Windermere Lodge, Limefitt Park, Troutbeck

So long blogspot!

2008-11-23T15:25:00.002Z

We've moved!

We decided to put the blog on our own site so you can find us here now

http://windermerelodge.co.uk/wp/

We do get sun as well of course!

2008-11-11T20:53:00.004Z

Just to prove that the weather in the Lakes can be as glorious as anywhere else here's what it was like on the first weekend of November this year!

We discovered a new walk round Troutbeck that took us to place where there is an island between 2 bridges. Even after 3 years this place still surprises me with it's beauty!

More rainbows

2008-10-27T15:40:00.004Z

The last few days have been a bit wet - we got a foot of rain in a single day, and we had to drive here using a very indirect route yesterday, so it was good to see a beautiful consequence of it all! This was the most striking rainbow I have ever seen!

It's not the winning...

2008-10-23T14:37:00.011+01:00

So last night was the North West Tourism awards. We went down to Liverpool where the awards took place in the magnificent St George's Hall.

Sadly for us the Tourism Web Site of The Year for the North West Award didn't come our way - It went instead to The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. We were just flattered to be competing in such exalted company and we had an ace time.

As the sign post in the picture below sums up - I hope we came close!

The awards were presented by Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen so Linda and Liz were very miffed not to have the chance of going up for a kiss, but everything was alright again when he appeared next to us during the buffet. He really seems a nice guy and he was just soooo charming when they asked if he'd mind having his picture taken with them. It must be a right pain and he was extremely gracious about it.

Liz and Gary who had come with us to lend support were made up when the evening's entertainment started and it was some bloke called Rhydian from the X -factor. They were even happier when they realised that we didn't have a clue who he was (we must be the only people in the country who don't watch it) so they could take the mickey again. He was really good though and he had the perfect setting for his Phantom of the Opera song as you can see below!

All in all we had a great run and we are really proud to have won the Cumbria Award that got us here. And well done M.O.S.I - A worthy winner!

We've had such a lot of fun that maybe we'll try again another year!

Crisis what Crisis

2008-10-19T13:33:00.005+01:00

We decided to celebrate the opening of Kingfisher Lodge by going out with our friends Julie and Karen (Check out J&K's Jikiden Reiki site) into Bowness on Saturday night for an Italian meal at Villa Positano on Ash Street - 015394 45663 .

Even though it's hardly peak season just now we weren't able to book a table for Saturday night until 8:45! When we arrived the place was heaving and the staff were coping heroically with a huge number of people. It's a nice place and we had a great evening. No sign of the economic downturn in this restaurant.

We got up this morning and did a quick Dubbs Reservoir 5 miler to make up for the extra garlic bread. There are still a suprising number of flowers out - red campion and cornflowers especially, and the berries and hips keep the trees colourful. We made it before the promised gales put in an appearance.

Back home shortly and then to Liverpool on Wednesday for the finals of the North West Tourism Awards. The other web sites we are up against are all really high quality - so we are a really just going for craic (OK - with a sneaky hope that something amazing could happen). It should be a great evening anyway.

And talking of lovely :-)

2008-10-13T16:45:00.002+01:00

We were really pleased to receive some pictures of Windermere Lodge from some recent guests. We got two lovely drawings and four amazing photos.

Here is one of the drawings - you can see why we were very touched!

So sweet to be starting off together :-)

2008-10-12T21:47:00.006+01:00

So there we are in Mr Leahy's vast emporium, otherwise known as Tesco Blackpool, buying hundreds of pounds worth of new gear for Kingfisher Lodge. As we check out the lady at the till smiles at Linda and says "it's so nice to start with everything NEW isn't it". Linda catches my eye and simpers at me. "Well we only do it once darling, don't we?". I decide this is not the moment to explain about holiday homes and inventories so simper back "Hopefully sweetheart!"

To continue the romantic mood here is a sunset picture taken at Limefitt Park this weekend

Oops we did it again!

2008-10-07T08:03:00.005+01:00

We are really pleased to tell you that we now have ANOTHER lodge that we can offer you.

We are so pleased with the success of Windermere Lodge that last weekend we bought another lodge to be able to offer a different style for our guests.

Kingfisher Lodge is a traditional style 2 bedroom pine lodge and is right beside Trout Beck. We look forward to welcoming new and returning guests! We hope to be welcoming our first guests from 17th October.

In the meantime we are working flat out to make sure that it is as well equipped as Windermere Lodge.

We were really lucky that we did all the business side of the purchase on Saturday when about 2 years worth of rain fell in half an hour. The road to the Kirkstone Pass from Windermere was blocked by a flood and we had to use local knowledge to get past the flood on the side roads. (A sat-nav might have done the same job of course).

When we came to start shifting car loads of stuff it was Sunday and the sun was shining as brightly as it has all year.

We took that as a good omen!

Britain's Favourite View

2008-09-14T20:24:00.013+01:00

Well, this weekend has been a pleasant change. Saturday afternoon was glorious and Saturday evening was a crystal clear night with stars everywhere and a nearly full moon. Having stayed in and watched a scary DVD (28 Weeks Later - ace) we took Suki out for a late night walk. At this point I need to apologise to the guy who had set up his video camera and laid out bread and other delights to attract the badger which he had just started to film as we walked past. Oops. He didn't say anything - just went inside looking pained. If you are reading this, then we are very very sorry! :-)

This morning (Sunday) we crossed the Wrynose and Hardknott passes to visit Wastwater, which that nice Sally Whittaker from Corrie chose as her (winning) entry in "Britain's Favourite View".

Now Sally and I have history - I remember Sally (the character) meeting Kevin playing tennis back in the late 70's and I shaved my 'tache off (unkowingly) on the same night that Kevin shaved his off. (OK, I knew I'd shaved mine off but I don't know HE had). Sally (the actress) and I also used to go the same gym in Hale (although I never actually saw her there as men and women had separate sessions, and I hardly ever went anyway).

Anyway I wanted to see if I agreed with her choice.

We drove over the Wrynose and Hardknott passes which is real macho driving stuff. Your passengers enjoy the dramatic scenery whilst you grip the wheel with both hands. You ought to experience this at least once (and possibly at most once)

Arriving at Nether Wasdale we had lunch at The Screes.

We had a really tasty butternut squash and thyme soup with a pint of Black Sheep, before making our way down to the lake. I was really impressed that even though we were there early and the pub didn't officially start serving food until 12, they still served us at about 11.40.

"I'll just put it on for you now - no problem" is how is SHOULD be, but so very often isn't!

Down at the lake we took the obligatory photos, although it was rather cloudy still. They looka bit "moody". If you want to see some more Summery looking ones go to our friend Ronnie Mullins' excellent site

On the way home we took the rather less suicidal Birker Pass through Ulpha and got home in the same time as we went - about an hour and a half each way for a little over 40 miles each way!

On the way we saw some more amazing scenery that had us asking "how on earth do you choose a favourite view out of all this?". I suppose that Wastwater wins because it has a beautiful lake framed by stunning fellsides. like Great Gable, but some of the other views we saw today were just as lovely if not so dramatic.

This Summer is going swimmingly

2008-09-08T22:35:00.005+01:00

Well it's not been too dry of late has it?

The good thing about the Lakes though is that there's always plenty to do even when it's raining.

