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Author Archives: kendalcottages

The Lake District – not as busy as many would have you believe

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Posted by kendalcottages on May 3, 2011 – 4:17 pm
Filed under Eating & Drinking, Miscellaneous

Yesterday, I ran from Hawkshead Hill, down to the northernmost point of Coniston Water, along the eastern side of the lake, through Nibthwaite to just short of Lowick, and back up via Oxen Park, Satterthwaite and Grizedale, before coming to a very welcome stop at the Sun Inn in Hawkshead for lunch and some by then much-need liquid refreshment.  If you’re curious, you can see the route here.  It covered 19.1 miles… yes, you read that right and I did run it all, albeit fairly sluggishly in a time of 3 hours, 7 minutes and 45 seconds (there were lots of hills!).  I’m not going mad, just in training for a marathon.

But what I would like to highlight is the tranquillity of it all.  It was a Bank Holiday Monday, the weather was glorious and I was running from around 9am to just after midday.  In all, though, I saw very few cars on the roads.  In fact, as I went down the eastern side of Coniston, I would estimate that I saw more cyclists (perhaps a dozen or so) than I saw cars.  It was only when I got up towards Grizedale (and closer to Hawkshead) that it got much busier and, even then, it wasn’t like there were hoardes of tourists.

In short, don’t believe it when people tell you that the Lake District is always heaving with tourists.  You don’t get much more perfect days when the bluebells are out in full force and there’s barely a cloud in the sky.  And I was in a very central part of the southern Lakes (perhaps helped by its inaccessibility relative to other places in the area, shielded as it is by Coniston Water on one side and Windermere on the other). Sure, if you head to Bowness Bay (on the much busier side of Windermere) in the height of season on a lovely day like yesterday, then there will mostly likely be crowds. But get off the beaten path a little and you will find plenty of peace and quiet – even in high season.

Paul Johnson is a Director at Kendal Holiday Cottages Ltd. which offers luxury self-catering accommodation between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales.

Real time snow and rain from Google!

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Posted by kendalcottages on July 30, 2010 – 4:45 pm
Filed under Miscellaneous

Living in the Lake District, you get used to a bit of rain here and there.  I must admit I’ve never really understood people who love the Lakes but complain about the weather – afterall, the lush green hills and the lakes wouldn’t be fair if we didn’t have a fair bit now and again.

Anyway, for those ‘fair weather’ fans of the county who want to see what it’s like before they come, there’s now the ability to see realtime rain and snow on Google Earth.  How amazing is that?!

With their new clouds layer, you can see realtime weather patterns across the globe.  It’s currently limited to just parts of North America and Western Europe but no doubt it’ll have a more global representation with time.

Paul Johnson is a Director at Kendal Holiday Cottages Ltd. which offers luxury self-catering accommodation between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales

Give a sheepdog day out a trial run this Summer

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Posted by kendalcottages on July 30, 2010 – 10:05 am
Filed under Attractions, Events

One of Britain’s most beautiful tourism destinations, the South Lakes, is encouraging visitors to ‘come bye’, ‘lie down’ and ‘take time’, during a stress-free visit built around idyllic and serene rural experiences.

The area will be hosting two of the country’s most genuine rural days out in August 2010, when both the Lake District Sheepdog Trials and the Rydal Sheepdog Trials will take place at Ings near Kendal and Rydal Park near Ambleside, respectively.

The Lake District Sheepdog Trials, on Thursday, 5th August will feature an Open sheepdog trials event, plus crafts, foxhound, terrier and sheepdog show, hound trails and Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling. The event runs from 9am to 4.30pm, at Hill Farm, Ings. Admission costs £3 for an adult, with children’s admission and car parking both free.

The Rydal Sheepdog Trials are staged one week later, on Thursday, 12th August, at their home one-mile north of Ambleside. The Trials consist of The Rydal Class Novice Sheepdog Trials and the Le Fleming Stakes Advanced Sheepdog Trials. Both of these competitions start at 9am and run throughout the day, with entertaining commentary from local Cumbrian personality, Glenn Tubman.

This event features a Shepherds’ Crook and Sticks competition, in which various types of crook and stick, from plain horn to ornamental horn and from wooden ladies stick or crook, to shepherds’ crook, compete for the honours.

