Rydal reflections- as described by Wordsworth

These are lines from William Wordsworth about Rydal Water

"Like a fair sister of the sky
Unruffled doth the blue lake lie
The mountains looking on..."

Here's a photo I took on my phone on this glorious morning-

Rydal Water- perfect reflections on a November morning

I think you can see what Wordsworth meant. The sky and the lake were a perfect blue. What a day! The snowy tops of the Grasmere Fells can be seen in the background.

Here are a few more pictures from my short walk around Rydal Water. More about this walk can be found on this webpage which I wrote some time ago.

Rydal Water reflectios with the Fairfield Ridge in the background on a crisp November morning

The contrast between the sunny side of Rydal Water and the frosty side this morning- the sheep are on the cold side!

White Moss woods- the sun peeps through at the start of this morning's walk.

All these photos were taken on my simple mobile. You can see why photographers so love this area. If you start with such great raw material, add a really good camera and some professional skill, you can produce really wonderful photos.

The guests who are staying at our Grasmere holiday cottage, Brockstone at the moment are from the USA. They asked in advance what the weather might be like. I suggested it might, perhaps, be a little rainy in November.....oh ye of little faith! It's sun, sun ,sun all the way in the Lakes...long may it last!

Bluebells everywhere

Has there ever been a better year for bluebells?

Yesterday was warm and sunny, so we set off round Rydal Water. For once I remembered my camera. Here are a few of the photos from this wonderful walk round Rydal Water from White Moss or Brockstone Cottage.


Bluebells, White Moss Woods.

Along Rydal Water- looking over to Brockstone Lakes Holiday Cottage (that blob on the hillside)

Bluebells in Rydal Woods ( I know they look similar, but you can see Rydal Water in the background)

Dora's field at Rydal, is famous for its daffodils, but right now it's full of ...................

Yes- you've guessed correctly.

We headed back along the coffin route, and at one point Peter climbed on a log to look over the wall to the left. We often nose about looking for squirrels, fallen trees, anything interesting, and here, hidden from view, was an amazing small field absolutely full of bluebells.

Mossy wall in front, field of perfect bluebells hidden from the path by the wall.

Should you have a spare week from Saturday, we've reduced the rate for our cottage ( just a few minutes walks from these bluebells) to £550. The week from 19 May is also just £550 now. These last minute offers are excellent value. For more information you can see our other website  or more articles that I've written via this link to our Grasmere holiday cottage with amazing views.

A welcome cup of tea overlooking Rydal Water on our Lakes cottage terrace

Our Lakes Holiday Cottage, Brockstone, doesn't have any guests staying this week, so we've taken the chance to do some gardening there- mostly pruning and cutting back. Everything seems to be growing there right now, (including the snowdrops which are lovely, and the daffodils that are just coming out.)

We took a very well earned cup of tea on the terrace. You can see Rydal Water down below in the background. You could have this view next week! The cottage is available at just £290 for a 4 night midweek stay, or £290 for a 3 night weekend stay. If you can stay a week, it's £450.

Not great photos technically, but you get the picture!

Reasons to be cheerful, even though it's January.

Walking round Rydal Water today I met a man who said "aren't we lucky- it's dry and there's a hint of sun". After so much bad weather, that was indeed a reason to be cheerful. Having such great walks on the doorstep is another, though as this man was from Buckinghamshire he wasn't a lucky local like me.

Here's a photo from the path just by Rydal Caves, taken this afternoon.

Rydal Water looking over to White Moss House and Brockstone, our Lake District Holiday cottage

Here's a description of the walk round Rydal Water if you would like to get more idea of the wonderful walks from White Moss and from our holiday cottage .We have guests there who have booked to rent the cottage for the whole of January. We were concerned that the wet weather might be daunting, but as they are from Chicago where it's been -20 C, they are very happy with the mild weather we're getting here.

The cottage is booked until 27 February, but if you want to book if for a week between then and the end of March, and can pay in full before the end of January, the rate will be only £490 per week ( usually £550). This includes all laundry, heating etc.

One more reason to bee cheerful- a lovely little red squirrel keeps popping up in our garden. I thought they would be hibernating at this time of year, but this one is bright and breezy. I never have the camera to to hand at the right time, but I WILL get a photo soon.

BTW, if you're in Grasmere tomorrow, Thursday 9 January, why not come to the Grasmere WI Open meeting at 2.30 pm in the Tithe Barn. Only £3 for a fascinating talk, tea, cakes and raffle. More details about Grasmere W I here.

Stay in our Lake District cottage this spring and save £60

Are you looking for a break in the Lake District for a week between 27 February and 29 March 2014? If so, Brockstone Cottage, on the famous "coffin road" walk from Rydal to Grasmere may be perfect for you.

• Great Views
• Woodland Garden
• Two bedrooms
• All modern comforts
• Spa Bath
• Well equipped
• Log Fire
• Superb walks from the door,- easy strolls or high fells
• South facing- if there is sun, Brockstone gets it all day and all evening.

If you can book and pay in full before 30 January, the rate for a week will be £490 instead of the advertised £550.

We might be able to offer short breaks- please contact us for a quote.

Lunch on the terrace in January at Brockstone Lake District holiday cottage

This is the view from the terrace looking west. You can catch a glimpse of Sergeant Man over the Silver Howe Ridge. Look the other way and you get a lovely view of Rydal Water.