Last weekend we had a fantastic time at Troutbeck Pool where they have an inflatables session on Saturday afternoons. Great fun for grown ups as well as kids.

We then dodged the showers to go on a waterfall walk. The fell sides are covered in small streams as a result of all the rain and the waterfalls are at their best.

Here's one of our favourites about 10 minutes walk from the lodge.

Walking down the mossy bank beside the falls was just like stepping on a sponge!

Of course all this water has to go somewhere so the beck that flows through the park has been at the highest level I have seen it for about 4 years. In high summer this is just a trickle!

Here#s what it looks like normally:

Baboons and Apes

2008-08-06T10:06:00.007+01:00

On Monday this week a group of us (5 adults and 4 kids) went off to Grizedale to "Go Ape". The grown ups had been before but this was the first time for the kids who have all turned 10 (the minimum age now). We had a fantastic day and the kids surprised us by being right on top of the safety stuff and not getting it wrong even once. In fact it was ME that got told off by Big Mathew for not having my carabiners opposed (opposite sides for the closures) on one run. The weather was beautiful - clear blue skies and not too hot.

All of the staff at Go Ape were absolutely fantastic - especially Claire (Thanks Claire!) - they must pick them for having great personalities and a can-do attitude. This really is how family entertainment ought to be!

If you are going to do this yourself then it might be advisable to wear some insect repellent though. We use Avon "Skin so Soft" spray (which is allegedly also used by those rufty tufty boys in the SAS), but we forgot to take it with us and got a few bites as a result.

The whole thing took us about 3 and a half hours and we did a dash to Booths to pick up what was left of the bread and barbeque stuff and headed back to Limefitt for a barbie.

The stars on Monday night were spectacular as there was no moon and a totally clear sky - you could see the Milky Way and we saw satellites and shooting stars.

Messing about in boats

2008-07-28T12:29:00.007+01:00

Windermere Airshow took place over the weekend so on a baking hot Sunday Afternoon we hired a boat from Shepherds and floated down the lake for the afternoon. The Red Arrows weren't there this year but the Yakovlevs made up for them.

We also saw the RAF Falcons display team from the boat.

Coming back up the lake we got this lovely view of the Troutbeck Valley.

A great day out all round.

A pair of mink coats

2008-07-23T12:22:00.003+01:00

Today I heard a commotion on the beck - lots of splashing and squeaking. It turned out to be 2 mink. I'm not sure whether they were fighting or playing but they chased each other up out of the water and along the bank. I just managed to get them in the corner of this hastily snapped photo.

They seem to be American mink - some of the very few Americans I have seen in the Lakes recently :-)

It's been a good day for visitors - we've had the red squirrel again and the woodpecker and the nuthatch. I've been sitting very still working on my computer so maybe that's why I've seen so much. The golden rule is always "let Nature come to you" isn't it?

My new friend

2008-07-21T10:56:00.003+01:00

I was really pleased to see that my encounter with our red squirrel was not just a one off. Today I have been feeding him/her peanuts from a distance of about 4 feet!

Here he is in the pine tree near the lodge. He seems very unfazed by my presence near him.

The best time of day

2008-07-21T10:47:00.008+01:00

Taking the chance to do some work up here I was delighted to be woken up at 5:30 a.m. by the dog. My mood improved when I looked out of the window and saw a cloudless sky. I decided on a pre-breakfast walk and went up past Dubbs for a couple of hours.

It was amazingly quiet. you have to remember to stop so you can hear the silence - the trudging noise of your own boots is the noisiest thing around! The meadowsweet along the hedgerows have a really heady scent and were attracting clouds of bees. They reminded me that it's time to revisit Holehird gardens to see the astilbe (the cultivated versions of these) in full bloom.

It's always rewarding to keep your eyes open down the sides of the path. Today I had an extra early breakfast of wild raspberries!

I'm not sure if the raspberries are native plants, but in any event the walk was a feast for the senses and set me up for a day loosely connected to the world of work.

Coniston Country Fair

2008-07-21T10:42:00.002+01:00

Sunday saw us at the Coniston Country Fair. This is always a great day out and given the recent rain the organisers must be thanking their lucky stars as there was only a brief shower or two during the afternoon.

It was quite windy though and the rescue helicopter that was to have landed in next to the hall had to abort the landing shown here and find a field a little further away.

Tom had a great afternoon buying tricks from the joke stalls, climbing on the climbing wall and learning tricks with a diabolo at the circus skills stall.

Better Red than Dead!

2008-07-20T10:25:00.004+01:00

Today we saw a new visitor to our window feeder - a red squirrel!

The reds are so much more graceful than the greys and this one seemed quite capable of eating the odd peanut without having to destroy the bird feeder in the process like his grey cousins do.

We reported the sighting to Save Our Squirrels as the reds are really fighting for survival now.

In the hope that he (or she - how do you sex a squirrel?) comes back we decided to give him a name.

I tried to suggest Rufus (red and he comes over the roof to us) or Eric (the Red ) but Thomas was not interested in history or bad puns and insists that our new friend is called Bob.

As we don't know whether he's a boy or she's a girl then those of you who may remember the Elizabethan episodes of Blackadder will remember why it's not such a bad choice.

Dancing in the moonlight

2008-07-10T08:30:00.003+01:00

Taking the dog for a late night walk at the weekend I heard some noise by one of the lodges. I looked up and saw 4 young badgers trying to get the nuts out of a low feeder.

I have always known that there are badgers on the site. The campers often make the mistake of leaving sausages and bacon outside their tents to keep cool, which the local badgers came to accept as kind of natural larder.

I have frequently seen the signs of their presence, normally grass uprooted in their hunt for worms - the mess they made of the recently laid turf was a sight to see!

This, though, was the first time I have ever seen them myself. They were totally unfazed us, and played on for a couple of minutes before they finally noticed us and decided to move on.

There is a big debate about a mass cull of badgers. Whilst I sympathise with farmers dealing with bovine TB I'm with the RSPCA on this one. (Ignorant townie that I am)

"Badgers are not the main source of TB in cattle," said Colin Booty, senior scientific officer of the RSPCA, which is resolutely opposed to culling.
"The trial results show that killing large numbers of badgers - most of which are disease-free - may even make the disease situation in cattle worse. Such a policy would clearly not be sustainable."

Of storms, stars and woodpeckers

2008-06-22T11:58:00.009+01:00

This weekend has seen some very unseasonal weather . As I am typing this we have 65 MPH winds battering our lodge and the persistent and heavy rain has turned the beck from Friday's tinkling brook into a raging topic which is four feet deep.

In spite of that it's been a lovely weekend for us - on Friday we had Visit Britain around to do our first ever quality assessment. We were really pleased to be (as far as we know) only the second lodge at Limefitt to be awarded 4 stars!

The weather on Friday was lovely so we had dinner out on the deck and a celebratory bottle of fizzy.

Te weather started to turn on Saturday, and today it has become decidedly unfriendly. The noise woke me up early and sitting in the lounge at 6 in the morning watching the bird feeders I saw two woodpeckers at the same time. I have never seen this before, and it was only when I saw them retreat a few feet into the pine tree and watched one feeding the other that I realised that it must have been a mother and a juvenile being taught what to do. I couldn't get a picture of them together but here is the mother on the feeder

As I'm typing this now we've just seen the young woodpecker on the decking picking up stray bits of seed. I've never seen a woodpecker do that before.

