I’ve often been intrigued by photographs of Hampsfell Hospice, an imposing square stone shelter on the top of Hampsfell, above the seaside town of Grange-over-Sands, and had added it to my mental checklist of places to visit if I ever got the chance. As luck would have it, I recently spotted a guided walk to […]
A Lake District gem I’ve been meaning to visit for ages is the Castlerigg Stone Circle near Keswick – and recently I finally ticked it off my list (albeit on a thoroughly miserable day when the sky became increasingly grey and eventually I got very wet – a complete contrast to the incredible weather we’ve […]
There are several places around Windermere to enjoy short walks with great views of the lake. As I’ve formed something of an addiction to short walks recently, for my latest post on the blog I thought I’d share another of my favourites, the walk to Orrest Head. You can either make this a short walk to […]
There are many beautiful waterfalls across the Lake District, but few are as easy to reach as Stockghyll Force, which is just a short walk from the heart of Ambleside. Whilst some would regard the walk to Stockghyll Force as too well-known to be regarded a ‘hidden gem’, it would be so easy to miss […]
If you’re looking for a pretty Lake District stroll, at low level and mostly on the flat, the walk from Elterwater to Skelwith Bridge is ideal. In fact, it has all the ingredients you could possibly want… a lovely view over Elterwater towards the middle of the walk, a waterfall en route, and places to […]
If you’re a regular visitor to the blog, you’ll already know that whilst I love the Lake District’s fells, I usually like to appreciate their beauty from a safe distance, rather than admire them by venturing to the tops! But earlier in the year, I got the taste for photographing scenery from a slightly higher […]
I’ve wanted to visit Mirehouse for a long time, and one beautiful sunny Saturday in July, my gem-hunting companion and I decided we’d risk the busy weekend traffic (which curiously turned out to be almost non-existent that day) and head north to Bassenthwaite. We thoroughly enjoyed our look around Mirehouse, but the house itself forms […]
One of the things I like most about spring is that it’s a season of many layers, with each spring flower and plant taking its own star turn – daffodils, camellias, rhododendrons, azaleas and tulips… and now it’s the turn of the delightful bluebell. Famous places to see great displays of bluebells in the Lake […]
No visit to Keswick would be complete without taking in the views across and along Derwentwater. But while many visitors know that the lakeshore can be reached beyond the Theatre by the Lake, just outside Keswick itself, fewer people know about the short walk to nearby Friar’s Crag – and to miss the views here […]
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 […]
If stopping off in Ambleside for only a short space of time, it could be easy to dismiss the town as a rather large collection of outdoor shops, with little else to offer. According to one local shopkeeper I spoke to on a recent wander around town, this is the impression that some visitors to […]
A few years ago I did a photography course over the winter, only to realise that it was the worst time of year I could have chosen. I was rapidly developing an interest in the photography of gardens (sorry about the pun – it was that or ‘growing an interest in garden photography!) and, except […]
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 […]
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 […]
If, like me, you’re interested in all things Beatrix Potter, the Lingholm Kitchen and Walled Garden at Portinscale – which is on the north-western shore of Derwentwater, near Keswick – should be high on your list of places to visit next time you’re exploring the Lake District. The main house at Lingholm was built in […]
In my opinion, one of the best ways to enjoy the outstanding scenery around Coniston is from Coniston Water itself, so if you’re looking for a unique, relaxing (and dry) way to do this, a trip on board the National Trust’s Steam Yacht Gondola won’t disappoint! It was with just seconds to spare that I […]
Claife Viewing Station, on the western shore of Windermere, has been on my gem-hunting list for some time now. The remains of this historic viewing station were recently restored by the National Trust, and last weekend I finally got to see it for myself. According to the National Trust, Claife Viewing Station dates back to […]
You can also see more recent images of the beautiful Stagshaw Gardens in a further post, Pictured in Bloom: Stagshaw Gardens, Ambleside. I’ve been looking forward to visiting Stagshaw Gardens near Ambleside for some time now, and it turns out the garden really is a hidden gem. Owned by the National Trust, Stagshaw isn’t particularly […]
It has to be said that I’m not a big fan of winter. I really feel the cold, plus I hate the fact it’s always dark before the end of the working day. I’m also not a fan of the ice and snow, as I equate slippery surfaces with imminent pain. Take the time I […]
Thankfully the weather was dry for the 2015 Troutbeck Garden Trail, and the sunshine even made an appearance in the afternoon. Instead of writing about the trail, I thought I’d pick 15 of my favourite photos to share with you. They were quick snaps taken using my camera phone, and although I’ve still not learned […]
The beautiful walk to High Dam, above Finsthwaite, on the western shore of Windermere, is a route that surprisingly few people seem to have heard of, so I’ve broken my own rules of blogging (i.e. no walking on this blog), to tell you a little more about it… I recently wrote a post about the […]
