Well, I say leisure, this was all a little bit touch and go after Centre Parcs. Mrs. No Name was quite poorly for a while and after she moved on to a second course of antibiotics we decided to cancel the first Lakes hotel and hope for the best thereafter.
After changing the date of the overnighter, Mrs. No Name decided she was fit enough to drive and, true enough, we arrived at the now regular break point of Wentbridge House hotel, just off the A1. The change of date meant a change of room and a forced upgrade to a luxury four poster, which proved a lovely and welcome surprise (see photo). Service, food and drink all exemplary as usual and after a fine breakfast we headed further up north the next morning.
As the route chosen took us past down Ullswater, we called into the Macdonald Leeming House hotel, the first part of the proposed lakes break, just to see what we were missing 🙂 Looked lovely so we indulged in a fine cream tea and alcohol beverage before heading off to our three night stopover at Bowness on Windermere. The room at The Macdonald Old England Hotel and Spa was perfectly OK but overall we thought it a little anonymous and lacking in atmosphere; however, after spending a little more time there, the place grew on us and the evening meal in the restaurant and the breakfasts were all of high standard.
Having returned to the Lakes after a short break of around thirty years we decided to major on the lake itself. Previous visits when we were both considerably younger and fitter (obviously) had majored more on hiking and climbing (Old Coniston and Scafell Pike spring to mind). Anyway, on the first day we took a return cruise to Ambleside. Lovely trip with added benefit of Ambleside itself, which was a more satisfying experience than Bowness appeared to offer. On the walk in (after a lovely coffee and beer at the Regent Hotel By The Lake), we espied a Crazy Golf so, after a walk round the village and a suitable pub based refreshment, we took on the golf challenge, where I was comprehensively victorious.
The next day we were back on the cruisers, this time with a return to Lakeside. At the ‘terminus’ we decided to just base ourselves there for the day. First up was the aquarium, which we both found interesting – to the layman (me), it appeared to be well laid out and ‘flowed’ quite nicely’, but I can’t with any authority comment on the moral, ethical or ecological credentials of the attraction. Then onto the Lakeside hotel for another coffee stop – lovely hotel, very ‘grand’, with the added benefit of perfect and singular location – all of which you pay for apparently, if you stay there. Don’t think I’d mind, if the rooms reflected the public areas, Went back to the terminus area, which is also the start point for the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway. As it wasn’t too busy, we took a punt on a return trip (the ticket office very kindly upgraded our cruise ticket, so we got the benefit of the discount on offer). It wasn’t a particularly long trip but we had views from your carriage up to Lakeside and the southern tip of Lake Windermere in original and well maintained carriages.
Overall, we enjoyed the Lakes and, doing both the cruises, we covered the whole of the lake; you definitely get a very different perspective than from the road and you also get to see the high number of industrially funded and Victorian ‘piles’ clinging to the side of the lake, all with their boathouses in tow. A high proportion of them are now rather pleasant hotels of course. The lake cruisers were also smart and efficient, even the Tern (our carrier to Ambleside, which was built in 1896) – smart to travel outside the school holidays, when I imagine it would be heaving and a somewhat different experience. Won’t mention managing to get locked out of the hotel when in the hotel’s own gardens – so I won’t!
So, after three nights on the lake, on to The Judges Country House Hotel at Kirklevington Hall in Yarm. Really a stopover on the way back, in the end we made it another three nighter and we were very glad we did. Lovely, old style country hotel, all plush furnishings and old style service (apart from one member of staff, who remained surly throughout; a little parlour game to ascertain why ensued) . Lovely room and pleasant (not mind blowing) food. We walked into Yarm on the first day, which is itself a very fine and typical North Yorkshire market town. Return up a slight incline was tougher, but it gave us pause to appreciate how well Mrs. No Name had done over the course of the holiday.
S&G visited us the next day (and also overnight) so went back into Yarm (by car this time) so they could do the Yarm trail. One of us demurred and retired to the hostelry for some much needed sustenance (who, I hear you ask). In the evening, we all indulged in ‘Date Night‘, which included Hors D’oeuvres and cocktails, a three course dinner and a bottle of wine for each couple. Excellent value, and the hotel coped admirably for the gluten intolerant vegetarian amongst us. We had a little trouble at check out, in our favour but we were honest and it was eventually resolved. How many of us would, I wonder….
After another lovely (but slightly chaotic) breakfast, left to travel down to Grantham as a sort of halfway destination, as it was just under halfway between Yarm and home. Checked in to the Angel and Royal, an historic hotel that was true to its word. First room allocated wasn’t of the right type and whilst the second was correct, the bathroom in particular was very much of the 1970 vintage. We then proceeded to lock ourselves in to our own room when the interior door lock fell apart and another room had to be found. The last was fine, with an updated/refurbished bathroom. If this had been allocated on arrival, then there would be no complaints. Hotels of this age undeniably come with their own challenges. These were not those, sadly. Unfortunately, old royal connections can only take you so far. Credit, where it’s due however, the evening meal in the hotel bistro was lovely, with tasty, well cooked food and friendly, very efficient service.
On the plus side, we found plenty to do in Grantham itself, including the old quarters around St. Wilfrum’s Church. This included the church itself (one of the largest medieval churches in the country); the Isaac Newton Blue Plaque at the hall of the school (along with a plaque to Newton’s friend, mathematician and astronomer Arthur Storer), as well as a plaque to commemorate Newton’s dwelling whilst at the school. Grantham House, a lovely 14thC townhouse, was in the same old quarter and although managed by the National Trust, is in fact a tenanted property and therefore not open to visitors. Lucky tenant(s). We also visited the recently newsworthy Thatcher statue, which was unmarked when we visited but, spookily, was ‘red painted’ that same evening – we were of course safely tucked up in bed at the hotel when the incident occurred.
Like many mid sized towns, it’s easy to see how the heart of the town has been ripped apart by the lack of sustained development / regeneration. There are gems to be found, as we did, but the question is whether or not the rest of Grantham has the drawing power to engage visitors long enough for those treasures to be found and visited.
All in all, thoroughly enjoyable. Despite missing the three nights at Ullswater, we still managed nine nights across four hotels and got to see a couple of places we hadn’t been before, along with a long overdue return to one of the most beautiful areas of England. Good to return and remind yourself of the splendours on, or near, your own doorstep.