On the window feeder we also had almost constant visits from a young nuthatch

As well as these birds (which I have to say are my favourites because we don't see them so often) we have also seen green finches, chaffinches, gold finches, bull finches, blue tits, great tits, robins, rooks, magpies and of course squirrels.

One of our feeders has totally disappeared, due, I think, to a double act from the rooks who were swinging on the feeders and making them fall off the hook, and two squirrels who had been hanging round and pinching nuts all day, and probably made off with the feeder when the rooks had done their bit.

Disconnected Holiday

2008-06-09T22:10:00.004+01:00

I was reading last week about the fact that with mobile phones, laptops and Blackberries, the idea of being disconnected when you are away from the office is fast disappearing.

Coincidentally on Thursday I left my mobile on London, and Vodafone had a transmitter down in the lakes so there was no 2g or 3g connectivity.

Hmm - no mobile and no laptop for the entire weekend!

Once I had got over the initial withdrawal symptoms and had run out of walls to climb, I found myself relaxing far more than I usually do and, though I blush to admit it, Tom picked up on it immediately and said - "I like it when you don't have your computer with you Dad!"

We had a great time catching fish in nets, in the heat of a perfect summer day with the mayfly dancing on the surface of the water and the small fry mouthing at them (the trout that is - not the kids).

Tom caught 15 to my 0!

Here are some of them in a clear bucket. It's fun being a kid again for a while!

Holehird Gardens

2008-06-01T17:17:00.007+01:00

A more gentle day on Saturday (after a Friday night entertaining Liz, Garry and their children Hendricks and Stella) took us to Holehird Gardens for the first time – we had read in the guest book that recent visitors had enjoyed it so we decided to give it a try. We were astounded that we had never discovered this jewel ourselves before.

It is an outstandingly beautiful place with lovely gardens and views of Windermere and the Coniston and Langdale Fells.

This is a must visit place if you are in the area and like plants, flowers or gardens.

Four Peaks

2008-06-01T17:10:00.004+01:00

In search of something altogether more challenging we decided to head out from Limefitt down the Troutbeck Valley past the Tongue and up the side of the fells up to the old Roman Road of High Street near Mardale Ill Bell. For those of you who have ever wondered where Trout beck starts, here it is.

We made it to the top (a climb of about 2,000 feet from the park) just as the cloud settled on the peak so the astounding views were not quite what we expected.

However the skylarks that entertained us by soaring up and falling away, singing all the while made up for it.

As we carried on over the tops of Froswick, Ill Bell and Yoke the cloud lifted a little and we saw the panoramic views that make this sort of walk worth while.

You can see Limefitt Park at the bottom of the valley between the ridge on the right of the picture and Windermere

A midweek walk through the Langdale valley.

2008-06-01T16:53:00.014+01:00

We started off with the intention of walking from Dungeon Ghyll but we left it a little late and the car parks were heaving.

We drove back to Elterwater, pictured above, and parked outside the village and did a 6 mile circuit that took us on a low level ramble around some of the Lake District’s most beautiful scenery.

The walk finished by taking us along the River Brathay down the side of Elterwater

The final part of the walk down a section of the Cumbrian Way was quite busy, in marked contrast to the walks we do from the lodge, but I suppose that with views like these and an easy path this was not surprising.

Doves

2008-05-28T08:56:00.004+01:00

In the evening we went out for dinner with friends. We met up at the Villa Columbina next to Dove Cottage (well it IS Dove Cottage if you are 2000 years old :-)

It was our first time at this Italian restaurant and I was extremely impressed. We got excellent Italian food at reasonable prices and service that was absolutely immaculate.

Children are made more than welcome – they are treated like adults and this seriously impressed 10 year old TT. They also get child sized portions of main dishes if they want and doggy bags too. It was a 20 mile round trip, but well worth it to find a restaurant where they have such a complete but apparently natural understanding of what represents excellent customer service and value for money for families.

We’ll be back!

Ospreys

2008-05-28T08:52:00.004+01:00

On Wednesday we went up to Keswick to see the ospreys at Bassenthwaite. Last year they nested across the lake from the viewing area, but this year they’ve moved house and you can get a lot closer. We just missed seeing the male bringing in a fish, but shortly after we saw Mrs No Ring flying and her mate took to the skies again shortly afterwards. It was quite simply magical. These birds are just so majestic that even a glimpse is worth the wait. Unfortunately there is as yet no camera on the nest, and although the foliage around has been cut, you can only get a glimpse when they are sitting.

Bank Holiday Blues

2008-05-28T08:48:00.003+01:00

But for us in the Lakes it was the sky and not our mood! The North had a great weekend for weather (although looking at the BBC weather bulletins you’d never have know as they seem fixated by the weather South of Birmingham!)

A Bewildered Bride

2008-05-28T08:42:00.005+01:00

So last week I was up at the lodge doing some work that needed a bit of seclusion.

I woke up early and took the dog for a walk up around Dubbs reservoir on a clean crisp late spring morning. It was so quiet when I stopped walking and stood fro a moment – all I could hear was the noise of the birds and the sheep. The sheep are SO LOUD. I never thought I’d write that but everything is relative and the sheep were by far the noisiest things around.

Halfway along the path I came across a wagon full of nettles – so odd that it needed a photograph!

And all along the walk there were the hawthorns, decked with may blossom. One blown over by the wind lay like a bewildered bride against a backdrop of the new green.

And all around the goldfinches swooped, the lambs leaped and the calves watched me walk past, so seriously, as though they knew the reason why.

Spring in the Lake District fills you with such constant wonder. You’d have to have no soul not to be affected by it!

Green Tourism

2008-05-17T10:18:00.002+01:00

An interesting article on the BBC news web site today

"Leo Hickman, the Guardian's green guru, has just written a book, the Last Call, questioning if our love of travel can be sustained.
Predicting that surging oil prices might put paid to budget flights anyway, he advocates a "Goldilocks approach" to tourism: a three-year cycle of - flight one year, Europe overland the next, and holidaying in Britain the next."

We did it!

2008-05-14T19:38:00.014+01:00

Well we took two days away on Tuesday and Wednesday to attend the annual Cumbria Tourism Awards as we had entered for the "Tourism Website of the Year" award.

We had a super time at the Castle Green Hotel in Kendal where the awards were hosted. We had a lovely view from our room and the service was impeccable.

We had lunch at The Watermill at Ings - one of the traditional Lakeland pubs where they serve bar food and great beer without any airs and graces - highly recommended!

In the afternoon we went for a lovely walk up Jenkyn Crag. The ransomes (wild garlic) are out and the scent was almost overpowering.

We were up against some very stiff competition for the web site award from 3 very professional outfits - Mullin Design, English Lakes Hotels and South Lakeland Parks who own Limefitt Park.

Nobody was more surprised than me when they read out the winner's name and it was US!!

The web site has taken up a lot of my time, and it was fantastic to see the effort rewarded like this. It was also really gratifying to see the way in which the other competitors were so generous with their congratulations!

We rounded off the trip with a visit to Levens Hall which was looking stunning in the spring sunshine. Well worth a visit!

What a weekend!

2008-05-12T10:02:00.014+01:00

At last the weather has turned and we had a lovely warm weekend. We made full use of it and spent Saturday afternoon sailing on Windermere.

