Romance is in the air....again!

For the second time in a few weeks, a couple have got engaged during their stay at White Moss House! They have been together for quite a time, and had stayed here years ago. They had happy memories of White Moss House, and the gentleman wanted to come back to the same room they stayed in before to make his proposal.

At breakfast we tried to gauge the mood- was the lovely lady smiling, what was the verdict? We weren't sure.......then at check out I asked if they were going straight back home......?

"No- we're going shopping for rings....she said yes!" Joy all round!

We wish them all the very best for their wedding and their future together.

The bad news is that if you want to get engaged here at White Moss House, you'll have to wait until March 2013, when we reopen after our winter break. You could still come to stay at our lovely cottage up on the fell though. Brockstone , our self catering holiday cottage with excellent views of Rydal Water and the Lake District fells is still available from 1 December to 21 December, 3 January to 31 January, and 28 February to 30 March. Short breaks are on offer. We welcome dogs - the guests there right now have declared our Grasmere holiday cottage to be "dog heaven"

Rydal Water by David Willis, Cumbria Tourism. May not be used without permission.

This is one of the lovely views on our doorstep. White Moss House is just behind the clump of trees that go out into the lake, and Brockstone Cottage is on the path that goes through the trees above the barn that you can see in the field.

We are now taking bookings for 2013 in Brockstone cottage and in White Moss House bed and
 breakfast. Forward bookings are looking good, so don't leave it too long to make your reservation.

The new path though White Moss woods

Gone are the rocks, the tricky steps, the water, the mud, and in its place is a smooth super-highway.
This is supposedly for wheelchair access, but as there's a tricky bridge at the start of the path, and the narrow kissing gate at the end, that's not going to be easy ( plus, it's quite steep)

Local opinion is unsure - some people think this is just making the paths too  bland. We certainly hope that they won't tear the ancient kissing gate apart and replace it with a wide wooden gate as they are thinking of doing.

They ( the Lake District National Park) are also thinking about carving a path through the big rock that sticks out into Rydal Water- the one you have to walk over when the lake is high. Locals view the idea that the rock mught be blasted away with horror!

Anyway, this is what the path looks like now when you come off  Loughrigg terrace or the Rydal Water path, go through the kssing gate and into White Moss woods to walk back to White Moss House .

New path through White Moss Woods

The muddy area on the left is where the old path went. There were steep, uneven steps, that were very wet and in winter they became icy and very tricky. All the rocks have been taken out, and that area will be grass. The new path curves round by the wall, and you get a new view of Rydal Water ( you can just see Rydal Water in the background)

Here's the Kissing Gate at the entrance to White Moss Woods- must they widen it?

We're only open for guests at White Moss House until 5 November this year, but if you can get away this week you can see the new walk, enjoy the autumn colours, all at great rates. Click here to see our special offers, or email sue@whitemoss.com, or ring 015394 35295.

Wonderful Autumn Colours in the Lake District

It was a glorious day today- maybe the last chance this year to see the wonderful autumn colours in the sunshine, as the forecast is for cloudier weather.
Here is a selction taken this afternoon on my favourite White Moss walk, described here as walk 2

Penny Rock Woods and Grasmere Lake from Loughrigg Terrace

Brockstone Grasmere Holiday Cottage from Loughrigg Terrace

Peter playing in the leaves in Deer Bolt Wood

Tree by the River Rothay, White Moss

River Rothay, last of the autumn leaves, White Moss

 

I've taken lots of pictures of the new path-coming soon- bookmark this blog!

There's a new path through White Moss Woods

For the last two weeks they've been working on the path from the bridge near White Moss House that crosses the river and goes up to the kissing gate leading to Loughrigg terrace.
All the rocks have been removed, all the water has been diverted off the path, and chippings have been laid. We now have a perfectly smooth 5 foot wide path, that you can ( in theory) take a wheelchair along. (Not sure how you get the wheelchair over the bridge) Also, it is still, of course, quite steep, so you would need to be pretty strong .....

Local opinion is divided as to whether this is making the whole area too bland. I think this new path is lovely- you'll be able to go on a circular jog now from White Moss House on smooth paths for a really testing circuit. The old path was tricky- the steps and rocks were uneven, muddy, and very tricky in winter when the water froze and the whole path iced over. However, there is talk of removing the kissing gate and putting in a wide gate, again, so that wheelchairs can get through. I would hate to loose that lovely old kissing gate. Maybe a new wide gate could be put alongside?

I'm hoping to get photos later of the new path. Meanwhile, just to let you know, we still have a room for this weekend see here for our last minute Grasmere special offers. The trees are looking better than anyone can remember, and the weather forecast for the weekend is outstanding.

Here's a taster of what you might see if you can get to the Lakes soon.

Autmn colours on White Moss walk

Lake District sheep- they're everywhere!

I'm always surprised when visitors mention that there were lots of sheep on their walk today. Those of us who are lucky enough to live in the Lakes rub along with these quirky creatures all the time. Visitors from cities, or from parts of the world without sheep, find this odd!

Here's a picture from last week's walk from White Moss House to Silver Howe, Grasmere.

What are you doing here?

You can see Grasmere Lake, Grasmere Village, Allan Bank and Dunmail Raise in the background. The sheep clearly felt I was on her territory!

