Lake District Gems | a blog about the Lakes
A blog exploring the Lake District's hidden gems and best-kept secrets
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 […]
Every now and again I’ll hear an interesting fact about the Lake District and think, ‘Another record belonging to the Lake District – I should collect them for a post!’ Well, having gathered a few facts now, the time has finally come, and although I’m sure I’ll have missed many more along the way, here […]
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 […]
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 […]
Recently I wrote about my rediscovery of the Coniston area after not having visited for some years. I enjoyed the scenery from on board the National Trust’s Steam Yacht Gondola so much that I returned just two days later to visit another of Coniston’s local gems, Brantwood. Brantwood is a house and 250-acre fellside estate […]
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 […]
It just goes to show – however much you think you know a place, there’s always something new to be discovered! I’ve been visiting Rydal Hall in Rydal, near Grasmere, for several years now, and it’s a gem of a place that not everyone has come across. But what I didn’t realise until the beginning […]
In a recent post, I visited the National Trust’s Stagshaw Gardens, near Ambleside, for the first time. Stagshaw Gardens is very much a spring woodland garden, with a host of camellias, azaleas and rhododendrons and other woodland planting, and although it was beautiful, it turned out I had visited a little too early and the […]
If you visit the blog on a regular basis, you’ll know that I love to visit gardens, but despite having been to Holker Hall and the annual Holker Garden Festival on several occasions, I’d never actually visited the gardens until last weekend. I expected the gardens to be good, but didn’t realise just how much […]
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 […]
I first visited the gardens at Yewbarrow House several years ago, and they were so good I visited again… and again! The gardens belong to a private house perched on the side of a hill in Grange-over-Sands, and their owner, hotelier Jonathan Denby, opens them up to the public four times each year to raise […]
What do you think of when you hear the word ‘spring’? Warmth, daffodils, vibrant green leaves and birds in song? Where better then to enjoy spring this year than in the glorious Lake District? Here are just 10 reasons why you should: 1. Work off those winter pounds After all that Christmas food and those […]
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 […]
It seems a shame to write about events only after they’ve taken place, so this time I thought I’d let you know about an upcoming date for the diary in advance. If you’re wondering how to spend the last Bank Holiday Monday in May, I have one favourite suggestion that I’d like to share with […]
Although the term can be overused, Holehird Gardens, just outside Windermere, are what I would truly describe as a ‘hidden gem’. Whenever I visit, I feel like I’ve been transported to another world of complete peace and tranquility. On a warm day, it is heavenly to relax on one of the garden’s many benches and […]
If you’re a keen gardener, you may already have come across the National Garden Scheme’s (NGS) Yellow Book or even visited some of the many gardens that open each year across the UK to raise money for charity. It was great to see the 2015 Cumbria NGS guide appear in leaflet racks across the county […]