The Windermere Lodges Blog » Free Attractions

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

Falconry Display and Pony Trekking at Limefitt Park, Troutbeck

John — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 10:23:19 +0000

Today at 2 pm they are going to be flying hawks here at Limefitt Park in Troutbeck

You can see some of these beauties.

Falconry at Limefitt Park

Midnight

and my favourite, thomas the American Kestrel

Thomas

Oh yes – and there’s free pony trekking for the kids too!

An expedition to the source of the Troutbeck

John — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 12:33:02 +0000

Ok , so it’s not exactly the White Nile, but an expedition to see where the beck begins its journey had been on my list of walks to to do for some time now. I set of on Thursday morning bright and early armed with a rucksack full of wet/cold weather clothes, map, compass etc (it get’s cloudy up there) and my trusty companion Suki.

We started off along the track to Troutbeck Park farm, where Beatrix Potter once farmed her Herdwicks and then headed up the left hand side of the beck. It is a lovely stroll through a woodland path with cascades and falls along the way.

Waterfall on Troutbeck

By the time we had crossed over Troutbeck and were making our way alongside the Troutbeck Tongue up towards Threshthwaite Mouth the going got a bit heavier and boggy, but as the gradient rose it dried out. It wasn’t a great way to prepare for the steep climb up back of the valley though as it was quite tiring in itself. From where the climb began to the beacon on top of Thornthwaite Crag I climbed about 2,000 feet in one and a half miles. Suki, who is younger and fitter than me, (and has no concept of energy conservation) dragged me up the last but with her boundess enthusiam, but by the time I reached the top I needed a rest! Anyway I had made it through the various mouth parts of Troutbeck without being swallowed up by anything which felt like an achievement.

The views were stunning. Last time I have been on top of Thornthwaite Crag it had been cloudy, but today the sun was shining and the view North to Ullswater was uninterrupted.

The view North from Threshthwaite Mouth

To the South the view down over the Troutbeck Tongue and on to Windermere and Morecambe Bay was also worth the climb.

The view South from Threshthwaite Mouth

Once I was rested we set off on the return leg over Froswick, Ill Bell and Yoke. By the time I got to the climb up Ill Bell I have to confess that my legs were complaning a little. Suki was refresshed though after a dip in a fantastically muddy tarn.

Cooling down

All in all we walked nearly 12 miles and climbed about 3,300 feet in the process so I fully deserved the excellent fish and chips we had at the Haybarn whilst we played a family game of “Round the Clock on the dartboard. The Bishop’s Finger went down well too.

I slept well that night!

A morning out at Grizedale on the North Face Trail

John — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 17:06:25 +0000

The onset of Spring (sun, daffodils, lambs, first barbie of the year and all that) brought a rush of blood to the head and Tom and I set off to Grizedale for a bit of Dad and boy bonding on the North Face trail. We cheated a bit as we got Linda to drive us to Moor Top and rode mostly downhill to be met at the main visitor centre with a picnic. We did start the ride with an uphill section in the direction of High Cross so it wasn’t entirely a cheat.

Grizedale North Face

There are some nice technical bits – lots of rocks and berms so we had a good time hurtling down the single track. It always surprises me how the average speed gets so low when on trails. On the road we average 15 MPH without a problem. This ride was 5 miles and took us an hour.

Linda and Suki went for a walk and came across this antler shed – it’s an amazing thing!

Antler from Grizedale

It was interesting that Suki, who will drag a stick (any stick, or a branch) proudly along for miles showed no interest in this antler at all. It’s a wonderful combination of strength and lightness, and it now has pride of place on our sideboard.

Osprey Watch – Watch the Bassenwthaite Ospreys

John — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 07:27:58 +0000

One of the highlights of The Lakes for nature lovers is the annual return of the Bassenthwaite Ospreys.

As well as going to see the nest, just North of Keswick, now you can now follow them on the internet!