We close for our Winter break on 5 November, but there is still time to come and see the Autumn colours which are spectacular this year, and take advatntages of our Last Minute Grasmere bed and breakfast offers.

Autumn colours on a walk from White Moss House

We're very lucky to be able to walk from our door at White Moss House, and enjoy spectacular views of lakes and fells.

This week, the trees are turning glorious colours. Here's a photo I took as I walked through Penny Rock woods down to the bridge and weir at Grasmere lake- just a 10 minute stroll from White Moss House.

White Moss walk to Grasmere shore via Penny Rock woods

With a good forecast for the weekend, we're hoping to fill our last rooms. If you can get away for a last minute break, why not stay at White Moss House, leave your car on our car park ( for residents only- free!) and set out on one of these wonderful White Moss walks.

We've just added some new Grasmere bed and breakfast special offers for this weekend. Please pass this information on if you know anyone who might be able to take advantage of our last minute offers.

Walk from White Moss House to Silver Howe

Yesterday was a brilliant autumn days in the Lakes, so we took the chance to scoot up Silver Howe. It's one of the many great walks you can do from our door.

Starting off through White Moss Woods, we met the National Trust wardens who are improving the path there. Whilst taking to them, we all saw a lovely red squirrel, then a huge stag appeared, with enormous antlers. Apparently it was bellowing like mad first thing in the morning. It's that rutting time of year, as all us fans of Autumn Watch know.

We then walked along Loughrigg Terrace, across the Red Bank Road and over to Silver Howe. Here's the cairn on the top.

Looking at Grasmere and Rydal Water from the top of Silver Howe

We then headed off down to Grasmere via Sting's house ( he wasn't there- I've yet to see him) and Allan Bank , enjoyed a drink in the sunny garden at Tweedies, then hopped on the bus back to White Moss. I know, we could have walked back easily, but we had to get back to welcome our latest guests.

The trees really are looking great, and they've got several weeks of fantastic colour still to go- one good thing about the wet year we've had.If you can spare a few days, it's a great time to visit. Check out our special rates - we'd love to see you! Here's the link to our Grasmere offers page.

Beautiful autumn weather at White Moss, Grasmere

The weather's fantastic here right now, and the hanging basket looks as good as it has all year.

We're offering excellent rates from now until we close for our winter break ( on the morning of 5th November- no bonfire significance in the date!)

You can go to our website and check the White Moss House Grasmere Special offers page.

We now also have a new White Moss House Facebook Page. If you could take a minute to visit and give it a thumbs up that would be great. You can also become a Friend and get all the up to date information and offers.

If you can't manage to visit White Moss House this year, you can now make a reservation for 2013. We're already fully booked on a few dates, so it's a good idea to plan ahead, especially if you want to organise your own houseparty with us, and take all our 5 rooms for exclusive use of the whole place.

Over 10,000 visits to this blog- lots of you are reading this!

When you blog, you're never quite sure if anyone will notice, but thank you all who have visited this page  - over 10,000 views now!

If you're free in the next 10 days to get away, would you like a great last minute offer for bed and breakfast in the Lake District?

Or maybe you're just browsing, and could take a minute to give us a "like" on our new Facebook page?

 

Grasmere from Loughrigg Terrace

After a wet couple of days ( not too bad here though- no floods), today is gorgeous and sunny. I'm just off to do this walk now,down to Grasmere Lake and then back along Loughrigg Terrace, taking my camera. The leaves are turning now- such a great time to visit White Moss House ( this photo was taken in summer)

Find out all about White Moss walks here

How to get the very best rates at White Moss House

Over on our White Moss House website special offers page I've explained how to get the very best rates at White Moss House this autumn, but I'm sharing them with you here are well. How can you be sure you're getting the best rate for your Lake District bed and breakfast booking?

Here goes;
Do you realise that you are often paying more when you make a direct online booking? This is because the online systems charge a commission, so the hotels and B & Bs put their rates up to cover this- so you might pay more than if you book directly .

However, booking directly can be confusing- what rates will they charge, are there rooms available etc?

Here's what I'm offering from now until we close for our winter break on 4 November.

1. Decide when you want to come to stay at our Lake District bed and breakfast

2.Go to the Contact Us page on the White Moss House Website, then click on the "Book Online" symbol and check to see what we have available, and the bed and breakfast rates we are offering. (These rates are per person, per night, so you need to double it to get the room rate)

3. Don't book online!

4. Email me, sue@whitemoss.com , telling me when you want to come, the price you've found, and  the room you want to book if you know which one you prefer. The rate might already have been reduced from our full usual rate.

5. I'll confirm that rate, and further reduce the total for a two night stay for two guests by an extra £10, or by £15 if you're staying 3 nights.

6. I'll need your card details to take a £50 deposit.

That's it. The best rates guaranteed.

Here's a picture of the heron I saw today flying over our garden. You might see him, or deer, or red squirrels......

The White Moss Heron on the River Rothay, Rydal, Grasmere

 

More red squirrel sightings

In the last week we've seen a red squirrel twice in the same spot, on the old road just above the White Moss Quarry car park, ( just up from where Mark, the ice cream man, has had his van for well over 30 years)

I'm taking my camera with me everytime I go that way now, in the hope that I'll finally be able to get my own red squirrel photo. I've either not had my camera with me, or when they've been in the garden, I've rushed for the camera only to find the squirrel has run off.

