Cottages in the Lake District, Cumbria, Lancashire,
holiday cottages in Cheshire and the Isle of Man.
The Lake District
The Lake District National Park was formed in 1951 and has helped to
stem the tide of pollution and congestion of this stunning part of
England. The local council provides an extensive bus service to
encourage people to leave their cars behind and explore using the
public transport network, and you can buy a weekly pass for less than
the cost of a decent meal.
Historically the centre of the tourist industry is Windermere. Since
the completion of the railway from Kendal in 1847 this town was the
first stop for the Victorian traveller, and so it remains to this day.
The upper parts of the town are lined with elegant villas, and town
houses, and many have been converted into hotels and guesthouses. The
shores of Lake Windermere can resemble the seaside, especially during
the summer months, as the streets nearest the water are crammed with
souvenir shops, cafes, ice-cream parlours, and loads of tourists. The
safest place to be is actually on the water. Cruising the lake is
exceptionally peaceful and you can take in the scenery at a sedate
pace, either under your own steam, with a variety of boats for hire, or
take a designated tour. In Windemere itself there is the Steamboat
Museum, which houses the world's oldest mechanically powered vessel, a
Beatrix Potter museum, and to the south is the fabulous Blackwell Arts
and Crafts House. Designed by Mackay Baillie Scott, one of the main
exponents of the Arts and Crafts movement, and this is one of the
finest examples remaining. The simple, elegant architecture is
exemplified by the White Drawing Room, which has lovely views west over
the lake. As you might imagine there is a huge range of self-catering
cottages and houses to rent in the Lake District and if you want to
hire a cottage near Windermere then you will be spoilt for choice.
Cottages in the Lakes range from idyllic country cottages with a log
fire to large houses near the Lake District National Park - perfect for
a weekend break or a summer holiday.
On the edge of the Lake District National Park and the gateway to the
region from the south is Kendal, a market town since the 12th century.
This was the centre of the local wool and weaving business for 600
years, and Shakespeare mentioned the particular 'Kendal-green' cloth.
The town is now more famous for the mint cake, taken to the top of Mt
Everest by Hillary and Tensing in 1953, and now sold worldwide. Holiday
cottages in Kendal are plentiful and there is some top quality
self-catering accommodation in this part of the Lake District. Kendal
has a selection of museums and art galleries, with both permanent and
temporary exhibitions, two ruined castles to clamber about, but if you
are looking for some practice before attacking the real thing, visit
the Kendal Climbing Wall.
There are two attractive country houses to the south of Kendal, Sizergh
Castle and Levens Hall. Both these houses are based around 14th century
pele towers, but with the arrival of peace between the Scots and the
English, Elizabethan manor houses were built for more comfortable
accommodation. Sizergh has some attractive chimneypieces and wood
paneling, whereas Levens has some impressive paintings, Jacobean
furniture, and an unusual leather-panelled dining room, and the gardens
have a large selection of topiary.
At the northern end of Lake Windermere is the town of Ambleside,
another Victorian resort that can be reached by boat-bus. It is ringed
on three sides by hills and crags and is one of the Lake District's
main bases for climbers and walkers. Ambleside's quaint and narrow
cobbled streets are full of B&Bs, restaurants, and teashops, with the
occasional walker resting his weary limbs. This is an ideal place to
use as a base for anyone heading for the hills, and there are lots of
choices that start and finish here - as well as some luxury
self-catering cottages to rent near Ambleside. You can visit rocky
crags, waterfalls, or walk in fells, woods and farmland. As you can
imagine there is plenty of choice for the hungry climber with bistros,
pizza parlours, and good pub grub to refuel the batteries.
You are now deep in Wordsworth country. He was born in Cockermouth,
raised in Hawkshead, and lived in both Grassmere and Rydal. On the
outskirts of the village of Grasmere is Dove Cottage where the poet
wrote some of his greatest works, and the house, once a pub, has been
carefully looked after to preserve some of the atmosphere he would have
experienced. Next door is the Wordsworth Museum displaying journals,
letters, and manuscripts, some by the great man, and others by his
illustrious contemporaries. He is buried in the village graveyard along
with his wife and sister. Rydal Mount was his home for 35 years and he
left an indelible imprint on the house and gardens, which is still
owned by some of his descendants. This has the feeling of a family home
with a number of Wordsworth's personal belongings on display including
his pen, and ink-stand. Wandering around the house, and the gardens
that he designed, you may be able to see why he always returned to this
part of England.