Well, as Captain "Birdseye" Mike observed it was more of a float than a sail as there was no wind, but there aren't many more beautiful places to float than halfway down Windermere!

A couple of pints at The Mortal Man and then home for a barbecue to round off a lovely day.

Next morning we took TT to Windermere to do some skateboarding at the skate park and then had a picnic down by Windermere and went kayaking.

I'm not sure about those ripples on the water now!

Mid afternoon the weather turned quite dramatically and we drove home through an amazing thunderstorm with forked lightning everywhere and rolling crashes of thunder right on top of us.

What a great way to forget work for 2 days!

Walking

2008-05-06T09:11:00.005+01:00

The QI section of the Telegraph recently had an article about walking.

It pointed out that a darts player can walk up to 15 miles in the course of a tournament (and that's presumably just on the return trips to the bar).

It also quoted St Augustine "solivitur amnbulando" - It is solved by walking. How many times have you gone out for a walk with something troubling you, only to find that by the time you get back you have resolved the problem and know how you will deal with it?

Nice weather for ducks

2008-05-06T08:07:00.003+01:00

It has rained a bit of late and even the ducks have been taking refuge on the roofs! Still - it has been said that "There's no such thing as bad weather in the Lake District - Just the wrong sort of clothing".

Steaming!

2008-04-10T12:38:00.004+01:00

Today we have had hail and rain and sun - a real mixture. When the sun came out a few minutes ago the roofs of the lodges all began to steam - it looked quite surreal.

New toy

2008-04-10T12:24:00.008+01:00

Yesterday I got a new toy to play with - a GPS that I got to do geocaching. Geocaching is a fairly new sport which involves finding your way to a location which you have the map co-ordinates for and then hunting for a small item (often like an old 35mm film tube). The nearest cache we could get details of was just down by the church in Troutbeck, so we trooped off looking a bit conspicuous holding what looked like a large yellow mobile phone. TT was very excited to find the cache and hopefully we have found a new way to winkle the limpet away from it's secure position by the TV!

Wordsworth's Daffodils and Aira Force

2008-04-10T12:02:00.006+01:00

Tuesday was glorious spring day so we went up to Ullswater to seek out Wordsworth's daffodils. The story goes that he was walking back down Ullswater with his sister Dorothy when they came to Glencoyne Bay (just past Aira Force going South). Dorothy recorded the event in her diary and it is thought that it was the inspiration for the famous poem. They are certainly very beautiful.

We then went further up the lake to the North and walked up to Aira Force. On the way we passed proof that money can grow on trees. Well almost. This tree which is on the way up to the waterfal from the National Trust car park is studded with coins left there by passing visitors.

The waterfall itself was in full force and it was suprisingly busy - well OK it was school holidays and a lovely day.

There was lovely view of Ullswater on the way back. The Lake District looks different as the seasons change, and these rather spare and dramatic views will soon give way to a countryside covered in the new green.

More snow but some new lives!

2008-04-07T18:22:00.011+01:00

The weather this week doesn't know whether to be Winter or Spring as you can see from this picture of the Kirkstone end of the valley.

It's been very cold and they are forecasting further frost and wintery showers.

Spring is definitely on it's way though as we could tell from the number of new lambs. There's nothing unusual in seeing new born lambs at this time of year in the Lake District of course.

What was slightly more unusual was to see a new born calf at Long Green Head farm. It looked as though it had only just been born and that if we had happened along a moment or two earlier we might even have witnessed the birth. It was stumbling around trying to work out where to feed for a minute or two before finally latching on to it's mum.

A bit further along we saw Nature's answer to the weaker new arrivals soaring around above us. Troutbeck has a fairly big population of buzzards and they can often be seen flying around over the fells.

Cumbria Tourism - New Eco Marketing Initiative

2008-04-01T00:06:00.006+01:00

We were very excited to learn of some of the recent locally focused marketing initiatives from Cumbria Tourism.

One of the most interesting is the W.O.O.L. (Windermere Opportunities from Ovine Literacy) scheme that is being seamlessly woven into the fabric of the local eco-tourism marketing strategy.

By teaching sheep to form basic letter structures as they graze it will be possible to create environmentally friendly mobile advertisements that blend into the local scenery.

For a small fee you will therefore be able to have an advert for your business on a Lakeland fell side of your choice. There have been some teething troubles and sheep are notoriously slow learners. Consequently the scheme will be limited to the display of initials in the early stages, but it is hoped that full word adverts will be available before the end of the year.

Preliminary tests in Troutbeck are showing encouraging results. Here is the Windermere Lodge advertisement on its way to being fed at 9.a.m this morning.

Easter - Wind and Snow

2008-03-24T17:31:00.015Z

The bank holiday weekend brought us a mix of weather. First we had tremendous gales that shook the site on Friday night. We could feel the lodge trembling at times and the people with a tourer beneath this tree must have been rather thankful that it fell away from them during the night!

On Saturday we had few flurries of sleet and a pretty hard hail storm whilst we were out doing the Ing Bridge walk.

You can see the hail moving in here as we are leaving the park. It really stings your face as you walk into a North wind carrying these tiny but sharp balls of ice

We woke up on Sunday morning to 4 inches of snow which transformed the park into a beautiful, white landscape.

Here is Troutbeck from the bridge

This is Windermere Lodge at about 6:30 a.m.

I got up early so that I could get the picture without too many tyre tracks and footprints!

Here is the Easter bunny
that we made

and here is the River Pool looking towards Troutbeck.

What an ACE weekend we had!

Spring is in the air at last!

2008-03-09T17:55:00.021Z

The new season has started and we visited the lodge for the first time this weekend.

The last snowdrops are giving way to the first daffodils.

Things started as they had ended in January - Friday night saw torrential rain and the by Saturday morning the beck was swollen and rushing past at a frightening rate!

By Sunday morning though things had changed and waking up to some sunshine I decided to go for an early morning walk with Suki up past Dubs reservoir. This one of her favourites as she can run off the lead along the top as the sheep are normally safely behind the walls. Striking out at 8 in the morning the weather down the valley looked quite ominous with dark clouds brooding over High Street and Ill Bell.

Looking in the other direction towards Windermere though the picture was altogether more bright and optimistic.

Walking along it struck me that it’s been a while since we’ve heard so many sheep. I think they were all concentrated in a few spots as the farmers had been out on their quad bikes leaving fodder for them.

Suki never seems very interested by them – even when we come across the ones that have strayed onto the paths. This is something of a relief as lambing will be starting soon, along with the reports of angry farmers with shot guns and little sympathy for dog owners who let their pets get too near their sheep.

I on the other hand love looking at sheep and find the noise that make curiously relaxing.

A bit further on we saw our old friends the Highland cattle. I think these are the same ones that we sometimes see on the field over the beck from the lodge. Now Suki is very interested by these.

I wonder what it is about the two species of animal that provokes such a different reaction in dogs.

By the end of the walk the morning had brightened up and we had our usual beautiful view of Lake Windermere.

As tonight is supposed to be the worst storm for many years I was probably quite lucky to be able to enjoy such a lovely walk today. It shows that sometimes you have to seize the moment to get the best out of the Lakes.

