Brockhole on Lake Windemere, England

Quick Overview:

Two days of sheer pleasure. Brockhole on Windermere is wonderful to visit and take part in some great activities with the help and support of well-trained, helpful staff. My learning point was checking the map before venturing over one of the top 10 most dangerous roads in the UK. However, it got us to our evening destination, a lovely old hotel on the seaside at Seascale where the food and drink were excellent.

Why did we go here?

We always enjoy being by water and as Lake Windermere is the largest natural lake in England, was interesting and we were not disappointed. We had already had an amazing time in Wales, especially in the majestic scenery of Snowdonia. The BMW1250 was being put through its paces with two of us plus all of our luggage and the Lake District was on route to Scotland, making it an ideal place to visit.

We wanted to do something different, and when I saw the Brockhole on Windermere sign as we were driving past, we stopped and check it out. We are so pleased we did as it is full of activities, lovely views and wonderfully relaxing.

It soon became apparent, however, that because Brockhole is so popular we should have pre-booked things which we did for the following day. This is when I made a slight mistake, as we had initially decided to camp further north. However, given that we would have quite a vigorous day the following day, we decided to stay in a hotel. The mistake I made was booking a hotel through Bookings.com that was said to be just 25 miles away.

Given the performance of the motorcycle and the fact that we had been on some great roads until now, I thought that would not take long. I omitted to realise that the route would take us over Hardknott Pass, considered to be one of the top ten most tough roads in the UK. There would be no making up time., Hardknott Pass is beautiful and my passenger, a seasoned pillion passenger that has travelled with me over thousands of miles, thoroughly enjoyed the exhilarating ride. However, for the 1 in 3s I could occasionally hear her catch her breath. I would add this is definitively a route not to be taken by the fainthearted or the inexperienced.

The hotel I had booked was Calder House, plenty of safe parking for the motorcycle, restaurant and bar on the basement floor, and thoroughly enjoyable. Although further than I would have wanted to travel.

Where did we stay?

The hotel I had booked was Calder House, Seascale, on the coast. There was plenty of safe parking for the motorcycle, restaurant and bar on the basement floor, and thoroughly enjoyable. Although further than I would have wanted to travel. I will remember for the future that 26 miles in the Lake District could mean closer to an hour and a half because of the mountain’s roads. But the location had it not been for the need to travel back to Brockhole the following day would have been an idea.

What was the climate like?

For June, the weather was perfect. Our journey so far had meant although occasionally overcast had been dry and, with the temperature during the day a pleasant 17 degrees, we were very comfortable. At night, the temperature dropped significantly, but with longer daylight hours in the UK, it was not an issue.

Where did we eat?

We ate in the evenings in the bar/restaurant of the Seascale Hotel. The food was excellent, and it is always nice to wash it down with a pint of beer or two at the end of a great day. Breakfast was also very good and set us up for the day.

Lunch was at Brockhole on Windemere, but as breakfast had been so substantial, we only had a light bite whilst we enjoyed all the things that we did. However, on site there are three cafes. Two are takeaways and the other is in the house.

What did we do?

We wanted to do everything, the archery, Krazy carts, laser clay shooting, mini golf, kayak tour, Brave the Cave and so it goes on. There is so much to do. But we had opted to enjoy the gardens, the treetop trek and hire a boat to get out on the lake.

The boat was fantastic. We booked an hour, but could easily have been out of the water for much longer. The boats are excellent and there are simple instructions before you set off. The great thing is the freedom to explore the lake.

Afterwards we were off to the Treetop Trek. I loved it. You start off at about 10 metres and once you have mastered that section, you can go on to the 30 metres. That was certainly a sweaty palm moment, but I was pleased to get round. My partner had also wanted to have a go. Surprised, heights are not usually her thing. I reminded myself that she had done Hardknott pass the day before we booked it.

From the word go, the nerves took over. She managed one and then two crossings, but the further out she went, the worse the nerves got. Until after about the 5 trek out from the main trees, she could go no further. I totally understood, but this is where great staff make things easy and here were great staff. With a huge amount of patience and skill, they coaxed her back to firm ground. It was excellent that she tried and have total respect for the staff who helped her get her feet back on the ground again.

Photography:

The whole of the Lake District is just beautiful. Lake Windermere by boat or walking round the outskirts just offers great photographic opportunities all the time. We wished we had been earlier crossing Hardknott Pass as there are a lot of photographic opportunities here and we will return one day to take some shots. Just take your camera, or as in my case, my cell phone, and you will get some amazing pictures.