Travel - Coachman's Cottage, The Lake District
August 26, 2014
Ben and I never know what to buy each other for Christmas so for the past few years we've decided to go away instead just after New Year. It's lovely to start the year off with a trip and prices are normally low in January so you can stay in gorgeous places for a fraction of the price they would be in high season. So around the end of summer I set about looking for a cosy cottage in the UK to book. Given that our winter's are either freezing cold or soaking wet, I try to find somewhere that we would want to spend time in cosying up, it must have a log burner and ideally a roll top bath (hence the name of this blog). I think when you've spent a lot of time and effort choosing interiors for your own home, going away should never be a step down from where you live. Some people take the attitude that they won't spend a lot of time in accommodation whereas for me having a nice place to go back to at the end of the day makes a holiday extra special. Finding a boutique gorgeous hotel can be fairly easy but finding a boutique gorgeous cottage is not. A lot of the holiday cottages for rent online are pretty shocking and basic, some perfectly adequate but if you really dig around you can find some that are pretty special.
We chose the Lakes last January, it's somewhere that is fairly wet and chilly all year round compared to say Cornwall that's more suited for summer holidays. I found Coachman's Cottage on the Guardian website after a lot of research and fell in love with it. We nicknamed it the White Cottage, nearly everything was white even the floors were white washed yet it had a real warmth rather than being clinical. I joked that the owner's must have shares in The White Company as every piece of china, all the bedding, pillows and even the cutlery was from there. The cottage was filled with glossy magazines, candles and flowers. I think I died and went to heaven for the week we were there.
We went out for big walks during the day but come late afternoon we shut all the curtains, cooked yummy dinners and lounged out next to the log burner watching movies.
We could have stayed 'home' in the cottage all week and if it had been pouring with rain all week we probably would have done but it was fairly dry the whole time we were there and of course it would have been a sacrilege to not go and explore England's largest area of outstanding beauty.
On our first day we arrived in Windermere, starting with a wander around the town looking in the cute shops {I recommend Scarlett Ribbon, The Attic and Forget me Not} then walked up to the famous Orrest Head with views of Lake Windermere and the mountains from the top. We stocked up on food supplies for the week from Booths supermarket {a posher version of Waitrose with lots of local products}. Then we headed to the cottage and settled down for the rest of the afternoon and evening planning out the rest of the week.
The next day, fresh and ready for more exploring we drove to Tarn Hows, an iconic tarn owned by the National Trust. It was so quiet, we only saw one other couple the whole time we were there but I guess it must be busier at weekends. We did a loop of the lake, it was stunning. I bet in the Autumn the colours are even more spectacular.
Buttermere was one of our favourite lakes to walk around with a cute cafe serving yummy lunches at the end of it.
The next two photos were taken from pulling over at the side of the road, everything is just so scenic in the Lake District. Definitely doesn't compare to the busy roads in the rest of the country.
Grasmere was another gorgeous place that we visited, a cute village home to Wordsworth and the Grasmere Gingerbread shop it's definitely worth a visit. We did a walk on the 'Coffin Route', quite a famous route with views of Grasmere lake and Rydal on the way through sheep fields and across little rivers then stopped for some famous gingerbread on our way back through the town.
On our last day we had a stroll around the shops in Ambleside, I especially loved The Bathhouse. The cottage had bottles of bubble bath from the Bathhouse and after trying them out, I couldn't resist going to buy some to take home. I've got one bottle left and even now when I run a bath with it the smell takes me back to the heavenly cottage. We had a cosy yummy lunch in the Rattle Gill Cafe and then went for a walk to Waterhead {the other side of Lake Windermere}. The sun came out and it was such a gorgeous early spring like day.
On our way back to the cottage, we stopped at Chesters by The River and wish we had discovered the cafe earlier! It was so gorgeous filled with fairy lights and paper pom-poms. We only had room for hot chocolate and a piece of cake after our lunch in Ambleside but the food looked amazing, wood fired pizzas and salads. If you're going to the Lakes I'd definitely recommend a visit here.
Thanks for such an amazing trip Lake District, England really can be so beautiful.
You can find the cottage that we stayed at here.
I found links for good walks here
Chester's by the River website available here
R <3 xx
I found links for good walks here
Chester's by the River website available here
2 comments
I live ten minutes from here - and I LOVE Chesters!! I also agree that holiday houses should be a treat to stay in and not a step down from your home, my challenge is usually to find a bed more awesome than my own, and this one looks gorgeous. Great pics and a lovely blog, I found you via Instagram and I shall be following! x
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