In Rainbows

2008-01-14T08:19:00.000Z

It seems to have rained all year so far! One thing I do notice though is that you get a lot of beautiful views as a result up here. The rain actually suits the landscape if that makes any sense. This misty view is taken from the dog field at the bottom end of the park.

Later the same day we went to Ambleside and the sun came out briefly giving us yet another stunning rainbow. They never seem quite so vivid on the photos I take of them as they are in real life!

Anyway - don't let anyone tell you that there is going to be a drought this year!

Happy New Year

2008-01-02T17:13:00.001Z

We had a fantastic New Year up at Limefitt! The party was completed by the firework display at the Mortal Man at midnight. Well done Nigel!

It's been a great year, even though the weather, which was so promising at Easter made the rest of the year a bit dismal!

In spite of this our guests all seem to have had a great time, judging from the visitor's book.

Here's a picture that sums up the year for me! Beautiful but wet!

End of the year

2008-01-02T17:06:00.000Z

Well in spite of some pretty wet weather we managed some pleasant walks in December. Just before Christmas we had great fun on
a cold day. The picture on the left is a plant taken through a sheet of ice that TT picked up. His idea to take the picture.

We also saw some lovely green lichen on a dry stone wall, but this picture doesn't really do it justice - it was electric green!

We saw a beautiful view of boats on Windermere but it was so still that I can't imagine that they were having as much fun as we were!

Aira Force

2007-11-26T09:34:00.000Z

After Saturday's incessant rain (that's where the Lakes come from!) Sunday was a much better day, so we headed off to Aira Force - it's a lovely walk but it gets a bit busy in summer, with the coach loads of ladies wearing high heels :-)

We had a lovely stroll up the beck and had to stop the kids from falling in at various points above crashing 40 foot drops. Theye were all the more spectacular due to the recent heavy rain.

On the one hand I'm surprised that there isn't some H&S rule that says they have to put fences up. On the other I am glad that we have to show a bit of responsibility ourselves, even if it does mean screaming from 30 yards at a child about to try to cross the beck above a big fall on slippy stones "cos it looks dead easy". Thankfully, we all made it back without any mishaps having had a great picnic.

We even made it past the pub at Dockray without stopping.

2007-10-24T11:54:00.000+01:00

Half term in the Lakes can get quite busy so we went for a beautiful walk from the park along Jenkin Crag to Ambleside. At first it was quite wintry but the sun soon came out and as we descended through the woods the sun came out and it was quite magical. It is beautiful when it is so quiet that you can actually hear the leaves falling. We ended up getting a taxi back with a driver straight out of the League of Gentlemen. Great bloke but his photo ID with the black eye had us all quietly in stitches.

the next day we did a large part of the North Face trail over at Grizedale and then ended up at The Mortal Man for a well earned beer. With weather like it has been this week Autumn in the Lakes is unbeatable!

Striding on the edge

2007-09-09T18:25:00.000+01:00

With the weather being so beautiful this weekend we got a surprise visit from some friends who came up to camp at Limefitt. Liz and Gary are very keen fell walkers so we had to do something a bit special. We decided that Helvellyn might fit the bill. So Saturday afternoon saw us making our way along Striding Edge. It was only when we finally reached the summit we realise that none of us had remembered to bring a camera, so we can't show you the fantastic view.

Gary, expert camper that he is, managed to put up the tent on his own, whilst Liz was busy leafing through the guidebooks, trying to work out which of the Wainwright's she wanted to do on Sunday. Unfortunately when she woke up she found that something in the water that she had drunk the previous evening haven't agreed with her, so she had to restrict herself to an ascent of Lakeland Plastics. We sent her off this morning with instructions to find something that none of us had ever heard of before, which would fulfil a need that we never knew we had. She hasn't been seen since.

Troutbeck Duck Race

2007-08-29T10:44:00.000+01:00

The annual duck race took place on Sunday. It was a sell out success with over 1000 tickets sold!

It was well attanded but one lady will go home with an unusual story. One of the guys organising had a terrier that was running around loose. It came up to this lady who was sprawling on the ground. All of a sudden she shouted "Hey!!!!. I asked her what was the matter in and in a strong Autralian accent she cried "The b***** thing just p****ed all over me".

Now Suki isn't always the best trained dog in the world, but she's generaly a bit more polite on a first meeting that THAT!

Rainbow

2007-08-27T17:49:00.000+01:00

An early morning walk on Saturday with the dog. I went up the side of Applethwaite fell and had the most amazing view of the Langdales with a rainbow over them. It looked as though it was from the mist rather than from a rain shower.

The beauty of Limefitt is that you can do the loveliest walks at the busiest times and hardly meet a soul.

Holidays in the UK really ARE better!

2007-08-19T10:15:00.000+01:00

Victoria Summerley wrote an article in the Independent on August 15th 2007 praising the virtues of UK holidays over cheap packages

She says:
“What the tour operators, the airlines and the airport authorities don't seem to realise is that the experience of going on holiday abroad has become just like the experience of going to work - beset by transport problems, overcrowding, and that sensation that your head is going to explode by the time you reach your destination. For them, the task of processing thousands of passengers is all in a day's work. But for many of those passengers, the chore of passing through an airport is all in a day's holiday. If you're really unlucky, it can involve up to 24 hours or more - precious free time that is being squandered in an environment that could not be more inimical to civilised life if it tried.”

Couldn't agree more!

To see the full article click here :

http://money.independent.co.uk/property/homes/article2862160.ece

Wet Wet Wet

2007-08-18T15:38:00.000+01:00

Well the weather has not been kind, but thankfully everyone who has stayed at the lodge seems to have had a good time - The Visitors' Book is full of happy comments, which is all we can ask for.

Sitting on the balcony during one of the dry spells I saw a green Tit. I got tremendously excited thinking I had found a rare bird but it turns out that it's just a juvenile blue tit. Interestingly it hadn't yet learned to be properly afraid of humans so I as able to go right up to it and almost touch it before it flew away. It looked a lot greener in real life that it does in the photo.

Hmmm!

2007-07-06T17:22:00.000+01:00

I got the results of the Troutbeck Garden Quiz this week (top prize £50 meal for two)

We got 39/40 and got marked wrong on "Beast falls" (7). Having originally put "Cowslip" and then amended it on the basis of the grammar in the question to "Oxslips" (the answer had to be flower or shrub related), I was a bit miffed to get it marked wrong with "Cowslip" written over it as the correct answer!!! Grrrr!

There's always next year I suppose...

Dubbs Reservoir

2007-06-03T21:24:00.000+01:00

A walk up to the reservoir at Dubbs on Friday whilst the weather was fine again. Always a pleasant and moderately demanding walk, this time it was made even better by the sight of the 2 swans and their 5 cygnets on a surface as smooth as a mirror. Actually the reservoir is looking pretty low but I don't suppose that bothers the swans too much.

Troutbeck Garden Trail

2007-05-29T12:46:00.000+01:00

Bank Holiday Monday was the day of the Troutbeck Garden Trail. Fortunately the weather held off most of the day and we even got some sunshine in which to walk around the dozen or so beautifully terraced gardens that were open to the public for the day. It was a really lovely way to spend an hour or two, and it must generate quite a bit for village funds too.

Well I never....

2007-05-14T20:40:00.000+01:00

A shock revelation in today's Times - walking in the country makes you happier than struggling round the Trafford centre (unless you are a WAG presumably)

Researchers from the University of Essex compared the benefits of a 30-minute walk in a country park with a walk in an indoor shopping centre on 20 people affected by depression.

