Lake District Gems | a blog about the Lakes
A blog exploring the Lake District's hidden gems and best-kept secrets
The Millerbeck Light Railway is a perfect example of the hidden gems I set out to discover when I set up my blog, and most definitely qualifies as a Lake District gem! A non-commercial railway in the private grounds of a house, it opens to visitors for special event days, which are listed on its […]
With Father’s Day just around the corner, you might well be looking for places to enjoy a leisurely day out in Lake District, so in this post I thought I would put together a few ideas especially for dads! I’ve thrown in a couple of events, as well as recommendations for local attractions. Fingers crossed […]
I always love hearing which are your favourite Lake District Gems, and it was thanks to the recommendations of two blog readers that I recently visited somewhere new to me: Allan Bank in Grasmere. Allan Bank is a relatively recent addition to the National Trust’s visitor offerings in the Lake District, and was opened to […]
Always on the lookout for something a bit different to visit in the Lake District, I was intrigued to come across Derwent Island House on the National Trust’s website. This historic house, which dates in part back to the 1700s, opens to the public for just five days each year. There’s just one catch though: […]
Although I’m not a dog owner myself, I do rather like the idea of recruiting a four-legged gem-hunting companion – I think we’d make a good team, so maybe one day soon! In the meantime though, I know that many of you like to bring your own dogs on holiday with you to the Lake […]
Of all the stretches of water in the Lake District I’ve visited so far, Derwentwater has to have one of the nicest atmospheres I’ve experienced. It holds great memories for me because, as a child at primary school, I used to canoe on the lake. Although I can’t remember which area of the lake we […]
All the signs of spring are fast appearing: spring bulbs are forming carpets of colour by the roadsides, the daffodils are fast appearing, and BBC2’s Gardeners’ World starts its new series tonight – and there’s no more reliable sign than that! I find springtime one of the most exciting times of the year, not only […]
Recently I wrote about historic Ambleside, and how you could get to know this charming little market town by following the Ambleside Heritage Trail. As I mentioned though, the history of Ambleside dates back much further than the buildings you will see in town, and begins with the Romans at a site you can still […]
When I recently discovered that January is ‘Hot Tea Month’, I thought, now there’s a subject for a blog post! Although I’m not entirely sure how or where Hot Tea Month first came about – online sources seem to suggest it may have been the USA – here are some of my favourite stopping off […]
Have you ever wondered why the recently opened Arts Bar and Grill in Bowness-on-Windermere was previously a restaurant with the name The Spinnery? It turns out there’s an interesting piece of local history behind the name. Blackwell, The Arts and Crafts House, just outside Bowness-on-Windermere, is currently running an exhibition about historic figure and talented […]
At the end of the season, a number of the Lake District’s historic houses shut for the winter, however, Blackwell, just outside Bowness-on-Windermere, is an exception that is well worth visiting at any time of year. Blackwell is a famous example of a house from the Arts and Crafts movement, and was built in 1900 […]
There’s no doubt that the costs of holidaying anywhere in the UK can easily mount up if you take into account admission prices, food and drink, public transport and parking. If you know where to look though, there are a few things you can be doing to save those pennies on your visits to the […]
My fascination with Wray Castle started back in September this year when I visited the inside of this enormous mock-gothic Victorian house properly for the first time. It was whilst writing about Wray that I then came across its November ‘hard hat tours’ and thought what a great thing they too would be to share […]
Occasionally I come across an image in my photo library and think, ‘that would make a good picture for a quiz! I wonder how many people would know where it was taken…’. So following this line of thought, here are 12 photos I’ve taken on my gem-hunting travels, some of which have appeared on the […]
Back in the summer I visited Coniston for the first time in many years. I absolutely loved it, so promised myself that I would return to see its legendary autumn colours before the long dark nights of winter finally draw in! I usually find the BBC weather app quite accurate, but at the weekend it […]
Wray Castle is an unusual National Trust property in that you are told not to expect to find a well-furnished, pristine historic country house on a visit here. Children will love Wray however, and outside of the school holidays, I think there is plenty of intrigue to make it a destination for people of all […]
If you’re a regular reader of the blog, you’ll know that I’m not a fell walker, and that exploring the mountains isn’t something I aim to write about, even though they are an important and beautiful part of the Lake District (there are other great bloggers who do that, so I’ll leave it to the […]
If you’ve been visiting the Lake District for some years, you may remember the Windermere Steamboat Museum, which was situated on the eastern shore of Windermere, just outside the centre of Bowness-on-Windermere, on Rayrigg Road. I must have been really young when I last visited, but I do have a vague memory of wandering round […]
I first came across the Force Crag Mine processing mill on the National Trust website, and it looked absolutely fascinating. Situated at the head of the Coledale valley, the building can be seen from the outside at any time, but on just five dates each year volunteers from the National Trust open up the mill […]
The Bathymetric Atlas of the English Lake District is a fascinating book representing the contours beneath the surface of the area’s many stretches of water