Sunday 29th September, 2024 – Windermere, Tebay

Distance driven: 158.0 miles,
Time at the wheel: 2 hours 48 minutes
Heiland coos spotted: 0

Sunday morning started damp, but seemed to be improving as we repacked the car (something of a trial and error process at this stage), and headed out from Nunnington after a light breakfast. Our host had left plenty of supplies but we were keen not to overindulge at every meal, so yogurt, fruit and coffee it was. After a brief rummage about looking for change to put in the honesty jar for the drinks provided to guests, we were on our way north, heading for a stopover in the Lake District. I cannot recall the last time I was there, probably because my age was certainly in single figures when it happened, and having done the maths by wrangling numbers into the SatNav, I knew it looked like a sensible choice to stop somewhere at or near Tebay services on the M6 motorway. Now most service stations on British motorways are identikit hellholes selling food that appeals to the lowest common denominator, over-priced petrol, and if accommodation is available, it’s usually at the budget end of the spectrum. Tebay Services is absolutely none of those things.  But more of that anon.

First we had to get there, which meant an initial stretch across the Pennines using the A66, a road that doesn’t have the best reputation. It runs along the lines of an old Roman road, and some might say it’s not been improved much since. That’s a tad unfair. There are stretches of dual rather than single carriageway, but it’s a long way from being fast or free flowing, and it seems to attract an unwarranted number of idiot drivers with no concern or care for others.  Oh, and it also has snow gates, because it’s often impassable in winter. But it also has scenery…

We were eventually spat out onto the M6 motorway, and made tracks for our first sightseeing destination of the day, Blackwell – the Arts & Crafts house which is close to Bowness-on-Windermere. Even at the end of September Bowness was heaving, but Blackwell itself was peaceful, just a handful of visitors on a damp Sunday afternoon.

The house started out as a holiday home for Manchester brewery owner Sir Edward Holt and his family, and he and his wife Elizabeth clearly felt they wanted to be on trend when it was built. The house was designed by English architect Mackay Hugh Baillie Scott (1865 – 1945), who tends to be overlooked when people look at the Arts & Crafts movement’s main protagonists. It’s a glorious house that has survived its somewhat chequered career relatively unscathed, despite being used as a school during the WWII, when Huyton College in Liverpool evacuated its junior girls. There is no original furniture left but the fabric of the house is remarkably well preserved and some of the rooms are utterly fabulous. I would happily sit in the White Room alternately staring at the views over Lake Windermere, and admiring the delicate decor. It’s breathtaking.

The rest of the house is no slouch in the beauty stakes either, and we wandered happily from room to room admiring the detail, wondering over some of the things now in the fabulous spaces, and wondering what you’d have to do these days to get a holiday home as exquisite as this one. A piece of cake and a coffee, and we were soon on our way, maintaining an iron grip to avoid blowing the holiday budget in one go in the gift shop!

The lovely people behind the desk suggested that we might also like to visit one of their other museums, the Windermere Jetty Museum, a couple of miles down the road and with a large free car park. They may also have mentioned the possibility of steam powered boat trips on the lake. Sold! we headed downhill, battling our way through the traffic.

The museum used to be the Windermere Steamboat Museum, and contains a fascinating collection of sailing boats, motor boats, and boat-related paraphernalia, originally brought together by George Pattinson, a local builder and – no surprises here – boat collector. The place has been extensively restored to be “The most beautiful boat shed in Britain,” according to Jonathan Morrison of The Times. He’ll get no argument from me. It’s really quite a space! And there are fantastic views over the lake too. Sadly what there weren’t were boat trips that day. No one was quite able to explain why. It could have been weather or it could have been a shortage of suitable volunteers. It will have to happen some other time. There was plenty to occupy us anyway, with everything from the most basic rowing boat to some fairly high-powered speedboats/powerboats and even an amphibious plane.

Just for good measure there was even an Austin 7 parked outside! All in all, along with a small if inexplicable exhibition of Doctor Who comic art, a good time was had.

However, we need to get on our way to Tebay services where we would be staying the night at the attached Westmorland Hotel. We had one of their lovely “Crafted” rooms, which was massive and warm and very, very comfortable, with the only down side being the lift has been out of order for a long time and because it’s so old cannot be repaired quickly. It may be done by Christmas. To be fair they warn of this when you book, so we were prepared. It was still hard lugging our cases up two storeys, but it was worth it.

Cleaned up and refreshed with water and biscuits, we soon headed downstairs to the very pleasant lounge bar for a pre-dinner drink. The cocktail list was pretty smart, the staff very efficient and knowledgeable, and there’s a lovely area where you can sit and overlook a gently burbling water feature which may or may not be natural.

It was lovely. We’d also booked for dinner in the hotel restaurant. While I would have really liked the service to be a little more leisurely, and the cutlery to have been somewhat sharper (why do restaurants serve red meats like game and steak but then give you knives that wouldn’t cut through butter?), but the food was solidly good. Pigeon breasts went down well as a starter, and the lamb burger was really tasty. The fish pie was also good in a workmanlike way, though a little more oomph in the curried cauliflower would not have gone amiss. The wine list was also reliable, with nothing to frighten the horses, but some dependable choices. We ate well, refused dessert, and headed off to bed via the bar for a nightcap.