Photos and the City

Tag: England

Lowther Castle

It was time to leave the Lake District and England, but before crossing the borders to Scotland I just had to do two more stops. Just a short drive from Pooley Bridge lies the Lowther Castle.

The roots of Lowther Castle go back to the 14th century, when Edward III granted Sir Hugh de Lowther a charter to enclose a 200 acre tract of land for a deer park beside the River Lowther. Sir Hugh built a motte and bailey fortification beside the river, but later in the 14th century this was replaced by a pele tower to better defend against Scottish raides from north of the border. (Britainexpress)

In 1691 the medieval building was torn down and replaced with a Jacobean residence which was mostly destroyed by a fire in 1718 and remained mostly a ruin until 1806 when architect Robert Smirke created an impressive new house in the style of a medieval castle, incorporating the ruined house. Smirke later designed the British Museum in London.

The house was closed in 1936 and became an empty shell when the roof was removed in 1957 and it took about 70 years until a charitable trust started a huge restoration and the castle was opened for the public in 2011.

The castle itself looks like out of a fairytale and it´s a shame that I didn´t have more time to explore the gardens they must be stunning.

02/10/2018
Ullwater Steamers

I continued along the Ullswater until I reached the charming Glenridding and the pier of the Ullswater steamers. Founded in 1855 the oldest one of their five steamboats was launched in 1877. “The Lady of the Lake” is probably the oldest working passenger ferry in the world and I was on it!

From Glenridding, I took the boat back to Pooley Bridge, this time I could enjoy the boat trip without rain and the view just was amazing! The company wasn´t that bad either!

The company originally transported workers, mail and grocery between the Greenside Mine at Glenridding and the village of Pooley Bridge and changed to pleasure rides later on.

From the new pier in Pooley Bridge, it´s just a short walk into the village. Pooley Bridge (like many other cities in Cumbria) was severely damaged by the floods in December 2015 caused by Storm Desmond. The historic stone bridge, which gave the village its name, collapsed on December 6th 2015 and Pooley Bridge was cut off for several months until a replacement bridge was installed in March 2016. A new bridge is still to be built.

Right next to the (temporary) bridge are some cafés, pubs and restaurants and they were definitely busy! I also enjoyed the view (and tea) from Granny Dowbekins Tearooms, they have such a nice garden & terrace looking over the river and bridge

27/09/2018
Aira Force

After breakfast at my hotel in Pooley Bridge, I walked for a minute to the bus stop and enjoyed the short drive to Aira Force. And on the short walk to the waterfall, I was greeted by this lovely elephant – aka tree.

Aira Force provides a glimpse of a landscaped Victorian park with dramatic waterfalls, arboretum and rocks scenery. The main force falls 70 feet from below a stone footbridge and is on land owned by the National Trust.

In the 1780’s the Howard family of Greystoke Castle had an old hunting lodge or Pele tower close to the Ullswater shore renovated into what is now Lyulph’s Tower, set among its own sporting estate. They landscaped the area around the force, and used it as a pleasure garden, planting over half a million native and ornamental trees, and established a network of tracks, footpaths and bridges.

In 1846 the Howards created an arboretum below Aira Force, planting over 200 specimen conifers (firs, pines, spruces and cedars) from all over the world, including a Sitka Spruce now 118 feet high.

(Visitcumbria.com)

Gowbrrow Park, including Aira Force, was bought by the National Trust in 1906 to save the area after it had gone on the market for housing plots. Aira Force was a well-loved subject for his poems by William Wordswort.

After a short coffee break in the cutest company, I started my walk along the Ullswater Way towards Glenridding. The Ullswater Way is a 20 miles long tour around the lake. The section between Aira Force and Glenridding is about 3 miles long and easy to manage – even I didn´t get lost or out of breath.

The Way now passes through the ancient woodland of Glencoyne Deer Park. Most famously, Glencoyne Wood was the place where, in 1802, William and Dorothy Wordsworth saw daffodils by the lakeshore. The encounter is described in detail in a celebrated entry in Dorothy’s Grasmere Journal and inspired William Wordsworth to write his most famous poem “I wandered lonely as a cloud, That floats on high o’er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.” (Ullswater.com)

Already saying hi to my ride back to Pooley Bridge, but I still had a little bit of walk before me….

25/09/2018