Guests have sometimes seen the red squirrel too- you might be lucky. This time in the autumn they're out  looking for food to store. If you want to stay with us in October, from Sunday to Thursday night, we are offering FREE NIGHTS! Stay 3 nights and have a 4th night bed and breakfast free. You can check our website for details, http://whitemoss.com/special-offers.htm.

Stone on the top of Sheffield Pike overlooking Ullswater

 

Here's an unusual Lake District photo to you. This inscribed stone is on the top of Sheffield Pike, which has great views over Ullswater. Wainwright wasn't a big fan of Sheffield Pike, but we like it, as it's always quiet and the views are great. Drive about 25 minutes from White Moss, park on the west side of Ullswater, and take this lovely walk past the quaintly named Seldom Seen onto the tops for a great autumn hike.

There must be sunshine after rain ....

One of my favourite Dire Straits songs- ( that dates me!)
Why worry,
There must be sunshine after rain,
These things will always be the same,
So why worry now?

At last, after so much rain, we're into a spell of gorgeous dry, sunny early autumn weather just perfect for walking , hiking and sightseeing in the Lakes.
For those of you planning to visit the Grasmere and Rydal area, my White Moss Walks gude is very helpful. Ideally, you would be staying at White Moss House, so that you can start the day with one of our award winning breakfasts, then leave your car in our free car park and walk from the door.

Yesterday I did the walk through Deer Bolt Woods, and, as is often the case, saw a couple of baby deer. These woods have been called Deer Bolt Woods for centuries, so today's deer are just following tradition, as are the swans who live on Swan Point, Rydal Water.

This week looked like it would be quiet, but it has filled up thanks to our special offer and the sunshine. We do still have rooms for the weekend though, and have reduced the rate. Please take a look at our White Moss House and Brockstone Grasmere cottage special offer page. Next week we thought we were 100% fully booked, but a Japanese guest has had to cancel a week, so if you can take up any nights in Room 5 from Tuesday, you can get a bargain.

Virginia Creeper on White Moss House, September 2011

The colours are already looking good- see our ancient Virginia creeper ( planted by the Wordsworths)

"Walking is therapy in boots" Not sure who said this, but it's true.Grab your boots and enjoy the early autumn sunshine.

More Autumn photos to tempt you

There's a nip in the air, and autumn is on the way. After a day of heavy rain yesterday, today is sunny and bright. Perfect hiking weather.

The offer in the last post has been extended, so it now runs from Sunday 2 September to Friday 7 September. We're very busy this week, we've only 1 room left from 10 to 14 September, but the first week in September is very quiet. Here are the details of our best ever last minute offer. It's for a three night stay, but if you can only manage two nights, email me ( sue@whitemoss.com) and I'll give you our best rates.

Here's a photo taken in early October last year-

Rydal Water from the end of Loughrigg Terrace

You could be here!

We have two special 3 night breaks available at our self catering Grasmere holiday cottage, Brockstone, with amazing views . The dates are 8, 9 and 10 September, and also 22, 23 and 24 September. The special rate for 3 nights is £290.

White Moss waterfall

Here's the waterfall at the end of White Moss House garden. This stream runs under Brockstone Cottage!

Looking forward to September in the Lake District

We're hoping for a beautiful autumn in the Lake District this year. The trees are so lush after all the rain this summer that we think the leaves are going to look great.

As a very early autumn treat, we're offering very special rates for a three night stay at the beginning of September. The children will be back at school and it's usually (!) pretty good weather.

This offer runs from Sunday 2 September to Thursday 6 September inclusive.

Rooms 1, 3 and 5, usually £354 for three nights, bed and breakfast , will be just £275

Rooms 2 and 4, usually £294 for three nights, bed and breakfast, will be just £225.

This is for two guests, including afternnon tea and home made cakes on arrival, our award winning breakfasts, and all the other White Moss extras (see our website). If it's cool, the log fire will be burning. You're welcome to paly our baby grand piano too......

This offer is subject to availabilty, and only for bookings made directly with us by phone or email.

If you can only manage 2 nights during these dates, please email me for our best offer.

This beautiful picture of Rydal Water is by David Willis for Cumbria Tourism . All rights are reserved and it must not be used without permission.

Contact us; sue@whitemoss.com    015394 35295.

Romance is in the air

I was just chatting to a lovely young couple at check out, asking them where they were going to next, and talking about their stay when he cleared his throat and looked very serious. Oh dear - was there a problem?

"We got engaged yesterday" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!! Exceiting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They got engaged by the shore of Grasmere, down by the rowing boats and the ducks. He handed his lovely lady what she thought was a handful of feed for the ducks, and it turned out to be a diamond ring.

Isn't that great? Who says that romance is dead? How wonderful !

This lovely picture of a boat on Grasmere is thanks to Cumbria Tourism, taken by David Willis. It is not for reuse without permission.

One night available Saturday 11 August

Rarer than hen's teeth- 1 night on a Saturday! Usually in the Lake District we expect to let a 2 night minimum stay at the weekends, but our special 3 night offer has been so successful that we've filled rooms during the week, and guests are leaving on Saturday morning, so we're happy to offer 1 night stays this weekend.

We've got room 1 ( now with new improved private terrace) for £118, and we also have rooms 2 or 4 for £98. This is for two guests, for 1 night, including tea and home made cakes with our compliments on arrival, our award winning breakfast, free parking, White Moss Walks, free fishing (bring your own rods) etc etc.......