After the country walk, 71 per cent said that they felt less depressed and tense while 90 per cent reported increased self-esteem.

After the walk in the shopping centre only 45 per cent felt less depressed and 22 per cent actually felt more depressed. About 50 per cent felt more tense and 44 per cent said that their self-esteem had dropped.

Exclusives on the other pages - "Pope may be Catholic", "Bears defecate amongst trees"

Counting Sheep

2007-05-07T16:00:00.000+01:00

I was woken up this morning by the sheep in the field opposite which started "baahing" at about 5:30. These sheep are an interesting colour - a sort of piebald brown. I can't identify them from anything I can find on the web. Anyway I thought they were supposed to help you get to sleep not wake you up! All together now - Yan, Tyan, Tether, Mether, Pimp.

So that's why it's called The Struggle!

2007-05-07T15:47:00.000+01:00

Sunday was a bit rainy so, as I couldn't persuade anyone else into a walk, I jumped on the mountain bike and headed off up through Troutbeck and round Jenkin Crag and down through the woods to Ambleside. The wood was stunning - a carpet of buebells and wild garlic in every direction. It's a fantastic mountain bike trail. Unfortunately I had no camera with me.

From Ambleside I headed up The Struggle to the top of the Kirkstone Pass. Halfway up I was seriously questioning my decision as I must have had to walk about 80% of the way, not being as strong and as fit as was 20 years ago. When I finally got to the top and headed back down to Limefitt is was all worth it though - I must have travelled about 3 miles at 30 MPH without pedalling!

A walk at Glenridding and a barbie at The Mortal Man

2007-05-07T15:31:00.000+01:00

In an attempt to avoid the Bank Holiday crowds we set off for Ulswater and parked in Glenridding. We headed up Glenridding Beck and walked up to the bridge where we got a fabulous view of the lake. There are some great names in the lakes. Where else could you walk under "Lucy's Tongue".

When we got home it was time to stroll up to the Mortal Man where the new owner, Nigel Parkin, was laying on a barbeque. We enjoyed some very upmarket salads and burgers, but we probably shouldn't expect less from the man who put The Samling on the map. He is trying really hard with the place and I really hope that he is successful there. He certainly has the right raw materials with the magnificent building, a superb family beer garden and a view to die for.

(I think that's a pint you owe me Nigel)

It's an ill wind....

2007-04-30T18:11:00.000+01:00

I was up at Troutbeck post office buying a paper at the weekend. I stopped for a brief chat with the ladies who run it about Limefitt and the new development. Whilst we were talking a lady came in and pronounced "there's an elm wind out there"

"An elm wind?" I asked - "What's that? anything to do with the tree?"

"Nor - It's an ELM wind" she said "H-E-L-M"

"Ahhh" I replied "and what's that then?"

"No idea" she said "I ought to stop saying it cos people do keep asking me"

At this point one of the post office ladies pipes up. "It means a wind off the hill"

"Yes that'll "be it says the 'elm lady "it's a cruel wind that batters everything in it's path"

When I checked on wikipedia I found this :

Helm Wind

The Helm Wind is a named wind in Cumbria, England. A north-easterly wind which blows down the south-west slope of the Cross Fell escarpment, it can be so strong that it has been wrongly described as a hurricane. It is the only named wind in the British Isles. It may take its name from the helmet or cap of cloud that forms above Cross Fell, known as the Helm Bar, since a line of clouds over the fells can predict and accompany a Helm.
Valuable research into the wind was carried out by Gordon Manley in the 1930s. Manley interpreted the phenomenon in hydrodynamic terms as a "standing wave" and "rotor", a model confirmed in 1939 by glider flights.
The Helm Wind in Mallerstang: The dale at the head of the Eden Valley has its own version of the Helm Wind, which sweeps over Mallerstang Edge and affects especially the central part of the dale. This can be equally fierce and can blow for two days or more, sometimes sounding like an express train. As for its better known big brother, the coming of a Helm Wind is accompanied by the formation of a dense cap of cloud (a "Helm Bar") which, in this case, forms along Mallerstang Edge.

Wordsworth Rap

2007-04-13T16:01:00.000+01:00

Daffodils seem to be the PR man's best friend just now. First of all we had South Lakeland parks trying to get a few column inches with their daft plastic daffodil stunt (very weak that one). Now we have GoLakes (as the Cumbria Tourist Board is now know) releasing a rap based on the famous poem - you can check it out at http://www.golakes.co.uk/wordsworthrap/

It's ironic that Wordsworth was very anti mass tourism according to The Guardian "he sent the prime minister in 1844 a poem condemning the proposed railway to Windermere which now brings thousands of young people to the Lakes. A nimby tract which would also lend itself to rap delivery, it starts: "Is there no nook of English ground secure/ From rash assault..."

Thomas earns his pocket money

2007-04-06T15:18:00.001+01:00

Friday - bribery and corruption get Thomas and his cousin up at the crack of dawn (well I was up at 6:30 making the picnic anyway.) By 9.00 we were striding out up the path towards Ill Bell. This has long been a target and we have been waiting for a good day, which today promised to be. In the event it was a little cloudy, but that did no harm as it would have been hot work in full sunshine. We reached Ill Bell at about 11:40 having eaten our picnic on the peak before. The reward for all the climbing for us was a wonderful panorama of the Throutbeck Valley, the sea, Kentmere and the Kirkstone Pass. Thomas's reward was extra pocket money. On the way we saw skylarks, falcons and a fox running across the fell. It is odd that I have grown used to seeing urban foxes but this was the first time I have ever seen one in the wild. We started down the other side of Ill Bell but the path is very steep and narrow and Thomas took a bad tumble. We decided it was safer to retrace our steps and to go back the way we came. All in al though a lovely walk and a real feeling of achievement when we got down and looked up at where we had just been.

A New Favourite Walk

2007-04-06T15:17:00.000+01:00

Wednesday - Another lovely day and we walked up to troutbeck and round Robin lane to join the Hundreds Road up to Wansfell and then back down to Troutbeck. This walk has everything! Views of the Troutbeck Valley, Windermere and the Langdales. A waterfall and on the return to Troutbeck a choice of 2 smashing pubs! I think we may have done it the wrong way round though - the view of Windermere was over our shoulder all the time the way we did it.

The Maiden Voyage of our Kayak

2007-04-06T15:14:00.000+01:00

Monday - Today we took our kayak out for the first time. We bought it at the end of last year from a shop near the ferry in Bowness who were selling off this season's hire fleet. It has a scratch or two, but otherwise was a great bargain at about £100 less that I could find a second hand Malibu on Ebay which paid for the paddles and and seats.
We drove to Coniston as there are easier launch sites there than on Windermere (where all the places where you can launch either seem to be private or have no parking within a few hundred yards). At first Thomas was a bit wary of our going too deep, but was soon raring to go. After a few minutes practice we decided to cross the lake. Before long we were paddling with the same rhythym and we made it across and back far more quickly that I had expected. The views of the Coniston fells on the way back were striking. The Old Man of Coniston with its "face" especially impressed Thomas. My hands are now quite sore from the friction caused by paddling on my thumb joints (probably doing it wrong ;-)

Troutbeck Walk

2007-04-06T15:11:00.000+01:00

Sunday - a beautiful day - sunshine and a pleasant breeze. I took Suki up Applethwaite, back down the path to Troutbeck Church, passing these inquisitive sheep on the way, and then up the lane to Troutbeck village.Nice to see that the local hens are still scratching around. I took some photos for the Troutbeck page on http://www.limefitt.com/. The vernacular architecture is really interesting up here - typical Lakeland features like the stepped gables and plenty of dates on the buildings, the oldest one I have seen is this one.

