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Windermere Lake Cruises (Cumbria)
by ChizDee
There are 3 cruise lines to choose from. The Yellow which does the South Lakelands taking in a lot of the beautiful homes and low lying land around Windermere. The Blue which is the main tourist option and does the central lake loop and the Red Cruise which take you to the east side of the lake towards Ambleside.
I did the Red ... Cruise, this one has the most dramatic views. The biggest mountains and rugged scenery. I would recommend getting off in Ambleside and take a wonder in to town maybe a walk to the waterfalls, then take one of the last boats back when the sun is starting to go down behind the mountains. You get some amazing photos the views then are even more breathtaking.
Try and do this when the sun is out, you really wouldn't get the best out of it having to sit indoors when it is raining. Also to do it in the winter is nice when the mountains are snow capped.
This is by far the best way to see Windermere and lets face it your in the Lake District it's only logical to take boat ride!
Worth the £10 we spent.
**Try and avoid the Blue Line, this is the busiest of the 3, full of tourist and the least interesting of the 2 routes, it is the cheapest but its worth paying the little bit more to do the Red or Yellow Cruise**
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Attractions in Ashbourne
by catsholiday
Ashbourne
Having lived close to this town for the majority of my life I feel that maybe I should give it a bit of a mention.
The trouble is when you know a town so well is that you have to choose where to start.
A BIT OF GEOGRAPHY
Ashbourne is considered to be the gateway to the Peak National Park and if ... you come from the Derby direction you will come along the A52. Coming from Leek it is again the A52 but should you approach Ashbourne from Buxton or the Peak District or from Uttoxeter you will come in on the A515 from either direction.
Ashbourne is in a valley surrounded by hills so that in order to get out of Ashbourne you have to be prepared to climb a hill. This was always fun when it came to cross country running at Secondary school however we thwarted their cruel plans and managed to find places to cut through and return without doing the whole course!
Ashbourne is a classic example of an English market town although the cattle market is no longer and the other market in the town centre which used to be very busy on Thursdays and Saturdays is rapidly dying a death.
HISTORY
Ashbourne was mentioned in the Doomsday Book so has been going a good few centuries. At that time it was known Esseburn. Apparently the esse comes from old English for Ash and of course 'burna' or burn is stream or brook so it was the place where a ash trees grew near a stream or the River Henmore as we know it today.
In the 18th and 19th century Ashbourne became a busy town as it was at the junction of six coaching roads. A couple of the pubs in the town such as 'The Green Man' were obviously coaching inns as they still have the archways into the stabling areas.
A number of famous people have stayed in the town including Bonny Prince Charlie who seems to have stayed in every town in England but it was in Ashbourne that he proclaimed his father king of England. This took place in the Bull Ring which is in the present day market square. This event makes Ashbourne the only place in England where a 'Pretender' to the throne has been proclaimed.
Oliver Cromwell decided to take a few pot shots at St Oswald's Church when he passed through.
Dr Samuel Johnson stayed many times in 'The Mansion' which is on Church Street. In fact I might have stayed in the very same room because 'The Mansion' was for many years the girl's boarding house for Queen Elizabeth's grammar School and I was a boarder there for a year or so.
George Elliot also spent time in the town and is said to have described the church of St Oswalds' as, 'the finest mere parish church in the kingdom' and commented that it had the 'finest single spire in England.'
Izaac Walton fisherman extraordinaire and famous for his book 'The Compleat Angler' also spent time in the town and fishing in the waters around near Mappleton village and there is now the hotel near Dovedale that is named after him.
Catherine Mumford, co-founder of the Salvation Army and was born in Ashbourne on January 7, 1829, she married William Booth later to become Catherine Booth.
INTERESTING BUILDINGS
St Oswald's Church with its 212 foot spire can be seen as you come down onto the town as well as from most places in the town. It is a pretty old church dating from around 1241 with some parts older and others added later. There are a number of lovely stained glass windows inside and the rather beautiful tomb of Penelope Boothby daughter of Brooke Boothby who was a member of the Midlands gentry, a poet, political pamphleteer and radical supporter of the French Revolution who became friends with Rousseau when the latter came to Ashbourne as a Revolutionary refugee.
The Mansion on Church Street not far from the church is a beautiful Georgian building with a fabulous garden which leads right down to the Henmore brook. Aside from the fame of having Dr Samuel Johnson as a visitor it is now a grade 1 listed building. It was built in 1680 and was the home of John Taylor who was the friend and literary partner of Johnson. I the garden aside from a grass tennis court which we made good use of there is also is a small building a bit like a Greek temple now a Grade II listed summer house with its three-arched façade and this is where Dr. Johnson and Dr. Taylor often wrote their work together
It was for many years the girls' boarding house when the boys boarded in the Old School building over the road.
The entrance hall is pretty stunning with a beautiful painting on the ceiling which we always were told was 'The rape of Ganymede' but the rape may well have been a bit of poetic story telling however the painting is said to be the work of Zucchi, a leading Italian artist.
Sadly for years this building lay empty and uncared for. It went to auction and sold before the auction. Rumour has it that the son of Barbara Cartland bought it.