A corner of Room 1 terrace

If you want to take advantage of our superb Olympic record breaking offer, stay Sunday as well. 2 nights in room 1 would be £196 (making the Sunday night just £78) or for rooms 2 and 4, it would be £156, (making the Sunday night only £58.)

Got 3 nights to spare? We've got room 5, any 3 nights up to and including Sunday 12 August, for just £264.60 instead of the usual £354.  Please take a look at our Special Offer page on our website or ring us for more details. We've actually got a good weather forecast for this week. Wow! The sun is shining in the Lake District. Perfect walking weather.

If you want to keep up with the Olympics, we do have TVs in all rooms of course. Plus, we can sell you a bottle of Coniston Bluebird beer, or a chilled bottle of wine (we have a well stocked bar) for you to drink whist cheering.

See you?

Lots going in the the Lakes right now

If you can tear yourself away from the Olympics, there are lots of good reasons to visit the Lakes right now.The Lake District Summer Music Festival is on now and runs until 12 August. You can hear wonderful music in beautiful venues. It's a real treat.

Also, running though the whole of July, is the Lake Artists Summer Exhibition in Grasmere Village Hall. This is an annual event which attracts over 10,000 visitors. You can buy a piece of very special original art work, or just browse and be amazed.

Now would be an excellent time to visit the Lakes, and stay at White Moss House, in the heart of Wordsworth's Lake District, as we have some great special offers for you. From now until 17 August, our room rates have been reduced by £20 per night! For more details, please take a look at our Special offers page on the White Moss House website. You can also email me, sue@whitemoss.com for our best quote for longer stays.

If the sun shines you could be sitting here enjoying afternoon tea and our home made Lakeland tea bread- free to all our guests on arrival.

"The Best Breakfast we've ever had"

Guests love our breakfast, and they really do often say "that's the best breakfast I've ever had!"

Everyone has their favourite bits of the breakfast. Our freshly squeezed orange juice really is squeezed by us from real oranges. Our porridge, cooked overnight in the Aga, is pretty special. The fresh fruit plate looks great- prepared with love by Peter! The kippers, Cumberland sausages and bacon form John at Cartmel Valley Game are all superb. One guests ask recently for a breakfast that "wasn't cooked with fat". Our breakfasts are cooked on a baking tray in the Aga - no fat involved, just great flavours. She was delighted! The Coddled eggs have been called "historic"!

We take care that everything is prepared to the same standard that resulted in Peter and White Moss House spending 30 years in the top rankings of the Good Food Guide when we served dinner 6 nights a week. (we've recently retired from dinners )

I read an article in the Times once where the reviewer complained that even in top hotels, the toast was often hard and cold at breakfast, or it came at the start of the meal, when he wanted it warm at the end. At White Moss House, the toast is hot, fresh toasted for you, when you want it, using locally made wholemeal toasting bread from Peggy's of Ambleside. It's perfect. Spread it with local butter and White Moss Home Made Seville Orange marmalade for a real treat.

Even our coffee wins praise. So many places have coffee sitting around on a hot plate- ugh- horrible! Our coffee is Special Mountain Coffee from tea and coffee specialists Farrers' of Kendal. It's freshly filtered and comes with hot milk. We've been told by overseas guests that our coffee is the best they've had on their trip! We certainly serve a lot of refills every day!

Anyway, why am I going on about breakfast so much? Well, we've recently joined up with Late Rooms, and they are running a "Best Kept Secrets" competition. We think our breakfast is good enough to win their "Best Breakfast" award. Of course, we need other people to vote for us and nominate us, so if you feel that you could give us a he;ping hand that would be great.

Here's the link Thanks!

Is this the best holiday cottage in the Lake District?

That's not my words, but those of our guests who just left after a 3 week stay and who want to buy our Grasmere holiday cottage if we ever decide to sell it!

The guests arriving today first stayed in April, and loved Brockstone Lake District holiday cottage so much that they rebooked for another stay as soon as they got home.

The next available week is the week beginning 25 August, which we are offering at a special rate. For more information, pictures , rates and availability please take a look at our Lake District Holiday cottage with amazing views!

Here's the view taken in January, looking towards the Langdale Pikes. In the other direction you have a view of Rydal Water. Bliss!

Otter spotted outside White Moss House!

Yesterday we were walking down the path from Brocsktone Cottage to our gate, past the White Moss waterfall, when a creature ran out of our Coach House gate, across our path about 50 yards away, and dashed towards the beck ( Dunnabeck).

I wasn't sure what it was. I wondered if it might be an otter, but I had only ever seen them in water before, and this creature had a longish, fairly furry tail. I didn't know if otters had tails at all. So, anyway, I looked for otter pictures and found that indeed they do have tails, and the pictures of them on land are exactly what I saw! So that was the first otter I'd seen apart from in a wildlife reserve. I'm thrilled!

On a more mundane note, we've had cancellations for this weekend, and are offering really good rates. Check our Special offers page or ring us on 015394 35295 for our rates and availability. It's not raining here ( at present!) and the forecast is reasonable for the next two days.

