Kendal is the t
hird largest town in Cumbria. With a variety of high street names and some superb independent shops the town centre is a wonderful place for some retail therapy. Kendal’s historic yards have been tastefully transformed into unique shopping areas off the main street which has the benefit of being free from traffic. Continue reading
The charming Edwardian resort of Grange-over-Sands is set between the Lake District fells and Morecambe Bay and offers one of the mildest climates in the North of England.
The advent of the Furness Railway transformed the small fishing village of Grange-over-Sands into the fashionable Edwardian resort, with wealthy merchants building grand houses, which now accommodate several tasteful hotels.
The town features a traffic-free promenade, ornamental gardens, a duck pond, golf courses, brass band concerts and vantage points for bird watching. The shop fronts still retain their Edwardian appearance with many shops selling local produce.
Your time in Grange-over-Sands would not be complete without a visit to the famous Promenade. Take the time to enjoy a leisurely stroll along The Prom and admire the fabulous views across Morecambe Bay. There are play and exercise facilities for all ages and abilities & The Prom Café is the perfect place to unwind.
Grange Promenade Recreation Park can be found on the promenade at Grange-over-Sands & has the best views of the bay. Open from 10am until 6pm during peak times with free entry.
After your walk around the gardens & along the prom be sure to visit some of the great little independent food shops & buy some delicious local food!
Higginsons Family Butchers Shop specialises in locally sourced meat & delicious home-made pies. At Higginsons they are creative in their approach, yet with a simple ethos – to bring the highest quality food and meat to customers with care and commitment.
“We are proud to produce our Gold Award Winning Cumberland Sausage, Award Winning Home-cured Bacon and Rare Breed Pork from our base in Grange Over Sands. We also supply local Cumbrian specialities such as seasonal Morecambe Bay Saltmarsh Lamb, Winster Luing Beef, seasonal Lakeland Herdwick Lamb and local Game”.
Choco-Lori on Main Street, Grange-over-Sands is run by a mother and daughter team, Anne and Louise, who began selling their home made chocolates at farmers’ markets in Cumbria and Lancashire.
“At Choco-Lori we pride ourselves on the founding principles which lie at the heart of our products, to create top quality home-made chocolates, made by hand in small batches to ensure the levels of quality which we insist upon are maintained, and that you the customer continually taste what drove Anne and Louise to create Choco-Lori and fired their passion to bring the taste of real chocolate to you.”
Grange Bakery continues the fine tradition of 100 years of baking. The current owners continue to introduce new products, building on the popular multi-seed and wholemeal loaves, baguettes and rolls, country grain bread and ciabattas made with extra-virgin olive oil. The sourdough bloomer has become a recent successful addition and the Last Wolf rye, made from Cartmel Brewery’s “Last Wolf” Ale, is rapidly growing in popularity. Grange Bakery also bake traditional favourites – iced vanilla slices, custard tarts, Viennese whirls, millionaire’s shortbread, current squares, chocolate brownies and all-butter shortbread.
What’s the secret to their great tasting bread? Discover more at Grange Bakery on Kents Bank Road in Grange-over-Sands.
Ambleside sports
For 200 years locals & visitors to Ambleside have enjoyed this traditional Lakeland Sports Day. Gates open at 10am & the first race begins at noon. Attractions at the 2016 event on Thursday 28 July this year include:
Cumberland & Westmorland Wrestling
Hound Trails
Foot & Cycle Races
Guides & Fell Races
Restaurants in Kendal.
Guests often ask for our advice on good places to eat out in Kendal. There are many good places to eat in the area and here is just a selection for you. Continue reading
The village of Coniston lies at the southern end of the Lake District National Park to the west of Windermere and on the north-west shore of Coniston Water. On arrival at his beautiful Lakeland village take a look at the scenery – it’s impossible not to be amazed by the impressive Coniston Old Man towering over the village! This Lake District fell has several well-marked paths to the 803m summit and is really popular with walkers. Continue reading
Today I am going to take you from Cumbria over the border into Lancashire to discover the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty known as Arnside & Silverdale. Continue reading
What to do around Kendal – Easter 2016
Visit Kendal’s 1657 Chocolate House.
Enjoy some Chocolate House delights from 16 speciality hot chocolate drinks (all named after chocolate History and the 1600’s) to handmade Gateaux made from a long standing secret recipe…not forgetting a visit to the Chocolate Shop afterwards. Choose from over 100 kinds of loose luxury chocolates and a large selection of chocolate gifts. Continue reading
Cumbria – Battling back from the floods
As you are probably aware early last December Storm Desmond caused much damage & flooding in many parts of Cumbria. Kendal was particularly badly affected with many homes and businesses suffering.
We consider ourselves very lucky indeed to have been spared any damage here both on the caravan park and to our home. Cumbria however was left with big problems including some bridges & roads around The Lake District being closed and it has obviously taken time to begin repairing the damage.
It is great that the county is now recovering well and is gradually getting back to normal. Many bridges, such as Victoria Bridge in Kendal, have already been repaired and are now open again. Continue reading
Amazing scenery & beautiful lakes undoubtedly make The Lake District National Park an extremely popular tourist destination. Before the days of tourism Cumbria’s natural resources were used in many different ways to boost the county’s economy. Cumbria has plentiful supplies of water, woodlands, limestone, slate, wool fleeces & also goods historically imported from the West Indies such as sugar, spices & tobacco creating an interesting industrial heritage.
An unusual mixture of Kendal’s charming features to stimulate the senses!
See
Down by the River Kent on Waterside is a plaque set into the wall. Here you can see the levels where the River Kent has risen to in past floods. Hopefully not such a problem anymore due to The River Kent Flood Relief Scheme carried out in the 1970s. To find the plaque follow the river down-stream slightly from the bottom end of Lowther Street along the riverside path.