Monday, August 10th, 2026

# The kindness of strangersYesterday, we went out on one of our usual Sunday drives. After stopping off for a few bits and some lunch, I wanted to take Sal up to Surprise View — a beauty spot with views over the whole of Derwentwater in the Lake District. All was going well until, on the steep hill up to the car park, I edged over to the side of the narrow road to let someone past coming down the other way. What was a tiny drainage ditch, no more than an inch deep, suddenly gave way to a massive hole and we got stuck. The front wheel that side wasn't touching the ground and we couldn't move. We had no phone signal so I had to walk (in the rain) about ¼ mile up the very steep road to Ashness Bridge just to call the RAC. It turns out "roadside assistance" only covers you if you've actually broken down, not just got stuck. Even though "ditched" and "stuck in mud" are two options you can choose for requiring assistance, the person on the phone was seemingly happy to leave us stranded and…