It has been several years since I last ventured to the Lake District, and it was certainly a long time before I discovered an interest in climbing mountains. I also haven’t seen one of my school mates in a couple of years, so it seems like a perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

Despite my train being cancelled, I manage to make it to Darlington late on Friday night. Rob picks me up and we catch up over a late-night steak and beers. The plan was to drive west tomorrow and tackle Scafell Pike, England’s highest mountain. However, the weather forecast is horrendous so we decide to set up a camp halfway up, and hope that the weather is better on Sunday for the summit.

Saturday morning arrives and we head to Keswick, a climber’s paradise with dozens of mountaineering shops. It’s crammed with tourists and chucking down with rain but it still retains a quintessential English village feel. I eat a goulash soup (very English!) which sets me up for the rain-walk from Borrowdale.

The rain is immense, endlessly falling from the sky and drowning the trails and views. It doesn’t bode well, especially as I slip on a rock just five minutes into the trek and find myself sitting in a pool of water 30cm deep! The trail is more like a stream, and in places it takes some leaps of faith to avoid the flooded terrain. I barely touch my camera, and the views are nonexistent, but even so it’s an enjoyable walk and great to be out in the mountains again.

We reach Styhead Tarn, a pretty lake with some flat areas to setup camp. The rain is incessant, so it’s a quick rush to get the tent ready and take shelter. We cook some pasta in the tent, take a few swigs of whisky, and fall asleep.

A 05.30 alarm wakes me up and despite having slept well, it’s cold and I fear the worst about the weather outside. I unzip the tent and unbelievably, the clouds have shifted and it’s actually a beautiful day! The scenery is lit up by the rising sun and it’s exciting to see the surrounding mountains in all directions.

We pack up and head to the summit, passing a number of steep gullies that look wet and dangerous. Even the path we’re on is still slightly wet and it would have been risky to climb it in yesterday’s weather. There are a few other walkers at the summit, but fortunately they leave quickly as they’re attempting the Three Peaks challenge. It means we have the summit to ourselves and the views across the Lake District are fantastic, especially as the sun burns away the remaining whispers of clouds on the surrounding peaks.

We take a different route down, climbing another peak (Great End) on the way, which has a great view of the lake where we stayed last night. We scramble over the rocky terrain and join the trail that winds down the mountain, passing more and more tourists as we reach the bottom.

The sun is strong now and it’s unimaginable that the weather could be so different from yesterday, so it’s great to reach the car and look back on the mountain range that was invisible only 24 hours ago. I’ve now climbed each of the Three Peaks (it’s only taken 18 months..!) and looking forward to deciding which UK mountain will be next.

Cheddar Gorge makes for a fantastic walk. The views are good, although I was expecting the gorge to be a little bigger; maybe I was hoping for a mini-Grand Canyon…

Beneath the rock is more impressive. The caves are full of history and make for some great photos (although I’d advise people to get there first thing in the morning; the hoards of overweight tourists with their ice-creams and sweets don’t really add much to the creepy, dark environment). The Wookey Cave is even better, although you’re not free to wander around like in the Cheddar Caves.

Apart from the obligatory cider-drinking and cheese-tasting, there’s also time to visit Wells and even have a walk around Glastonbury. It’s not festival time but the city centre has an air of celebration – albeit most of them are homeless people drinking and smoking drugs on the streets. Saying that, the Tor is lovely and the 360 degree view from the top is spectacular and it gives a much better example of what the atmosphere would be like at Glastonbury Festival.

On the way back to London, I stop by Stonehenge. It’s an interesting tour, especially as it lasts about an hour and the ‘facts’ are thrown at you thick and fast: ‘We think that this was the sacrificial altar… we think that the stones were moved on rollers… we think, we think….’

I’d love to return for sunrise/sunset, as the colours must be gorgeous, but this time I settle for some silhouette shots and some, er… inventive ones…

It therefore came as a nice surprise that the weather was glorious! I spent the weekend drinking wine, walking along the beach in Wittering and bouncing up and down on a trampoline.

There was also time to travel west into Portsmouth. I’ve been before, but only on business and I can’t say I was that impressed, although I never did make it to the harbour. What a pleasant surprise! There’s plenty to see, from bars to shops and it all feels a bit like a fairground. Dominating the entire port is the huge Spinnaker Tower, which has the largest glass floor in Europe for those who dare stand on it!

Unfortunately the only thing I didn’t get to do was learn how to surf. With the strong currents, I was advised to stay out of the (seemingly calm) water. I guess the Beach Boys soundtrack will have to stay in its case until next time…

Firstly, it’s fantastic news that my mother has had her first ‘successful’ eye operation in over a year – finally there has been an improvement in her vision. It has been a stressful and tiring past 12 months for her but finally we feel as if progress has been made. Fingers are crossed that this is a change in luck. My mother is staying in London with me for the next few days to recover from the surgery, returning home on Friday. I’m sure that before we know it, my eagle-eyed mother will be driving home, somersaulting into the sea and catching sharks for dinner.

I can’t really do an email update without mentioning the recent events in London. It’s obviously a bizarre time to live here; a friend of mine was caught in the bus blast and apart from the stitches and bruising, he’s not handling things very well due to the things he saw immediately after the explosion. Another friend got off one of the tube trains two stops before it exploded.

Nonetheless, London is still my favourite city. I’ve had more time recently to find new spots, restaurants, pubs etc. I’ve even gone inside Tower Bridge to see how it all works (I was particularly excited that the bridge was being raised whilst I was on the crossing above it, only to find that from that spot, you can’t actually see the bridge…)

The best London thing I’ve done recently was actually a birthday present from Emma: We went to see ‘We Will Rock You’ – the absolutely amazing Queen/Ben Elton musical. I’ve been rather concerned about the quality of musicals I’ve seen in London (apart from ‘My Fair Lady’, we’ve seen some pretty awful ones). However, We Will Rock You was cracking from start to finish; I couldn’t recommend it enough.

Despite my re-born enthusiasm for the capital, this doesn’t mean I’ve missed out on holidays! Emma and I had two small trips; one to Paris and another to Dublin. There’s not too much I can say about Paris – it’s a great city. Their passion for hosting the Olympics was unbelievable; everywhere we turned there was something to advertise it (oh well..!)

Dublin, on the other hand, was one of the most boring places I’ve ever visited. It had nice restaurants and pubs (of course), as well as the great Guinness factory, but there was absolutely nothing else! It’s supposed to be the capital city and I swear there are more tourist things to do in Knaresborough! As always, photos are on www.carlobezoari.com.