Route planning with Rydal Water in the background.

A view in summer looking south east. You can see Rydal Water and Loughrigg in the background.

3 pretty wild flowers from today's walk round Rydal Water

Don't rush along , only looking at the lake and hills, lovely though they are. Look down and see the wild flowers peepeing out from under leaves. Here's what I saw walking from White Moss House round Rydal Water today.

Today we saw wild violets.....

Wild violets near White Moss House

and celandines (Monty Don loves celandines)

Celandines, White Moss

and most beautiful of all
wild primroses

Primroses by the stream by White Moss House

We're fully booked for the Bank Holiday weekend, but have some great 3 night rates in May, especially for midweek stays. Click here to check our rates and availabilty  then email me if you would like to book direct rather than by filling in the online form. It might save you another £2, £5, £10 or even more for direct bookings.(depending on how busy we are/ how generous I'm feeling)

For more about the walk round Rydal Water follow this link for a detailed guide with photos of the Rydal Water walk.

You will pass by Brockstone Cottage- and you can stay here for a week from 11 May. We have already reduced the rate to £690 for the week, but if you would like to book a full week right now  (and the forecast is good), we can let it to you for just £590. Contact me asap. sue@whitemoss.com or 015394 35295.

It's nearly 200 years since Wordsworth moved to Rydal Mount

White Moss House is situated halfway between William Wordsworth's two famous homes, Dove Cottage, Grasmere and Rydal Mount in the village of Rydal.

It was in May 2013 that Wordsworth moved to Rydal Mount, and he lived there until his death in 1850 at the age of 80. The village of Rydal is celebrating this event on 4 May 2013. You can read more about this here.

Visitors come to stay with us at White Moss House from all over the world to get a piece of the Wordsworth experience. We believe that White Moss House is the only house that Wordsworth owned where guests can stay. The Wordsworth family owned White Moss House until the 1930s. We have lived here for 33 years now, and although it may sound a little pretentious, we do really feel that we are holding onto and passing along a slice of history. We have deeds signed by William Wordsworth- how wonderful is that!

Here's a picture of Rydal Mount, courtesy of David Willis and Cumbria Tourism, not for reuse without permission of Cumbria Tourism.

Visitors to White Moss House can stroll along Rydal Water to Rydal Mount. Why not follow the Walk around Rydal Water from White Moss that I've published here?

You can check our website ( link on the right) to see our rates and availabilty.

Walking round Rydal Water from White Moss House or Brockstone

Yesterday the weather was beautiful- again! We decided jobs could go on hold, and we set off from White Moss, up to Brockstone Holiday Cottage, overlooking Rydal Water, and then on to Rydal, where we had our favourite Carrot and Coriander soup sitting outside in the sun at Rydal Hall tearooms. We then walked around Rydal Water , past Rydal Caves, then along Lughrigg Terrace and down to Grasmere, then back to White Moss House. You can follow this walk by looking at this Guide to walking the Rydal Round. Feel free to download it. Leave me a message if you like!

We are so lucky to have this walk on our doorstep. If you would like a short break before Easter, so that you too can do this walk, we have reduced the week of 23 to 30 March in Brockstone Cottage from £820 to £620. We are also offering breaks of three nights or more from 15 to 30 March at our lovely holiday cottage which you can see here on Holiday Lettings/Trip Advisor. Please email me ( sue@whitemoss.com) with your preferred dates and I'll give you our best offer.

Here are some photos I took yesterday in the gardens of Rydal Hall. I was amazed to see so many different flowers in bloom .

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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

2012 bookings rolling in- from Australia

This year we've had lots of Australian guests, and 2012 looks like being the same. The Aussie dollar is very strong right now, and it seems that lots of Aussies are taking the chance to visit the UK whilst the pound is at bargain basement rates.

The flights must be on sale now at attractive rates, as we are now getting lots of bookings for May 2012 from down under.I don't think there will be many of us heading in the opposite direction right now ! Amazing how things turn around. It doesn't seem that long ago that Australian holidays were great value for us in the UK.

Closer to home and more immediate- we have offers on our website from now until we take our winter break in November. See our special Grasmere bed and breakfast offers here.

We are fully booked this week, but we do have rooms still for the half term weeks- children very welcome. Please email sue@whitemoss.com for our best quotes if you want to bring the family. This really is a great time of year to visit Grasmere and the Lake District. Everything looks even more beautiful than ever.

Rydal Water from White Moss Viewpoint

Red squirrels seen every day for three days.

Here is the Lake District we love our red squirrels. We've seen red squirrels every day for the last three days on our daily walks from White Moss House. They've been frolicking about in the trees. I saw one rolling over and  jumping around on a branch, seemingly just having fun.

There are lots of hazelnuts now, so maybe they are storing their food supplies for winter. If you've only ever seen grey squirrels, ( big ugly things to my mind) you might be surpiresed by how small, pretty and dainty the reds are. Beatrix Potter loved Squirrel Nutkin, and as you probably know, she lived just 8 miles away from us here at White Moss House.

I'm delighted to hear from our guests that they've been reading all my Guides to the Lake District, and have printed out my guide to White Moss Walks. Today they are doing "walk 5" the walk round Rydal Water.The sun's come out at last after all the wind and rain, and it's just lovely here. We're pretty busy right now, but we do have a room for a one night stay this Saturday, 17 September, so if you can get away, take a look at our website for our best offers.