The Windermere Lodges Blog

Being serious for a moment…. Kiva

John — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:55:49 +0000

We’ve just discovered an organisation caled Kiva which alllows you to make a loan to an entrepreneur across the globe for as little as $25. Kiva is the world’s first online lending platform connecting online lenders to entrepreneurs across the globe.

Kiva

We thought it would be cool to start a Friends of Windermere Lodges Group to encourage our friends and guests to get involved. You can click on the image above to get taken to the site to find out more.

The Levens Chilli Fest

John — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:55:56 +0000

At the weekend we went over to Levens Hall for the annual Chilli Fest.

Levens is always a pleasure as its gardens are magnificent at any time of year.

Levens Hall

Levens Orchard

We enjoyed the chilli fest, and we came away with some very nice looking chilli plants, but I am not going to comment on the advisability of eating your way around all of the free samples

One guy we saw was looking decidedly off-colour after a bit too much indulgence in the 10 minute burn paste!

There was also a VERY funny entertainer called Maynard Flip Flap who entertained the crowd with some daft stuff involving children, eggs and wigs.

Maynard Flip Flap

All in all another great day in the Lakes!

A stroll along Cunswick Fell

John — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:35:10 +0000

Last week we took the road less travelled and walked along Cunswick Fell near Kendal.

Cunswick Fell

This is a nice gentle walk with great views and isn’t over-crowded even in high Summer.

From the limestone pavement of the car park to the fossils along the way this made a very interesting change.

View from Cunswick Fell

The scar underneath the main fell is famous for its fossils and we were able to find a small one without trying too hard.

We also saw some great funghi growing in the natural fertiliser on the grass.

Funghi

Cumbria – Top 20 Visitor Attractions

John — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:44:15 +0000

Have you ever wondered what the top 20 visitor attractions in Cumbria and the Lake District are?

Here they are ranked by number of visits in 2009

Windermere Lake Cruises in South Lakeland
Rheged in Eden
Ullswater Steamers in Eden
Whinlatter Forest Park & Visitor Centre in Allerdale
Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery in Carlisle
Grizedale Forest Park and Visitor Centre in South Lakeland
Carlisle Cathedral in Carlisle
Lake District Visitor Centre Brockhole in South Lakeland
Hill Top (the home of Beatrix Potter) in South Lakeland
Sizergh Castle in South Lakeland
Cumberland Pencil Museum in Allerdale
Muncaster in Copeland
The Dock Museum in Barrow
The Beacon in Copland with 71,602 visitors
Holker Hall and Gardens in South Lakeland
Carlisle Castle in Carlisle
Beatrix Potter Gallery in South Lakeland
Trotters World of Animals in Allerdale
Homes of Football in South Lakeland
Cartmel Priory in South Lakeland

Source: Cumbria Tourism – Visitor Attractions Monitor

Summer Holiday Availability at Troutbeck View

John — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 16:10:50 +0000

Our new lodge – Troutbeck View – is booking up fast but we still have availability for next weekend (Friday 6th – Monday 9th August) and for the week beginning Friday 20th August.

Troutbeck View - Lounge

Book now to avoid disappointmenet at www.troutbeckview.co.uk

The White Ladies of Troutbeck

John — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:46:49 +0000

There is a local legend that many years ago there were two twins whose husbands both went missing on the same night when their ship out of Maryport foundered in a storm. They wandered each day up from Troutbeck to the top of the Kirkstone Pass in the hope of seeing their menfolk returning and when darkness fell they made their sad way down the hill back to the village. One night they were hit by the mail coach and one twin was decapitated and the other was cut right in half.

On July nights their ghosts are sometimes said to be seen on the Patterdale Road. This detail from a photo taken last night of Limefitt Park surprised us when we looked at it as it seems that two ladies in white are clearly visible!

The White Ladies of Troutbeck?

How’s this for a restaurant view?

John — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:40:44 +0000

We went to the Mortal Man last night for a family dinner. For a change we sat in the restaurant rather than the bar and we enjoyed this view from the table.

View from The Mortal Man Restaurant

Stunning!

A visit to Grasmere

John — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:31:19 +0000

Grasmere has always been one of my favourite Lake District places, so yesterday we combined a mission to collect some gingerbread with a saunter around the village. We visited our favourite shop in Grasmere – Craglands – to collect our gingerbread voucher from Chris Shaw (@cragchris on Twitter) from whom we had won it in her Twitter competition.

Craglands

If you are looking for interesting jewellery or knitwear be sure to pop in and say hello. Chris is passionate about Grasmere and you can be sure of a warm welcome and a great selection to browse .

On the way to the gingerbread shop we passed through the churchyard. It’s a lovely churchyard and there was some amazing orange lichen on a couple of the graves.

Orange Lichen

Last weekend was the Grasmere Rushbearing and the church was still decked out beautifully.

Grasmere Church

The aisle

A rush harp

A serpent

Peace

Crosses

We made the obligatory visit to William Wordsworth’s grave

Wordsworth's Grave

before we made it to the queue outside the gingerbread shop.

The Gingerbread Shop at Grasmere

Why were we queueing? You’ll have to buy some gingerbread to find out! It really IS worth it

August availability in our brand new lodge – Troutbeck View

John — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:00:00 +0000

I’ve been a bit quiet of late as we’ve been away on holiday and as soon as we got back we had to get into preparing our new Troutbeck lodge – Troutbeck View. We’ve been putting our backs into it all week and we now have my sister in law “road testing” the lodge to make sure all is as it should be.

Troutbeck View Lodge

We are up and running and ready for guests now and have availability from next friday – 30th July

Visit http://www.troutbeckview.co.uk/ for details of pricing and availability

Suki shows she’s a real flatcoat at the 2010 Ullswater Show

John — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 19:27:31 +0000

Today we went to the Ullswater Show. They had a fantastic day for it . On the way in a gentleman came up and asked Linda if she’d mind coming into the ring with Suki as he was doing a demonstration about working dog breeds. Suki duly demonstrated that she does have a mind of her own when it comes to furry things she’s asked to retrieve. I just love the way that the guy’s two black labs just sit there, stock still like book ends, looking bemused by Suki’s naughtiness.

We had great fun and also entered her into the companion dog show. The first time we had ever done anything like this. No rosettes this time but we all enjoyed it.

There were dogs everywhere at the show, but no donkeys. To see them we had to drive home and watch 90 minutes of football.