Lambs

2007-04-06T15:10:00.000+01:00

Saturday - There are lambs everywhere you walk just now. We have to keep Suki on a lead - she doesn't normally take any interest in sheep, but with farmers issuing dire warnings of shooting loose dogs we aren't taking any chances.

Sunset

2007-03-25T22:33:00.000+01:00

What can you add to this!

It almost spoiled it taking a picture, but it's good to remember such a perfect moment!

Troutbeck Church

2007-03-25T22:29:00.000+01:00

We spent Saturday up at Ullswater in a futile attempt to find Wordsworth's daffodils (apparently it was at Ullswater that he saw the daffodils that inspired the poem, but couldn't see any in sufficient quantities to inspire even a single line in a blog!). We needn't have gone so far. Troutbeck Church 100 yards down the road is the amazing at this time of year. The shot on the right shows the churchyard at Jesus Church, Troutbeck.

Ullswater and the ferry

2007-03-25T22:20:00.000+01:00

Saturday - blue skies - a beautiful spring day. We went up to Ullsawater to do take the ferry from Glenridding to Howtown and then walk back.

A perfect day for this walk. In summer this must be really busy but this weekend it was beautifully quiet.

We caught the 11:10 ferry and set off from Howtown at about midday. We picniced at Silver point and arrived back at about 4.00. Just after leaving Howtown we climbed up behind the farmhouse and saw a buzzard cruising at the same level as we were at.

A fantastic walk on a beautiful day.

Snow

2007-03-18T18:20:00.000Z

March seems to be the month for snow in the Lakes. Today the Kirkstone pass was closed due to drifts, but down at Limefitt we just had a dusting.

The daffodils are taking a bit of a buffeting from the wind and snow. Hopefully South Lakeland Parks won't be repeating the plastic daffodil publicity stunt they did at Fallbarrow here ;-)

Marsh Fritillary

2007-03-15T09:22:00.000Z

From The Times on Wednesday - Cumbria - Twenty thousand caterpillars are being released to help to revive an almost extinct breed of butterfly. The marsh fritillary has suffered in the county due to the loss of flower-rich, wet grassland. Conservationists are moving Scottish caterpillars into the Cumbrian wild to reestablish the species and prevent future decline. The butterfly is one of the most threatened species in Europe and in the UK 66 per cent of its population has been lost in the past ten years.

Blood Moon

2007-03-04T21:14:00.000Z

We were really lucky to have a clear night on Saturday for the lunar eclipse. Watching the moon get covered by the earth's shadow and then turning blood red was an amazing experience , and so much better for being in the Lakes where there is so much less light pollution. Watching the stars is one of the great pleasures here. Sitting at a table outside with a coffee and a glass of brandy counting satellites is one of my favourite pastimes.

This time it was a unique experience though. I have never seen a "blood moon" before and it was really spectacular. At about 10 p.m. it looked as though the clouds were going to spoil things, but when totality occured it was a totally clear night. A real once in a lifetime experience.

Catkins

2007-03-04T21:06:00.000Z

A gentle walk around Ings bridge in the spring sunshine to start off the new season at Limefitt.

Not much to see in the way of spring yet, but the promise of daffodils with the yellow starting to force its way through. The hazel trees (or are they bushes?) where we got the nuts to eat during our walks last autumn are covered in catkins. I didn't realise that several types of tree have catkins before I looked at Wikipedia to confirm that they were catkins. Oak, birch, hazel, willow, alder, chestnut, sweetfern and poplar are all catkin-bearing.

Wainwright

2007-02-27T21:13:00.000Z

After watching the BBC 2 programme about Wainwright last night I was telling my 8 year old about Haystacks and how Wainwright had loved the place so much that he had had his ashes spread by the tarn at the top. Thoughtful face.... then... "Dad - if I die then I know where my ashes should be spread" "Where's that then?" "By the TV".

Yeah well.....

Sparrowhawk

2007-01-21T16:12:00.000Z

Taking the dog for a walk by the riverpool - a treat for her as whilst it is so quiet at Limefitt she gets to go off the lead and splash around in the water - I spotted what I think was a sparrowhawk flying slowly along the fence that runs by the path. It was a medium sized hawk anyway.

What was interesting was the way it's body seemed to be perfectly still as it glided down the fence line, only its head moved from side to side. It's unusual to get so close to a hawk like that.

Happy New Year!

2007-01-06T07:41:00.000Z

Well it rained and rained over New Year, but we got the new lodge up and running and welcomed our first guests - a group from the North East. It was all a bit frantic at the last minute - you have no idea how many lables you have to peel off things like knives and forks, and you end up cursing the fact that they seem to use superglue to stick them on. Anyway our first guests left us a lovely message in the visitors' book so they must have liked it, which makes it all worth while!

During a break in the weather on New Year's Day we did a walk around Ing bridge with the kids and ended up at The Queen's Head for pint or two of Bluebird and a warm by the log fire. Now that's what we come here for!

I need some sunshine to take some more appealing pictures though. The current ones look a bit drab. Still Spring will be here soon.

Nearly there

2006-12-23T22:28:00.000Z

Well the wet weather meant that we missed out on Christmas bookings because the decking couldn't be completed on time.

We are there now though, and it's just I's to be dotted and T's crossed. New Year will see our first guests.

Happy Christmas to all who are reading this - we hope you will visit in the New Year!

Rain and more rain

2006-12-12T20:24:00.000Z

It seems that 7 inches of rain fell over Cumbria one night over the weekend - I think it was Sunday. It's still falling. Driving up to the new lodge to drop off some kit I went through dozens of huge puddles. I have never seen the roads so wet. I had inteneded to take some pictures for the web site, but unless we are hoping to attract ducks and frogs to the cabin, the ones I was able to take are pretty useless. Still here's one that shows the cabin finally on site.

Let's hope we get some crisp winter mornings over the Christmas break - that's when walking in the Lakes is a real pleasure. Nobody around and crystal clear air. Dream on!

High Winds and High Hopes

2006-12-03T17:35:00.000Z

The weather this weekend has been severe. The winds have been as strong as anything we have experienced in the last two years and they have been driving the rain into every crevice, making it hard to stay dry. Rum and Hot Chocolate never seemed so inviting!

I saw a heron this morning - it was really struggling to make any headway against the wind and finally seemed to give up the attempt and landed, very ungainlily in the dog field.

The lodge is sitting near the river pool waiting to be moved to its final position. There was a slight delay due to roadworks which has stopped the other lodge being able to get up the A491 (they can't site ours until the other one is in place), but the roadworks are now over.

Limefitt have told us that we should be up and running for the week before Christmas, so we are busy confirming those bookings that we have already taken.