Hawkshead, just to the south of Ambleside, was where Wordsworth went to
school, but in this village he has to compete with Beatrix Potter. It
was just to the south of this village that she wrote many of her
best-known stories, in Hill Top farm house, and you can see that many
of the local buildings have found their way into her illustrations.
There are some wonderful pubs in this area serving a diverse number of
local ales, and fabulous food for the traveling trencherman. If you are
still on the Wordsworth trail, you can see where he carved his name in
his school desk. The Lake District is obviously a popular place for a
self-catering holiday in Wordsworth country or to rent a holiday
cottage in Beatrix Potter country - as these areas are frequently
called!
At the top end of Coniston Water is the village of the same name,
another good base for exploring this exhilarating landscape. The lake
is probably best known for the world records set on it by Sir Malcolm
Campbell and his son Donald. Although the village has connections with
the copper mining industry, and the writings of Arthur Ransome (of
'Swallows and Amazons' fame), this is a good chance to acquaint
yourself with the Victorian art critic and social campaigner, John
Ruskin. Having bought the local house of Brantwood, he then spent the
next twenty years modifying and extending it. The result is probably
the finest country estate in the Lake District, with its expansive
mansion, and 250 acres of landscaped gardens, but to see the house at
its best you really should arrive by boat. This is easily done as the
National Trust steam launch 'Gondola' runs regular services between the
estate and Coniston Pier.
Surrounded by some of the highest peaks in England, including Scafell
Pike and Great Gable, is the little visited small town of Wasdale. The
lake of Wast Water is the deepest in the Lake District and has few
boats on it as you can only land at either end. Naturally most of the
people you will meet here will be serious climbers or hardy, and
experienced hikers. The Bridge Inn at Stanton Bridge, just to the
south, hosts the annual 'World's Biggest Liar' competition in November.
Held in memory of the first landlord of the Wasdale Head Inn, Will
Ritson, who was renowned for his extravagant tales and local folklore.
Right in the heart of the Lake District National Park is Keswick, a
busy market town, built out of the local blue slate, and a haven for
tourists, both young and old. The main claim to fame of this town is
that it was the centre of the graphite mining industry in the 16th
century, and for some time held a world monopoly on the product. These
days Keswick is an important walking resort, and this is evinced in the
facilities on offer in the town, with loads of pubs, cafes, and outdoor
shops, and it is close to the Cumbria Way, a 68 mile, five-day route,
that stretches from Ulverston to Carlisle. The connection with the
humble pencil is celebrated in the Pencil Museum, which was first
manufactured in Keswick, and has various attractions including a mine
reconstruction, and the world's largest pencil. There is a Museum and
Art Gallery with original manuscripts by Wordsworth, Ruskin, and Sir
Hugh Walpole, and some good exhibits of archeological artifacts. Behind
the Pencil Museum is the Keswick Climbing Wall and Activity Centre
which organises all sorts of outdoor jaunts from canoeing, to abseiling
and rock climbing. There is a motor launch that runs year-round and
visits seven different stages on Derwent Water and is as good as a bus.
Holiday cottages in Keswick abound and there is lots of excellent
quality self-catering in Keswick itself and the surrounding villages.
One mile east of Keswick is the mysterious Castlerigg Stone Circle, a
strange loop of 48 stones, believed to date back some 3000 to 4000
years. Its exact purpose is not known, but current feeling is that this
is either a meeting place, or some sort of clock.
The other major town on the east side of the lakes is Penrith, a much
more user-friendly base, as it offers easy access to both the Pennines
and the lakes and offers plenty in the way of self-catering
accommodation in Penrith and surrounding area. This is a thoroughly
pleasant town, with a weekly market on Tuesdays, and a variety of shops
to feed you and clothe you. The majority of the centre of Penrith is
unspoilt and most of the shops retain their original facades - there
are lots of quality holiday cottages near Penrith. Just to the west,
near the village of Greystoke are three follies, built by the 11th Duke
of Norfolk towards the end of the 18th century, which have wonderful
castellated walls, one with a tower, one with a spire, and the third as
a pentagon.
There are a multitude of other things to do and see in Cumbria and the
Lake District, most of which you tend to stumble across rather than be
pointed to. It is as exciting for the less active as it is for the
mountaineer, and the locals are well used to people popping in for just
a short time to experience somewhere that they are lucky enough to have
all year round.
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