The show also consists of trade stands, beagle, harrier, terrier and fell foxhound shows, an open hound trail, puppy hound trail, other hound trails and a dog dash.  Hound trailing is a traditional Cumbrian sport practised for about 200 years. The trail runs over varying distances, depending on the age and type of hound taking part. The hounds follow an aniseed trail over several miles and overcome obstacles en route as they set off alone to follow the trail and then return through the bracken back to their owners.

Entrance to the Rydal Sheepdog Trials costs £5 for adults and £2 for children and parking is free.

Visiting a sheepdog trial doesn’t require any knowledge but, if you want to sound like you know a thing or two, here’s some terminology that may come in handy:

Come Bye – circle the sheep in a clockwise direction
Away – circle the sheep in an anti-clockwise direction
Stand – halt, or slow down (dependent on tone)
Get Back – give the sheep some room
Look Back – turn back to look for other sheep
Take Time – slow down

These, and other commands, are delivered by a series of whistles. For instance, one long blast means ‘lie down’. A who-hee-who whistle means look back, whilst two short whistles means ‘Walk Up’ – a command that asks the dog to complete a flanking manoeuvre and turn to face the sheep square on.

Relaxing at a Sheepdog Trials, enjoying fresh Lake District air and perhaps savouring a Lakeland picnic of fresh, farm and artisan produce, is the perfect way to blow away the cobwebs and combat the stress. Head to the South Lakes this summer and you will love the lift and the time away.

Paul Johnson is a Director at Kendal Holiday Cottages Ltd. which offers luxury self-catering accommodation between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales

More visitors forecast for Kendal in Cumbria

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Posted by kendalcottages on July 29, 2010 – 6:03 pm
Filed under Attractions

Kendal’s K Village re-opened its doors yesterday after a £100m facelift and is likely to bring huge numbers of visitors to the area.  It is thought that the riverside complex may bring as many as 1.5 million additional tourists to the area. K Village includes a mixture of shops, restaurants, cafés, housing and a Heritage Centre that tells the history of shoe-making in the town.  A good portion of the retail space is taken by the Clark’s Factory Outlet but there’s already some 20 retailers in place, including the likes of the premium women’s brand, Alexon; the leading tea, coffee and ceramics brand, Whittards; and the UK tableware company Denby.  Even Cadbury’s have a place there.

Paul Johnson is a Director at Kendal Holiday Cottages Ltd. which offers luxury self-catering accommodation between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales

Prom Art: creative talent on display in Grange-over-Sands

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Posted by kendalcottages on July 28, 2010 – 11:18 am
Filed under Events

An inspirational free event, fresh air, fabulous arts and crafts and even public hangings await visitors to Prom Art, in Cumbria, in August and September. This Grange-over-Sands based event, on Cumbria’s Morecambe Bay coast, entices those who love the unique, the quirky, the true expression of creative talent and the talking piece.

Prom Art events will run from 9.30am to 4pm on both Sunday, 29th August and Sunday, 26th September 2010, when a 600-metre stretch of promenade in the Edwardian resort will be filled with stalls displaying and selling paintings, pottery, jewellery, felt work, glassware, sculpture, hand made cards, knitwear and much more besides.

Over 124 artists have booked to take part in this Prom Art season, with both amateurs and professionals exhibiting and items priced from just a few pounds upwards. Artists and artisans come from ten different counties, with 37 travelling over 50 miles to take part in Prom Art.

As well as selling the items on display, over half of the exhibitors will take private commissions, producing something totally bespoke for the individual customer.

Browsing the array of arts and crafts work on show, whilst taking in the magnificent Morecambe Bay views and sea air, is a pleasure in itself and a perfect way to get some exercise or walk the dog.

A children’s play area is located adjacent to the promenade and refreshments are also on hand. Car parking is just a short stroll away, as is the Grange-over-Sands railway station, which lies on the Lancaster to Barrow-in-Furness line. Free musical and dance entertainment is laid on at various times, too.

Paul Johnson is a Director at Kendal Holiday Cottages Ltd. which offers luxury self-catering accommodation between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales

Useful links:
Prom Art
Grange-over-Sands website
Tourist attractions in Grange-over-Sands