The Interactive Resorts crew out for a hike in the Lake District

We spilled out of the train in Penrith, slightly worse for wear, and hopped onto the bus into Keswick. Within minutes we had entered into a sun-drenched frisbee tournament in the park that quickly became highly competitive, despite the presence of various company directors’ children who also wanted to play! Rupert managed to keep his competitive edge under control and only spat the dummy out a little bit when our team beat his on goal difference alone! Our first night in Keswick needed to be a low-key affair, with big plans afoot for the next day. It wasn’t. Yet again, Nick “Balls” Barlow flew the flag for excess and staggered home in the wee small hours, barely able to stand!

9 AM Saturday, and the Interactive Resorts team reassembled, bright eyed and bushy tailed, for a half day of Via Ferrata along one of the high, steep cliff faces outside of town. As ex-seasonaires we all understand better than anyone the medical benefit of Alpine air in clearing a fuzzy head, but we are happy to report that we’ve found a better hangover cure: dangling 60 feet up in the air, hanging onto iron rungs up the side of a cliff face. It works wonders! Some of us were more scared than others and special mention must go to Sarah “the Reservator” Mitchell who was so terrified at the prospect of a zip wire that she began blubbing, only then to absolutely nail it, smile beaming! For a big lad, Crispy’s concern over the diminutive size of his safety rope was understandable, though watching him slowly fall silent and begin shaking before leaping off the cliff side was a highlight of the day that the other lads relished!

The Interactive Resorts pirates getting ready for a night on the tiles

Safely back on terra firma, our minds turned to the afternoon’s festivities. We hot-footed home and transformed ourselves into the most terrifying crew of pirates never to have sailed the Seven Seas, and headed over to the beer festival! We were confronted by a mind boggling array of local ciders and beers, and did a good job of sampling as many as we could. Rossco “Marmot Man” Dolton and Hardcore Holly tucked into the booze wholeheartedly, and the afternoon saw a good few sword fights too. Rob “Fails” Taylor broke a few swords in the mêlée and spirits were high as we plundered the casks till they ran dry, then dominated the dance floor till we could barely stand. Staffy found buried treasure, Mrs B kissed his parrot and Theo was made to walk the plank for insubordination. Business as usual really! Mustering all our strength for the final attack, we climbed the steps into The Loft, Keswick’s answer to Ministry of Sound, and our ship sank without trace!

…Only then to be awakened at 11 in the morning by Captain Bonington and Lord Staffordshire, the local lads keen to help all us weary sailors get the spring back in our step. A strong team of half-cut ski chalet specialists began the relaxing walk into the hills, and we were soon strolling safely under the cover of tall pines on our Sunday forest walk. Leading from the front, Crispy had no idea which way to go but we made it to the lake for a relaxing sit down at the water’s edge. A rare moment of calm ensued, as we laughed together and pondered on how much fun we’d had as one big team the day before.

After two and a half days of wonderful sunshine, we didn’t mind the rain that fell as we boarded our bus to the train station. We waved a fond goodbye to our dear friends in the North, and were soon on the train to London for work on Monday morning. So it’s back to reality with a bump for this adventurous team of chalet specialists…Anyone fancy a ski holiday?