The Old School opposite the Mansion was the original site of Queen Elizabeth's grammar School granted a Royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth I in 1585. There was great excitement in the town in 1985 when it celebrated its 400th anniversary as the Queen Elizabeth paid an official visit. Despite being a Comprehensive and now a school with academy status it still bears the same name. The building was said to have become structurally unsound and it was definitely bowing outwards but it has been converted into flats now so presumably they have sorted that out.
We used to have all our meals in the huge oak floored dining room and I have spent many a Sunday afternoon washing up in the kitchens using a boiler and steamer that would be certainly not allowed to be used by school pupils these days as it was pretty lethal!
Another building with an interesting history is 'The Green Man and Black Heads Royal Hotel' which has the historic Cross Street Gallows sign which is in the Guinness book of records as the longest inn sign in the world. The pub dates back to 1750 and was originally two coaching inns. The landlord of the Green Man bought the Blackamoor Inn and on the sign you can see that the head on the sign on one side is smiling while on the other, he's scowling. James Boswell and Dr Samuel Johnson are said to have had a few drinks here.
Rumour has it that Queen Victoria visited probably for a toilet stop but it was called a 'refreshment break' but it gives the pub the right to have 'Royal' to its name.
WHAT ELSE?
Aside from the history and interesting architecture there are a number of antique shops, cafes, pubs and restaurants and it is nice to wander around and check out the little alley ways that lead off from some of the streets.
I can recommend Spencer's café and bakery on the market place as I worked there for some time in the holidays. The Ashbourne Gingerbread Shop is not only a lovely building but is one of the bakeries that made Ashbourne gingerbread famous. This is a sort of ginger shortbread biscuit unique to the town.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Ashbourne is the home of the traditional and unique rugby football game that takes place at Shrovetide each year. I have written a review on this previously if you would like to know more about how the entire town turns into a football pitch with goals three miles apart.
Strangely considering its distance from Scotland but for many years since 1985 Ashbourne has hosted a huge Highland games which has become one of the largest gatherings outside Scotland. Sadly this year it was cancelled because of the awful weather, the games are held down near the river which was flooded.
The Ashbourne Agricultural Show is a very traditional English agricultural and country show, which is held mid August at the Polo Grounds in Osmaston, a nearby village. Held only a couple of weekends back and my step daughter bought a guinea pig to keep her rabbit company. I just hope they don't come our way as her two cats did when she split with her ex!
This is a typical agricultural show with competitions for animals and displays of machinery, lots of stalls and sometimes you are lucky and get the dancing JCB diggers giving a display.
Apart from a number of cafes varying from traditional family cafes through to a recent Costa, there are also a number of local bakeries, a very nice natural medicine and foods shop " Natural Choice", a great mini department store in the form of Peter Cooks and many antique shops. We also now have a Waitrose and Sainsbury's in the town and M&S food just outside the centre along with Homebase, Halfords and a few other shops.
If you want a base from which to explore the Peak District Ashbourne is perfect and there are a number of hotels, guest houses and B&Bs in the area. The tourist information office is in the Market place and has lists. You can buy most of what you might need in the town and people who live nearby rarely go out their way into Derby to shop unless they are looking for something specific that you cannot get in Ashbourne.
There are a number of pretty villages around Asbourne including Osmaston with its thatched A frame cottage,Shoulder of Mutton pub and tall spired church. Shirley with its lovely church and centre of the village focusing on the great pub, the Saracen's Head and of course the library ni the old telephone box.
The other direction takes you to Clifton and Mayfield both interesting villages with nice churches and you can walk to either from Ashbourne. Clifton has a thriving cricket club while Mayfield has a famous Hanging bridge.
Going into the Peak district up buxton Hill takes you to the pretty stone build village of Fenny Bentley and if you go further you will see signs to Dovedale which is a beautiful walk along the river.
Tissington just a little further is another picture perfect peak stone village with a duck pond, church, tea rooms and a couple of other shops and if you visit at the right time you will see their beautiful well dressing festival when the village wells are decorated with pictures made from flowers.
I think I will have to give it five stars from loyalty!
Thanks for reading. This review may be posted on other sites under my same username.
©Catsholiday
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Dunham Massey (Manchester)
by nodbod1
Dunham Massey is run by the national trust. Standard admission for an adult is £9.90 for the house and garden if you're not a national trust member. I would recommend national trust membership as it gives you access to over 300 properties plus those in Scotland and some other countires.
Dunham is a large Georgian mansion set ... within impressive grounds and gardens. It also has a deer park and you get much closer to the deer at Dunham Massey than you do at Tatton Park for example. There are signs telling you not to approach them but this weekend there were children feeding them leaves!
It is a great place for the whole family. For the children there's the animals - deer, chickens and ducks and particularly in the summer there's things put on for the children, for example this weekend there looked to be ropes and harnesses attached to trees for them to climb.
I've visited to the property a couple of times, it's a huge house and is very interesting and stunning. However, this weekend I took my mum who uses a wheelchair and there's only a couple of rooms that are accessible. It wasn't a problem this weekend because the weather was great and so we were able to enjoy the lovely grounds.
The garden is lovely and the grounds are great for a walk. The restaurant, like other national trust places, uses locally produced foods (some grown on site) and uses local recipes - the Manchester Tart was delicious!
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