Making the best of a bad job ?

Always have trouble taking pictures "in the hills" - weather's always 'poor' and I only ever take the cheap and cheerful lens ('cus it doesn't weigh a lot when climbing 3,000 feet) ... end up with so many "hazy" looking pics - witness Derwent Water:

Aargh !!!  First shout in Photoshop - press "Enhance/Auto Levels":

Better - but still too much 'haze' and even the hills close by are still a bit vague - so I tried to up the "Midtone Contrasts" ...

Getting there - but then, having looked at a lot of postcards, why not bump up the blue (using 'Colour Variations/Increase Blue") ???

... and finally - get rid of those irritating spots (rain drops) with a bit of 'cloning' ...

... well, it's an improvement innit ?? Anyone got any other hints/tips (apart from "Don't give up your day job") ?!?
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