Lake District Osprey Projectgreat free widgetsWidgetboxMore info

There is also some stunning video footage over at http://www.cumbrialive.tv/. Martin was even lucky enough to film them mating and carrying fish.

Dubbs Reservoir near Limefitt Park is reborn as a wildlife haven

John — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 08:36:31 +0000

Fantastic news this morning that Dubbs Reservoir, between Ings and Troutbeck, on the fell side just above our Lake District pine lodges has been reborn as a haven for wildlife.

Dubbs Reservoir - A New Conservation Area

The reservoir used to be an important water source but had fallen into disuse in recent years. Now after a £2 million investment by United Utilities it has been restored as a beautiful wildlife conservation area and access has been improved.

Dubbs Reservoir and Dubbs Beck, near Ings, form part of the River Kent special area of conservation and are an important habitat for animals such as the native white clawed crayfish, badgers and swans.

The white clawed crayfish is an endangered species and suffers from competition and predation from the invasive american signal crayfish or can be killed by the disease it carries, so these Cumbrian strongholds are very important for the protection of the species.

The walk around Dubbs reservoir from our Cumbrian log cabins is one of our favourites. It is about 5 miles long and takes about 2 hours to complete over good paths. You will also get some spectacular views of Windermere whilst on the walk.

Late availability – Special offer – Pine lodge midweek break – Now with added daffodils!

John — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 14:28:25 +0000

Does this view look good to you?

Troutbeck Church - just a stroll from Limefitt Park

Our lodges are only a short walk away from this churchyard which is a blaze of gold at the end of March as the daffodils come out.

If visual poetry is your thing, you can even go and find where Wordsworth saw his daffodils at Glencoyne bay just over the Kirkstone Pass.

We still have availability for a midweek break at the end of this month (Monday 23rd – Friday 27th March) in both Windermere Lodge and Kingfisher Lodge.

We also have availability in Windermere Lodge for Monday 30th March to Friday 3rd April.

These breaks can be had for only £299 + the £35 laundry and cleaning charge – that’s a fraction over £20 per person per night!!!

Don’t miss out on these late availability breaks!

T0 book visit our websites at www.windermerelodge.co.uk and www.windermerecabin.co.uk

10 free things to do on holiday in the Lake District now that Spring is on its way

John — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:13:33 +0000

1. Go for a walk

The Lakes is heaven on earth for ramblers – look at one of the free routes on our website and treat yourself to a healthy and free slice of rest and relaxation

2. Go for a bike ride

Whether its on the winding lanes, the bridle paths or the exciting trails at Grizedale and Whinlatter there’s something for everyone on two wheels.

3. Go and look at the wooden carvings in Grizedale Forest

There seem to be more of these whenever we go. Great fun for the kids

4. Take in the “Arts and Crafts ” window and the daffodils at Troutbeck church and then visit Holehird Gardens just down the road

You won’t find a prettier country church or more natural beauty anywhere.

5. Go skateboarding in the park in Windermere Town

Our son makes us take him regularly!

6. Go and find Wordsworth’s Daffodils

At Glencoyne Bay in Ullswater – sheer poetry.

7. Go Geo-caching

All you need is a map and access to www.geocaching.com – find out about this new craze.

8. Visit Grasmere

The village where Wordsworth lived – one of the prettiest in the Lakes. Just walk around it.

9. Go and see the ospreys at Bassenthwaite (from about April)

These birds are seriously regal!

10. Go browsing in the Lakeland Shop in Windermere

You don’t have to buy anything – just marvel at man’s ingenuity and capacity for creating useless but interesting kitchen items! bet you can’t not buy anything though

Free Canal Boat Trips from Kendal

John — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:59:51 +0000

This season The Lancaster Canal Trust will be offering free (but donations gratefully accepted) 30-40 minute canal boat trips on Sunday and Bank Holidays from May to September between 11:00 and 4:00

For more information visit www.lancastercanaltrust.org.uk