Our guests loved the Pure Lakes shampoo

At White Moss House, only the best will do, which is why we use shampoo, soap and shower gel from Pure Lakes. Made in Staveley by Sandra and Iain Blackburn from Grasmere, Pure Lakes products couldn't be more local. We recycle the containers , filling lovely little reusable bottles in the guests' bathrooms, so that no plastic is thrown away. It's green, organic, local and fantastic. A guest from Texas who was here last week has emailed me to ask for help on where to buy the shampoo she used here, as it was "the best shampoo I've have ever used"

A few years ago I had a battle ( sorry- that should probably be "useful discussion") with the AA Inspector who said that we should have those annoying little individual soaps and shampoos in tiny bottles. I said NO! We will have Pure Lakes and we will fill up the bottles. They threatened to mark us down for such heresy. This year, it seems as if we were ahead of our time. Green is good now, and the AA is happy.

For those of you who want to buy your own Pure Lakes products, here is the link to the Pure Lakes website. (I'm not on commision by the way!) My own absolutely favourite Pure Lakes product is the Rosehip and Neroli night oil. For "mature" skins such as mine, this feels fabulous, seems to make my skin look better, and it smell great too.

We do still have a few rooms available this week, and one room left for the weekend on a special 2 night weekend offer. Please ring 015394 35295 or email sue@whitemoss.com for details, or look on our  White Moss House website

Our holiday cottage with amazing views has a week available in August.

Brockstone Cottage is available for the week beginning 25 August, and we've reduced the rates for this week. We can also offer 3 night breaks if you can't stay for the week. For more details of this offer you can visit our Grasmere self catering cottage web page.

Wetherlamd the the Coniston Fells from the terrace of our Grasmere holiday cottage

Here's a picture of the terrace at Brockstone to tempt you.This was taken in January. You are looking over the Silver Howe ridge towards the Coniston Fellsl Looking the other way you see Rydal Water. It's amazing!

We also have a 3 night special break on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, 22, 23 and 24 September, at the great rate of £290 for all three days, self catering at Brocktone.

Here at White Moss House, we are offering great rates midweek from today until Thursday. Please check our Grasmere Bed and Breakfast special offers and ring or email to book.

The Olympic Torch passes White Moss House

There it goes, on top of an open air bus, in the drizzle! The torch bearer was Anthony Holden, a 71 year old hockey player from Barrow.

Three night special rates during the next two weeks.

We're now fully booked this week ( apart from a 1 night gap on Thursday). However, if you want to get the best value rates at White Moss House this summer, then the next two weeks are the time to come.

From 24 June to 8 July you can save £60 on a three night stay. This is for any three nights, for two guests sharing a room, and includes our award winning breakfasts, tea and home made cakes on arrival, and all the other little extras that our guests enjoy- free use of Langdale Leisure club, free use of fishing permits, large free car park, baby grand piano etc etc!

For more details of our special offers take a look at our website here . If you can only stay two nights, we do have a reduction for you, but it's not quite as tempting as the threee night rate.

School holidays begin the second week in July, so if you're flexible, this would be a great time to visit before the main holidays start. Here's a picture to whet your appetite for the Lakes.

 

 

 

Rydal Water, looking towards White Moss House.

This photo is the property of Cumbria Tourism and may not be reused without permission.

Great last minute rates from now until Thursday

Have you got a window in your diary this week?

The weather is supposed to be dry for the next few days, and with the light evenings it's a great time for walking.

We've had a cancellation , and so we've got a very special offer from now until Thursday 21 June ( we're fully booked Friday and Saturday 22 and 23 June)

2 nights in room 2 is just £190 ( usually £236) and 2 nights in room 2 is only £150 ( usually £196) . This is for two guests, for 2 nights, including our award winnind breakfasts and tea with home made cake on arrival.

White Moss House afternoon tea- no charge for this on arrival!

 

Here's a photo of our famous Lakeland tea bread, made to our own special recipe. You can get the recipe for White Moss Lakeland tea bread here

Please ring 015394 35295 or email sue@whitemoss.com to book at these special rates. These rates are not available via the online booking sites. To read more about White Moss House and our Grasmere specail offers please take a look at White Moss House website here.

Sunny Jubilee weather in Lakeland

We've been lucky with the weather for the Jubilee weekend. Yesterday we were so sorry to see all the rain in London, and it was a shame that the fly past had to be cancelled.In Grasmere it was cold but dry. The WI big Sunday lunch was a huge success. The 200 tickets sold out days ahead, and on the door at lunchtime I had to turn away lots of disappointed visitors who had hoped to just turn up and get a ticket on the day.

One gentleman asked if there were any ticket touts about! ( I don't think he was serious) I said ( in my best stern ex teacher's voice) "I'm sorry sir, but I don't think the WI does touting!" The Kendal brass band decided they would rather play in the village hall than in Broadgate Meadow, so the lunch was followed by a rousing Songs of Praise with everyone from the lunch being joined by large numbers of extra visitors who joined in with gusto.

I didn't take any photos, but there were lots of other people with cameras so I hope I'll be able to get some of theirs to post on the Grasmere WI website.

Here's another couple of photos that I've taken this morning in White Moss House garden. We have rooms from tomorrow for the rest of the week. If you'd like to visit, please email me , sue@whitemoss.com, for our best rates.

Diamond Jubilee at White Moss House

The rose is so old that we call it "The Wordsworth Rose" as it dates back to when the Wordsworths owned White Moss House. It has a beautiful scent right now.