It's interesting that some people seem to enquire without even visiting the web site! We are listed on www.lakedistrict.com and I get the impression that people who visit there just seem to fire off a whole load of enquiries. The enquiries that matter (i.e. those who actually book) seem to come from people who are a bit more discriminating in their searching. I suppose that that makes sense.

Anyway - we are nearly ready to go so watch this space!

November

2006-11-30T21:30:00.000Z

Radio 4 had a good programme on today - they started with the very pessimistic poem "November" by Thomas Hood

November - By Thomas Hood (1799-1845)

No sun - no moon!
No morn - no noon -
No dawn - no dusk - no proper time of day.
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member -
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds! -
November!

They then did some outside broadcasts from various parts of the Lake District, showing how much colour was around (even if they did resort to red squirrels at one point ;-)

Even without the summer weather the scenery is still magnificent round here, and a crisp blue sky over the fells has to be one of the best sights you'll get during the short days of Winter.

They also discussed the old Norse derivation of many of the words like beck, fell, brant (as in Brantwood) and told of how a Norwegian girl could understand some of the local dialect.

If you missed it you can catch it on listen again today.

At last!

2006-11-24T21:50:00.000Z

The lodge is now on site - we are just waiting for one other lodge to be sited before Windermere Lodge is finally put into position.

Once it is on site then it is just a matter of fitting out the final touches and making sure that the landscaping is completed, and then we are open for guests. We have managed to get Limefitt Park to agree that guests can use the facilities at White Cross - so thank you Limefitt!

It has taken a while to get here and we are really excited - especially as we have 2 bookings already and we don't even have photos of the lodge on the web site yet!

The web site is taking about 20 hits a day, and we hope that once we can show how lovely the lodge is that these will soon convert into more firm bookings.

The cold brings out the birds again

2006-11-05T22:31:00.000Z

It's getting colder again and the bird nuts don't last long these days. The woodpecker appeared briefly on the feeder today before he got scared off by our attention. He is always a welcome sight even if he is surprisingly ungainly compared to some of the other visitors.

Hawkshead for a bonfire

2006-11-05T22:19:00.000Z

The Mortal Man decided to hold their bonfire on Sunday. OK - this was the 5th so it was more authentic, but it was a shame as we could not stay in the lakes to enjoy it. Instead, on a perfect moonlit night we went round to Hawkshead where there was a public bonfire and firework display. Wow! This was the best display I have ever seen - or should I say displays as there were two lengthy displays - both really excellent. The nicest part though was that instead of charging a fixed entrance fee they just collected in a bucket, and then did the same as you queued for the food (also no fixed charge). The Romanian vegetable soup (whatever was in it - well OK probably vegetables) was really tasty, so a big thumbs up to whovere made it!

The money collected this year goes towards next year's display - Really civilised and friendly that! (and also quite unusual).

We were a bit concerned for the guy in the tractor who kept moving bits of the bonfire to make it burn better (obviously vying to become the GUY in the tractor).

A fantastic evening though - many thanks to all those who organised it

Solitary Walking

2006-10-29T17:23:00.000Z

Last week gave us some varied weather.

On Saturday I took advantage of a break in the rain to take Suki for a walk half way up Applethwaite Fell and along to the road. The views of Windermere were spectacular as the sun pierced the clouds and a rainbow framed the fells. (Note to self - take the camera next time!). What I really enjoyed though was the unusual experience of walking on my own, at my own pace with my own thoughts. It's a very different experience from walking with a group or with family. It's interesting that Wordsworth was wandering "lonely as a cloud" in "Daffodils". Your thoughts can just bear off wherever you want to let them and you notice all sorts of things that you don't have time to see whilst you are talking or making sure that children are keeping out of mischief.

How many different colours of rowan berry there are - some as deep red as blood and some as pale as your skin. How late the blackberries are still in fruit this year. How many rills there are falling down the fells. How quiet it is, even during half term and so close to Windermere.

I was enjoying it so much that I turned left on the road and walked up to the top path and returned along past Dubbs Reservoir where half a dozen swans were gliding silently along on the glassy water. Suki, being a water lover, had the time of her life chasing through the deep puddles that seemed to cover most of the top level path and which I had to negotiate with a little more care for fear of getting my feet soaked.

Coming down the path to Limefitt I had a beautiful view of Troutbeck in low cloud. The landscape seems to display a different facet in every different type of weather or light, and unlike some places it doesn't seem to becomes depressing in bad weather. I remember being in Greece and really hating the rain, whereas here is just seems to be a natural and beautiful part of what happens.

The nuthatches are back

2006-10-19T22:20:00.000+01:00

The birds seem to have ignored the peanut feeder during the recent warm weather, but the nuthatches have made a welcome return. There was an article in the paper last week that described them as "Autumn's Highwaymen" - largely due to the Lone Ranger type "mask" that they have across their eyes. They take the best nuts and profligately chuck the rest onto the ground where the robins and sparrows hoover them up. It is always interesting to see them - with their unusual confederate blue grey plumage with their orange chests and the way that they can flit both up and down the feeder unlike any other birds we see. They are obviously first in the pecking order - as soon as they appear the other birds fly for the safety of the tree. The only ones that sometimes stand their ground are the green finches. They too are bigger than most birds that come to the feeder.

An osprey!

2006-10-16T10:57:00.000+01:00

Sitting on our deck in the late afternoon I looked up and saw a large gull circling. It began to ride the thermals and I got the binoculars as I thought this was a bit "un-gull-like". The bird was larger than I had first realised and had a greyish white underside with black tips on its wings. I watched it until it got so high that I couldn't see it clearly even with full zoom on the binoculars. Looking in my bird book it could only have been an osprey, and this was confirmed by the RSPB page

Seen in flight from below the osprey has white or slightly mottled underparts. The long wings are angled, bending at the 'wrist' which has a black patch contrasting with the white wing linings, and at a distance it could be mistaken for a large gull. This spectacular fish-eating bird of prey is an Amber List species because of its historical decline (due to persecution), and low breeding numbers.

I wonder if this was one of the Bassenthwaite ospreys? http://www.ospreywatch.co.uk/index.htm

An autumn day above Ullswater

2006-10-16T10:36:00.000+01:00

Sunday was a perfect Autumn day in Troutbeck, so we packed a picnic and bundled various kids and dogs into the cars and headed for Pooley Bridge an the North end of Ullswater. We parked by the bridge in the pay and display and walked up Heughscar to the stone circles. We picnicked by the cairn from where we had a fantastic view of Ullswater with all of the yachts darting to and fro. Halfway through lunch we were amazed to see a pack of hounds fly past on their own. Apparently they were hound trailing - this was the first time I had ever heard of this

From the web site http://www.trailhoundtrust.co.uk/faq.htm I found out that

"Hound trailing is a sport which takes place all over the Lake District between April and October. It dates back over 200 years. Individual owners get their hounds fit, then take them to race meetings, which are held most days throughout the summer. The hounds run a circular route of 10 miles (5 miles for 1st season puppies), over field and fell, following a strong aniseed and paraffin scent. "

(By the way - you can adopt a retired trail hound from this site.)

Walking on to the stone circles and High Street (the old Roman road) we made up ghoulish stories of human sacrifice to scare the kids (but with no real success).

Coming back down to Pooley Bridge via the limestone scar we had a view down the entire length of Ullswater - stunning!

One small person described this as "the best walk we have done so far". High praise indeed!