny Lake was formed approximately 12,000 years ago by glaciers pushing rock debris which carved Cascade Canyon during the last glacial maximum, forming a terminal moraine which now impounds the lake. The lake is estimated to be 423 feet (129 m) deep and encompasses 1,191 acres (482 ha). Jenny Lake is considered to be a major focal point in Grand Teton National Park, with many hiking trails, scenic boat rides and a quick access to the major climbing routes into the tallest peaks of the Teton Range.Jenny and Jackson Lakes, are the only lakes in Grand Teton National Park where motorboats are permitted and both lakes have scenic tours available. A 2005 study of the water quality of the lakes in Grand Teton National Park indicated that all the lakes in the park were still considered pristine and that they had not been impacted by air or water pollution.Jenny Lake is a starting point for many day and overnight hiking trips. The 7.1 miles (11.4 km) Jenny Lake Trail loops around the lake and considered to be relatively easy due the small altitude gain of 700 feet (210 m). However, the altitude increases rapidly once Cascade Canyon is entered.Jenny Lake is named after a Shoshone Indian who married an Englishman, Richard "Beaver Dick" Leigh. Jenny, and their 6 children, died of Smallpox in 1876. ------------ i'm sorry for the lack of comments in the past few days. The Great Trail Challenge did not kill me and I came a satisfying 16th in my class. I've had a lot of fun with my chums and I felt it a bit antisocial to take myself off for an hour or two to catch up here. We are already talking about coming back next year and doing it again.

I thought we'd pop across to the pond for a few US images occasioanlly over the next few weeks. This is one of my favourite images from my trip in 2011. It was my third trip down the coast but the first without be plaqued by rain and poor visibility; a case of third time lucky.

I suppose that's its only right that as I'm in the Lake District this weekend, then I should feature one of their delightful little churches. This is Seathwaiite. It is the wettest inhabited place in England and receives around 3,552 millimetres (140 in) of rain per year. In September 1966 five inches of rain fell on Seathwaite and the surrounding fells in an hour and on 19–20 November 2009 (just three days after my visit!) Seathwaite received 314.4 millimetres (12.38 in) of rain in a 24-hour period, a record for the amount of rain falling anywhere in the UK within 24 hours.

One of the joys of spring is seeing new life ... then thinking of the delicious roast meals to be had at some point :). These were seen on the isle of Barra (or should that be Baaahhh-ra?)