This azalea is an amazing colour- a mass of blooms right now.

Today there is a recital in St Oswald's church Grasmere, at 2pm, and the beacon on Silver Howe will be lit at 10.26pm tonight. It will be sad when the Diamond Jubilee celebrations end and life goes back to normal.
BUT WAIT! We've got the Olympic Torch coming on 21 June- another special celebration!
I'll be posting a special two day break offer on the White Moss House website later today for the Olympic Torch Relay day. See you then?

Looking good for the Jubilee weekend.

The forecast isn't bad for the North West. There are lots of activities and celebrations this weekend, many of them outdoors, so fingers crossed!

We have a room left at the moment for tonight, Friday 1 June ( June already!) but are fully booked now for Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

We do have rooms from Tuesday, 5 June- please email me if you can come and enjoy the Lakes this beautiful early June.

The Bunting's out-we're ready for the Jubilee

We've hoisted a new Union Jack on the flagpole, and Jade and Peter have strung the bunting round the windows. Now we're hoping the sun will last until after the weekend.

White Moss terrace and Jubilee bunting

 

I planted the tubs last week, once the weather warmed up and the frost danger was ( hopefully) past. Now they're starting to fill out and look festive.
We've got rooms until Saturday, then we have some gaps next week. See our website for details of special offers.

White Moss House porch, bunting and the Wordsowrth orse.

Silly rates this week at White Moss House

If you can fit in a last minute break before the Bank Holiday weekend, you can stay for as little as £37 per person, per night, including welcome afternoon tea with home made cakes, and our award winning breakfast.

For details, please see the special offers page on our website.

The Wordsworth rose is blooming, everything looks beautiful- come and see!

Jubilee weekend update.

Room 4 has now been booked, and we are fully booked on Sunday and Monday, 3 and 4 June.

We do still have room 1 for Friday and Saturday, 1 and 2 June.

From tomorrow (Sunday 27th May) until Friday 1 June we can offer you special rates. Please ring or email sue@whitemoss.com for our best offer.

We've had a cancellation for the Jubilee weekend

We've just had a cancellation for the Jubilee weekend. We've now got a double room, Room 4, with a double bed, at the rate of £49 per person per night including our award winning breakfast. This is for a 3 night minimum stay.
There's lots going on in Grasmere over the weekend .Click here to find out about events in Grasmere for the Jubilee weekend.. Just outside Ambleside, there's also an excellent Music Festival at the lovely , newly refurbished Brathay Church. Click here for the details of Brathay Music Festival.

We're looking forward to a wonderful Jubilee weekend. Let's hope the sunny weather lasts! If you can get away in the week, before the weekend, we have special rates available. Please email sue@whitemoss.com, ring 015394 35295 or see our website special offers page for details.

Jopplety How- a lovely walk with great views over Derwent Water

The weather has been so good, we just had to get out and walk. With only an afternoon to spare, we went for one of our old favourites, round Jopplety Howe from Lodore, Borrowdale.
You get amazing views of Derwent Water, lovely walking by the Lodore Falls, and in the middle of the walk you can stop at the tea room at Watendlath .
In the Hugh Walpole "Rogue Herries" books, some of the characters live at Watendlath. In the old days, before the trades description act, there used to be signs on the house saying "Judith Paris lived here". If you know the books, you can work out which character lived there.

Watendlath

All good walks should end at a pub. This one ends at the Borrowdale Hotel, where the garden was very popular in the sunshine, and the beer was very welcome on a hot day.

Derwent Water from the path below Jopplety How

If you can get away before 1 June, we have rooms available at special rates, and Brockstone Cottage is also available from Saturday 26 May for a bargain week or a short break.Please look at White Moss House Special Offers page or email sue@whitemoss.com. It's quiet here right now, and the weather is spectacluar. You can hear cuckoos and skylarks on your walks, and the azaleas and rhoddies are looking brilliant.

Last room for the weekend- save £40

One room left for Friday and Saturday at £198 for 2 guests for two nights, including breakfast.
We must be mad! We're full all week apart from these 2 nights, and we just want a 100% week!
You must book direct with us for these rates. Not available via oline booking systems . ( we have to pay them lots of commission- we'd rather give the savings to you.)

Usual rate by the way is £236 for this.

email sue@whitemoss.com or ring 015394 34295

Rooms this weekend- see the rhoddies!

The rain has brought the azaleas and rhododenrons out nto full bloom. There are lots of places in the Lakes with outsanding gardens at this time of year. The National Trust garden Stagshaw at Ambleside is amazing, Holehird is lovely,and Muncaster Castle has a huge number of azaleas and rhoddies out right now.

Actually, the White Moss House garden has some lovely azaleas and rhoddies. I'll post some pictures soon, but meanwhile, we have a special offer running until the end of May- the perfect chance for a great value May break in the Lakes. Click here to see our special rates for May, or email sue@whitemoss.com to see what's available.

May Tree in full bloom

This picture was actually taken on the Jenkins Crag walk, but in 2011. The May Trees (Hawthornes) are not fully out this year yet. After a very warm March, the colder April and May mean that the blossoms are just coming to their best now, in time for your visit!

We're full this weekend- why not visit next weekend?

We're fully booked at White Moss House and Brockstone holiday cottage this weekend, but from Wednesday 9th May onwards we're offering some pretty good rates. Please look at our website for more information and special offers.

