A short break in the Lake District.
Blackwell Arts & Craft House
An arts and craft movement house built for Manchester brewer Joseph Holt. Now operated by Lakeland Arts who charge for entry or you can buy an annual pass enabling entrance to four attractions including the Windermere Jetty Museum, Abbot Hall Art Gallery and the Lake District museum currently closed next to Abbot Hall.
Blackwell is a nice tranquil place about a mile south of Bowness looking down on Lake Windermere. It has a nice cafe, and shop. The car park is a bit small but normally we’ve not had difficulty parking.
Inside the house has aspirational rooms with good views and hand made furniture all nicely done. Some rooms are used for displays of Arts and Craft items, one of Blackwell during the war being used as a school for evacuees.
Ambleside is a good centre for walking and has a few decent eating places as well as a multi-screen/multi venue cinema. The centre is going on for a mile from the lake and the through traffic can be busy.
A few photos, sitting outside a pub, Morris dancing in the evening sun by the lake.
Wray Castle, National Trust, a boat trip or car ride from Ambleside. There was a very good display of photos of early Everest attempts last time we went. A small local rustic coffee shop chain, Joey’s, has a place next to the castle. It’s a chain as there are a couple more along the lake walk and at Beatrix Potters house. The walk to the next ferry stop across from Bowness is about 3-4 miles along a mostly decent wide track. Trees frequently block the view and it seems to go on longer than you think. The car ferry is a bit closer than the lake ferry stop
You can get the ferry to Bowness walk to the Jetty Museum, which isn’t a short walk, have refreshment and perhaps go round. Certain ferries stop at the Jetty Museum on the trip north to Ambleside. We enjoy a ride on the lake.
Kendal
Kendal is a place of back alleys. There is one main street which is very busy up to the pedestrianised area. Looking left and right are alleys. Some of them have decent shops, such as the one that goes to Booths Supermarket.
On the pedestrianised section there is a good square behind the war memorial with some interesting buildings and cafes if you follow it round and down the hill and find the alley.
