My week at Windemere

I took a week off work for some well needed rest and relaxation in Windemere with my family. Heading off to the lakes via train, I went from Prudhoe to Carlisle, Carlisle to Oxenholme and then Oxenholme to Windemere. It was a lovely journey, the scenery was beautiful and I looked forward to seeing more of it as my stay in the lakes.

I stayed at The Fairfield B&B and it was really homely and in a perfect location to get into Windemere. The room was really comfy and the bathroom was very luxurious. The breakfast was very tasty and filling, I did not need a lunch. Nick- the owner was full of knowledge and gave us some great ideas for things to do.

Being on holiday, I had to treat myself so every evening, we tried somewhere new for evening meal. On the Tuesday (day or arrival) I tried Urban House, a hidden gem in Windemere, I chose the vegan options and they were really nice- the dhal was not too spicy and it had plenty of flavour. The staff were also really attentive too.

After our tea, we decided to check out this rather Instagramable cocktail place called Fizzy Tarte. I loved this cocktail bar, there were so many cocktails to choose from, I enjoyed the variety. I can’t remember the names of them but they were all very fruity and flavoursome, some were stronger in alcohol than others. The menu looked like this old legendary book that was full of potions and spells but it was full of out of this world cocktails, I liked that you could see the cocktail maker make them and it all added to the experience.

On Wednesday, we started our day at lakeside and haverthwaite railway on a steam railway, I felt like a wizard on the train and I loved the funny commentary by the staff. We did a full round return trip and then we headed to the Motor Museum.

Now I have to be honest I am not mad about cars but I am always interested in seeing all the different cars throughout the years, looking how the design and technology has changed in them. There were so many cars, I would like to know how they all got them in the museum. I was impressed by the Amphibious Car, the land and water car, I also liked the little blue bubble car too.

After the museum, we headed to Wray Castle, sadly it was closed but it was nice to walk around the grounds and have a cheeky Vegan mint hot choc at Joey’s Cafe.

Trying to pack in as much as we could, we managed to squeeze in a trip to Hill Top– the home to Beatrix Potter. It was a magical experience and it was really interesting to see the inspiration behind her stories. The house has the books in there and you can match the pictures with the real life locations, each room was so dainty and you could really see how miss potter would have lived and written in those rooms and the garden was magical, in fact I swear I saw Peter Rabbit roaming around the vegetable patch.

Back to Windemere, we got our evening meal at Hooked, a very posh fish restaurant. I had scallops as a starter and then Hake as a main, I had never had Hake before and it was beautifully cooked. I also loved the decoration of the restaurant, the sea blue/teal colour and the colourful paintings of fish. It was innkeeping with the style of the food.

Thursday saw us have a relaxed yet adventurous experience in Windemere. We had planned on going on a cruise but we decided to go on a self driving boat which was soo much fun, I loved being captain Gemma for an hour and driving the boat. The views were stunning and I loved hearing the water gently flow passed the boat and it was fun to wave to all of the other sailors. I was feeling nervous but the team put us an ease and were really clear on what we need to do to be safe on the water.

After all the excitement we had a walk around Windemere and sat down in the park. In the evening, we went for a meal at Porto and I had Pheasant for the first time and it was delicious. Quite an early tea but that was because we were off to the theatre, The Old Laundry Theatre to see Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers. First of all it was lovely to even be at the theatre (having not been at the theatre for a while) and what an honour it was to be in another theatre and to be experiencing culture (which is what I do best). It was a lovely surprise to see the drummers, they were dynamic, energetic, syncopated and intense.

Friday was our last day and we had to check out at 10.30am. On our way home, we took a little detour to Keswick but it started to rain so we headed off home rather swiftly.

It was just lovely to spend time with my family in the lakes and have a jam packed week off work. Windemere you were a joy and do hope to visit some time again soon.