Weather report. We've had a little drizzle today, but it's sunny again now. We've had a lovely dry , sunny spell. Long may it last! We kmow we'll get the rain again, this is the Lake District after all- no rain no lakes, but we're having a beautiful Grasmere spring.

Herdiwck lamb playing hide and seek at White Moss House

Here's today's photo . I took this through my office window. I tried to go outside and get a better photo but the little thing skipped off too quickly.

Another sunny morning at White Moss House

We can't believe our luck with the weather. Guests who arrive from the south can't believe it either! They've got flooded fields in Cambridgeshire and flooded roads in Essex apparently. We have to be lucky sometime I guess.

I went out at 9am and took these photos.

White Moss terrace at 9am on a sunny Thursday

Sunshine and sun umbrellas on White Moss House terrace. We're fully booked Friday and Saturday at White Moss House, but our lovely self catering cottage Brockstone , Grasmere holiday cottage with amazing views is still available. It's £390 for 3 nights over the weekend, or £590 for a week. It's a great last minute bargain! Spend May Bank Holiday in this beautiful location.

I also took these pics of an orange tip butterfly on the aubretia half an hour ago. Heavenly!

Yellow tipped butterfly White Moss House

I tried to get closer, but the butterfly kept flying off. I've just checked a buttefly website for identification and it says that yellow tipped butterflies are very hard to photograph as they rarely settle on plants, so I've not done badly.

We've got very special rates for the week after the Bank Holiday. Please check our website for details.

Very special offers 6-13 May

If you can get away for a short break next week we are offering very low rates. It's a quiet week immediatley after the Bank Holiday, so for anyone who is flexible, now is the time to come.
Find the rates on our Special Offer page on our website.

Those of you in the South, who've had rain and floods in the last week or so may not realise that the Lakes have been sunny and dry! Yes really! The bluebells are looking good, the azaleas and rhododendrons are coming out, and the days are long- perfect waking weather. Here are the White Moss Walks- walks from White Moss House to remind you of why this is such a great place to stay for walking from the door. Walk the walks that Wordsworth walked every day.

I like to put a picture on my blog, and today's is of the bluebells in the White Moss garden.

Bluebells at White Moss House

 

 

 

 

 

You can just catch a glimpse of Rydal water in the background. There are lots more bluebells in White Moss woods, Rydal woods and on the path from White Moss House to Grasmere Lake. Come and see them!

May Bank Holiday Weekend

At White Moss House we're fully booked for the Friday and Saturday of the Bank Holiday weekend, 4 and 5 May. We do have rooms for the Sunday and Monday.

If you're hoping to get away and haven't yet booked however, we can offer you our lovely salf catering cottage Brockstone Grasmere holiday cottage for the weekend. The guests who left this morning can't wait to come back. The guests who left last week have already rebooked. Take a look at Brockstone Cottage via this link- are you able to take up our special offer?

Stay 3 nights over the weekend for just £390 , four nights for £450. If you wish to have breakfast at White Moss House any day, we can arrange that for you at the special rate of £10 per person. It's a 5-10 minutes walk up and down a beautiful footpath between White Moss House and the holiday cottage.

 

Brockstone Holiday cottage perched on the hill above Rydal Water

 I took this picture earlier this month. The trees are a little greener now, but we still have a beautiful clear blue sky today. White Moss House is just out of sight at the bottom of the hill from the cottage. The photo is taken from White Moss viewpoint, one of the many wonderful short walks from White Moss and Brockstone.

Little black herdwick lambs invading

Herdwick lambs in White Moss House garden.

This isn't a great photo I admit. I'll try to get a better one later. These are the little creatures that were making an enormous row first thing this morning. The lambs and mum had come into our garden, as they do every year, then mum had wandered off leaving the lambs. It's amazing that she can ignore the ear splitting bleating. They managed to drown out the dawn chorus, and were certainly lounder than my alarm clock.

I've rung the farmer to let him know that we've become a lamb sanctuary. He'll come and take a look apparently, which may mean that they don't come back again.........

If you're interested in the Herdwicks, our Cumbrian native sheep, I have written an article about Herwick sheep here. Most of the lambs are black, with the odd white mark. Today's visitors had little white ears. Very sweet. They become the usual Herdwick grey as they get older.

The weather here is beautiful again. The rain that came up from the south yesterday has gone, and it's perfect walking weather. We still have rooms this weekend, so ring or email us for our best rates if you can get away for a last minute break. 015394 35295 or sue@whitemoss.com for our last minute special offers.

Sunny again - come for the weekend!

We still have rooms for today and tomorrow at special rates- a saving of £40.See our website for details..

We've just let Brockstone Cottage for the week from tomorrow, at great rates for a last minute break. The guests will love it there, especially if the weather stays like this. To find more about our Grasmere holiday cottage and to see our special offers tale a look at our holiday cottage page here.

Yesterday we walked round Rydal Water, admired Rydal Hall gardens yet again, and had a great home made carrot and lentil soup for lunch as at the tearooms. £3.90- a great lunch out! This walk is on our doorstep, and we sometimes take it for granted, but it's just beautiful. Here's my description with pictures and directions for the walk round Rydal Water from White Moss

Here's a picture of Rydal Hall tea room,( thanks to Cumbria Tourism, not for reuse)

Come and stay this weekend at great rates.

