Exciting Times in Grasmere coming up

You may think of Grasmere as a sleepy rural backwater, but for the next 10 days those of us who are lucky enough to live here will be hosting visitors from around the world to a series of great events.


On Sunday, 28 August the world famous Grasmere Sports and Show has its big day. Fell races, wrestling, hound trails, stalls, demos, a band..... a full day's entertainment . It's been going for over 150 years. Don't miss Grasmere Sports this Sunday!

The following weekend sees the return of the Grasmere Guzzler Beer Festival, now in its 10th year. Held at Tweedies, Dale Lodge, this free event is a huge draw. There are lots of wonderful craft beers and ciders, great live music, good food and a wonderful atmosphere. Starting on Friday Saturday 2 September, until Sunday 4 September ( by which time many of the beers will have been drunk dry) this is a great event. We love it! Check out their Facebook Page here  for more information.

As if that wasn't enough, the next day, Monday 5 September, sees the Tour Of Britain Cycle race head into Grasmere, where there is a sprint finish. This is around 2pm, so get into the village in good time to enjoy this top event. There will be 3 Team GB Olympic Medallists zooming though if you can spot them- Sir Bradley Wiggins, Owain Doull and Mark Cavenidish, along with other top road race stars from around the world.

So there you have it- 3 great events coming to Grasmere very soon.

PS- there is one smaller event which also promises to be an interesting evening. On Wednesday 31 August, Jenn Ashworth comes to the Tithe Barn , Grasmere ( opposite the church) at 8pm to talk about and read from her latest novel, Fell. This is what the Guardian says about this book- pretty impressive. Organised by Sam Reads famous bookshop, Grasmere  this is a free event , well worth a visit if you can make it.

Our Grasmere holiday cottage gets a superb review.

Our Grasmere holiday cottage, Brockstone, has just been given a really superb review. Thank you very much kind guests! The review is posted on the HomeAway website, but here it is for you to read.
"

Beautiful cottage in stunning location

• *****
   5 of 5

We have rented many cottages over the years, but have to say that this was the most special yet. The cottage itself, recently renovated, was perfect with all the facilities one could want: a very well equipped kitchen, lovely sitting room with wood burning stove; two very comfortable bedrooms; plenty of hot water and efficient heating (that we turned on for the one day when the not so warm English summer walk had left us feeling a bit chilly!).

Then there are the views: sitting on the terrace in front of the house looking over Loughrigg Fell and down to Rydal Water was truly inspiring. No wonder Wordsworth spent so much of his time here...

The location is great: turning right out of the cottage for a 15 minute walk into Grasmere; or left down to Rydal, and a quick few minutes straight down to White Moss. It did mean that we could leave the car behind on several occasions as we set out to explore, including lovely walks around Grasmere Lakeand Rydal Water, and up to Buckstones Jump for a (quick) dip.

The cottage's owners, Sue and Peter, couldn't have been more welcoming and helpful with suggestions and tips for making the week all the more enjoyable. All in all, a quite wonderful week in an incredibly special spot "

Excellent! Thank you!

Following on from the last blog "who reads my blog", I was amazaed to see than on one day this week this humble blog had received 3,762 views. Inexplicable to me- something must have sparked this off. Or maybe Blogger's stats are wrong. Hey ho, all good fun

Here are another couple of pictures from our Grasmere holiday cottage . The first available date that you could stay here is now 8 October 2016.

Who reads my blog?

Who reads my blog? The surprising answer this week is that people in Saudi Arabia have been reading my Lake District blog in their hundreds. I've no idea why, and it seems like a one day spike, but thank you Saudi readers.

News from the Lakes is that this summer has seen an influx of visitors, with many of the shops, hotels and tourist attractions reporting high volumes of trade. After the desolation of Storm Desmond this is very welcome, and it's a credit to all those who have spread the message that the Lake District and the whole of Cumbria is open for business and looking forward to welcoming visitors.

If you haven't visited the Lakes for a few years you would notice some changes. The landscape obviously remains the same, but there are subtle changes in the towns and villages. Our son, (who grew up here) was recently visiting from London, and commented on the plethora of excellent new cafés, delicatessens featuring wonderful local produce, bars with local craft beers, shops selling proper local crafts ( not tat or tut), musical events, theatre and a general good buzz about the area.

If you have a week free from 27 August, you can still book to stay at Brockstone, our Grasmere cottage with amazing views. This week has bee reduced from £890 to £790 for last minute bookings. The added bonus is that you would be able to visit Grasmere Sports on Sunday, 28 August. 

 The ground floor of the cottage has been completely refurbished this year- here are a few taster pictures.

and the kitchen is new too

If you can't fit a break in in August, our next available dates are from 8 October. October half term and New Year are already booked, but we have other dates free throughout the winter, when we are happy to offer short breaks rather than the usual one week stay.

Is Brockstone Cottage the most perfect Lake District Holiday Cottage? Amazing views, traditional cottage, away from neighbours yet within a mile of Grasmere village , all modern conveniences, yet still retaining the special characteristics of a 200 year old cottage................ ? We think it's pretty special, and so do our guests.

We were delighted when the lovely guests who stayed last week told us "we have stayed in many cottage over the years, and Brockstone is without doubt the best we have ever stayed in"

You can find Brockstone Grasmere Cottage on Facebook, and on the HomeAway website (you won't now find us on Holiday Lettings/Trip Advisor as they are very keen to persuade guests to book via their site and charge them extra for that- we don't like that policy so we've pulled out)