Wray Castle

Wray Castle, on a promontory overlooking Lake Winderemere, looks like it's stood there since the middle ages.

But, from foundations to battlements, it's a fake, built in the mid-1800s as a countryside retreat by a wealthy Liverpool doctor and his wife, and now owned by the National Trust.

Other Lakeland houses of the time were comparatively modest villas but Margaret Dawson inherited a huge fortune from her father, and the couple could indulge their every whim. The castle is designed to look as if it has stood there forever, and had changes made as fashions changed. There are even mock ruins suggesting demolished outer defences in the grounds! 

After the Dawsons died, the property passed to a distant relative who leased the castle to summer visitors, among them the family of Beatrix Potter. Inside the castle there's currently an exhibition of photographs taken by Mr Pottter on holidays around the Lake District - some informal family groups, some of landscape. I was quite surprised at them as I must admit that, based on the film Miss Potter starring Renee Zellweger, I'd thought of him as a rather dull businessman with no interest in arts of any kind. 

Inside, is a gothic re-imagining of how a castle should look with tiled floors and fireplaces, and ornate windows to frame the view.

Unfortunately the grounds were too soaked for walking other than along the well maintained paths of the arboretum, so it's one of those places I'd love to return to in better weather.

For this time, though, distant views of snow-topped hills had to suffice.

 

A Wet Weekend in the Lake District

There's always a certain riskiness about the weather when you decide to book a UK break in winter (or maybe tbh any time of year) and we unfortunately picked a wet weekend to head to the Lake District.

We still had a good time, pottering about between the deluges, dodging into cafes as the rain came again, playing board games back at the AirBnB when it didn't stop. There was snow on the mountain tops, and on Sunday the sun came out 

The first day, the wettest and coldest, we didn't do much; a short walk round Ambleside, looking at the (many, many) outdoorsy shops, and a lovely lunch at Dodd's restaurant. I'd hoped to visit Grasmere in the afternoon, but torrential rain put me off the idea. 

The next morning was cold and overcast with snow on the hills and rain threatening again, so we headed to Windermere Jetty Museum - not for the museum itself but for its cafe with huge picture windows and a magnificent view of the lake and boats by. It's definitely worth a stop here;  good food, wonderful views and, that most remarkable of things in the Lake District, free parking. 

After an early lunch the weather stayed dry for a little while as we wandered round the grounds and admired the views - there's smaller scale lake where model boats are sailed.

Onwards then, back through Ambleside and round the northern end of Lake Windermere, to Wray Castle, a fascinating National Trust property built in the mid-1800s as a second home!

Of course, our visit involved a brief stop at the cafe - a rather unusual one by NT standards.

The rain held off for a short walk round the grounds though we were advised that the longer walks were too muddy to attempt. 

Eventually, on Sunday as we headed home, the sun came out.

 Fortunately we had time to visit a couple of places before heading back down the motorway. First, Fell Foot park at the southern tip of Lake Windermere - for a short walk and brunch in a converted boathouse - then Sizergh Castle - to visit the gardens and take a longer walk round the surrounding estate, interrupted by lunch. More about Fell Foot and  Sizergh  . 

Despite the rain we had a really enjoyable time, which goes to prove that weather isn't everything.