It's lovely and sunny here in the Lake District right now. Yes, we do have the odd shower, but the skies are mostly blue, and bluebells are looking pretty, and the azaleas and rhododendrons are coming out.

There are lots of wonderful gardens to visit that look brilliant right now. Holehird near Windermere is run by the Lakes Horticultural Society and is a hidden gem . Sizergh Castle grounds are always amazing. I love visiting Sizergh- well worth the National trust membership charge.

Anyway, if you can stay this Friday and Saturday, 20 and 21 April, two of you can stay from only £155. That's for two nights, for two guests, and includes our welcome tray of tea and homemade cakes by the log fire in the Wordsworth Lounge. If you prefer one of our larger rooms, the rate is £195. More information on our website here. This offer is only available for direct bookings made by phone (015394 35295) or email sue@whitemoss.com. This is not available through any online booking system

Sizergh Castle Cherry avenue

Out in the garden in the sunshine

It's still sunny here in the Lakes, so we're taking the opportunity to clean and freshen up the outside garden furniture so that guests can enjoy their complementary tea and home made cakes on arrival on our lovely terrace this summer.

White Moss House Terrace. Perfect for your complimentary tea and home made cakes on arrival.

For walkers, the White Moss walks from the door are a great introduction to their stay in the Lakes. I've got 6 walks from White Moss House here for you to read and print

Don't forget to check our website for our Grasmere bed and breakfast special offers updated daily.
See you soon?

It's been a good morning here at White Moss.

Firstly, it's dry and sunny again, which always make us cheerful.

Then the guests who had stayed at our self catering cottage , Brockstone for the week were so happy and enthusiatic about how marvellous the cottage is- the views, the location, the facilities, everything! Apparently a little boy who'd been walking by along the "coffin road" from Grasmere said to them how lucky they were to be living in such a wonderful place! They said that sadly, they were only there for a week, but were certainly  very lucky to be there.

Then the post came, and it brought a lovely card from guests who stayed over Easter, thanking us for a wonderful break. That was so nice. We are all now feeling really cheerful!

We're quiet in the next few days. We've got some really great last minute special offers if you can get away before 21 April. If you can't get away quite so quickly, please email me with the dates you want and we'll give you our very best rates. sue@whitemoss.com willl find me.

Red Squirrels and bluebells

I drew back the curtains this morning and there was a red squirrel bouncing around in the bluebells in the woodland garden at White Moss House.
If you stay with us, you should be able to catch a glimpse of these pretty creatures, provided you've got plenty of patience. They're around all the time right now.

For the next few weeks, we're offering short breaks at our Grasmere self catering cottage, Brockstone.. Lots of people wonder "who owns that cottage on the coffin road?" and "can I rent the cottage on the hill above Rydal Water?" Well, it's ours, and it can be yours for a week or a short break.

Please email me sue@whitemoss.com, giving me the dates you want, and I'll give you our best weeks. This offer runs from 14 April to 19 May.

Afternoon tea on arrival with home made Lakeland tea bread

When guests arrive at White Moss House, we offer them tea and home made cakes with our compliments- no charge! Over Easter, guests have loved sitting by the log fire in the Wordsworth lounge, relaxing after their journey to the Lakes, planning what to do during their stay .

Our home made Lakeland tea bread is very popular. There are lots of recipes for this traditional Lake District recipe, and I'm not claiming that our version is better than any other, but let's just mention that whenever I make it for a Grasmere WI tea it gets praise and compliments!

White Moss House complimentary welcome  afternoon tea with Lakeland teabread.

We've had a very busy Easter weekend, but it now goes quiet for a little while, with the week after the schools go back, 15 to 21 April, looking like a really good time to visit if you want to avoid the crowds.We have some great bed and breakfast special offers between now and 21 April. If you visit and bookmark this page you'll get the daily updated last minute rates from White Moss House.

I sometime wonder if anyone reads my blog, so I was delighted that one of our local Red Squirrel Proctection Team ( I don't know if that's their official name, but it sounds good) told me that he'd read on my blog about how we see red squirrels every day here at White Moss House. He confirms that the squirrel cam that we have in the White Moss garden is showing a lot of red squirrel activity. You might get the chance to see one of these pretty little creatures if you visit us.

Primroses, violets, and a great view of Brockstone and Rydal Water

It's been a glorious day in the Lake District. Clear blue skies. However, out of the sun is was about 8 degrees- last week it was about 18 degrees.

I wandered around for an hour leaving White Moss House, going up the path to Brockstone, out on to White Moss view point and back. Here are a few pictures I took today.

Rydal Primroses by the path from White Moss to Brockstone Cottage

Wood anemones by Dunnabeck stream on the coffin route to Rydal

Little wild violets by Brockstone on the coffin road.

From White Moss view point I took a picture that shows our self catering cottage, Brockstone, perched up on the side of the hill, ovelooking Rydal Water. The lake was incredibly blue. Wordsworth called Rydal Water " a fair sister of the sky", and today I could see exactly what he meant.

Brockstone is the speck on the left by the trees.

Brockstone has weeks available in April and May for self catering in the gorgeous spot. We've knocked £100 off the usual rate. For more information read all about Brockstone Grasmere self catering cottage here.
We also have offers after Easter at White Moss House , whic hyou can find on our White Moss House website