Lake District Gems | a blog about the Lakes
A blog exploring the Lake District's hidden gems and best-kept secrets
Last September on the blog, regular readers may remember that I visited the Windermere Jetty construction site on a guided tour for the Heritage Open Days weekend. Windermere Jetty is currently being built by Lakeland Arts on the site of the original Windermere Steamboat Museum, and when finished, will house a collection of historic boats […]
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 […]
If you’ve ever taken the drive along New Road and Lake Road between the village of Windermere and neighbouring Bowness-on-Windermere, you may have noticed a small but intriguing clock tower halfway between the two. You may even have walked past, but not stopped to take a proper look at the inscription on the front. It’s […]
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 […]
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 […]
They say a picture speaks a thousand words, so for this post I thought I’d let the photos do the talking and see if I can tempt you to visit the Lake District in 2017! For this post I set myself the challenge of including photographs containing views from throughout the year, which haven’t appeared […]
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 […]
It’s that time of year again when our TV screens fill with reviews of the past year – the political, the surprising, the sad and the amusing. It therefore seemed a rather nice idea to take a look back over the last year of gem hunting, and revisit some of the standout moments from the […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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
One of the great things about the Lake District calendar is that there are still a number of traditional events each year which have been taking place for generations, particularly amongst the farming communities. As well as the bigger agricultural shows, you can also look out for smaller gatherings such as the local sheep dog […]
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 […]
I absolutely love wildlife – animals can be such good fun! The garden suddenly seems much quieter now that this year’s baby woodpeckers have grown up and moved out – an event that happened a couple of weeks ago now. Before that, I couldn’t step into the back garden without ‘daddy’ woodpecker scolding me for […]
Back in March, I wrote a blog post about Go Herdwick, a public art trail made up of 60 life-size, colourfully decorated ewes, which have been sponsored by businesses and organisations around the Lake District to raise money for the Lake District Calvert Trust. The trail has really captured people’s imaginations, and has proved very […]
Anyone spending time in the Lake District over the past few days may have noticed some peculiar goings on, with some very brightly coloured sheep appearing in the most unexpected places, from driveways to B&B gardens. The reason? It’s the start of the Go Herdwick public art trail to raise money for the Lake District […]
Regular readers of the blog will know that I’m not that keen on snow – mainly for practical reasons, like staying on my feet! But there’s no denying it does look beautiful. Here are a few snaps I got first thing this morning of Windermere (and so far so good with walking in the snow, […]
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 […]
I had assumed that badgers were shy creatures and that it would be difficult to see them at close range, never mind take photographs. I was completely wrong! These cheeky chappies have made their home in a garden in Troutbeck Bridge, and on the night I photographed, the sun was setting and they were eagerly […]
As I’ve mentioned in one of my previous blog posts, probably my favourite garden in the Lake District has to be Holehird Gardens just outside Windermere. There is just so much to see at any time in the season – the gardens are peaceful and welcoming, the views are outstanding, and there are some great […]
When driving or walking along the A592 between Bowness-on-Windermere and the roundabout at Cook’s House Corner, it would be easy to think that there’s little to see of the lake (Windermere) that runs alongside it. Stop at the Rayrigg Meadow car park, and there’s just a big green hill in front of you – Queen […]
The newly rebranded Laura Ashley The Belsfield Hotel, was first built as a private house for the Baroness von Sternberg in the 19th century. The Belsfield is now operated by Corus Hotels, and is only the second Laura Ashley-branded hotel, the other being The Manor in Elstree. I’ve been meaning to visit for some time […]
There is a densely wooded and highly atmospheric area of landscape to the south and west of Windermere which, to me, is quite distinct from other parts of the Lake District. I include in this description places such as Newby Bridge, Backbarrow, Lakeside and Finsthwaite, and I always enjoy spending time there. Stott Park Bobbin […]
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 in the Windermere area, or just passing by on a day out, you’d be mad not to stop briefly at one of the most beautiful viewpoints in the area. Hammarbank (sometimes spelt Hammerbank depending on where you look) is situated just outside Windermere on the A592 (Rayrigg Road), near Cook’s Corner roundabout. Turn […]