Welcome back to When Wine Calls, “The Winter Grape Tour” of the UK and Europe.
When we arrived at our hotel, Storrs Hall on Lake Windermere, staff, and some of the guests greeted us at the front door and were amazed that we had made it through as they were being advised that the roads were closed.
It turned out that many of them, including staff had to stay the previous night in the hotel as they could not travel home – we were just extremely lucky with the timing although some sections of the roads we travelled along were a challenge with deep snow covering a fair bit of the road.
Sometimes being totally unaware of the real situation can be a blessing as although staff at the Stone Hill Hotel were highly sceptical on our journey when we left, we were positive about the drive, and it turned out the correct decision.
Storrs Hall is a Grade II listed Georgian Mansion built in the 1790’s that during its life has entertained such notable people as William Wordsworth, Sir Walter Scott, and Beatrice Potter. It is located right on the shore of Lake Windermere with wonderful views across to the snow-capped mountains that enclose the lake in such a beautiful setting.
Following the overnight heavy snowfall, the winter wonderland that greeted us was so picturesque, we could not believe where we were – we had come to the Lakes District expecting to do some local walks around the lake with snow expected later when we got to Europe for Christmas, but after the lighter snow we has experienced in the Yorkshire Dales this was another level altogether and a scene to truly relish.
But first we had to work out how to get the car across the snow-covered car park. Initially, we had only managed to drive along some existing tyre tracks to the front door of the hotel but at that location it was blocking other cars trying to dig themselves out of their parking spots so they could leave. Our small SUV was not set up for this weather but one of the maintenance staff asked whether he could have a go and proceeded to drive the car back and forth with plenty of revs for what seemed like ages until he was successful in moving it into a spot under a tree that had prevented a lot of snow building up underneath, albeit with the amount of revs being applied he almost ran it straight into the bushes on the other side.
Interestingly, when we were on “The Summer Vintage” trip all the hire cars, we were given were larger than what we had booked which proved a challenge on driving some of the roads we encountered. On this occasion, we got the actual size of car we ordered when it would have been useful to have had a bigger vehicle to cope with the snowy conditions– go figure.
After checking in we immediately put on our warm gear and headed out to frolic in the snow surrounding the hotel like kids, walking through deep snow down to the lake where the Temple of Naval Heroes memorial has been erected on the point looking up and down the lake dedicated to four British naval immortals, Admirals Duncan, Nelson, Howe and St Vincent (now maintained by the National Trust). We noted that the roof of the gazebo had even collapsed in from the heavy snow fall the previous night and that a snowman had been made on the lakes edge presumably by staff stuck there for the night.
Leading out into the lake near the hotel was a wharf covered in snow which would be lovely in summer to leave from to go on a cruise. Today, however, we noted that some staff were using it to arrive at the hotel in small boats from more accessible areas around the lake which showed real initiative.
It was then back to the hotel bar with a roaring fire and whisky and bubbles to enjoy the warmth of this charming hotel, a hot soaking bath in our room while watching TV (must get a set up like this in our bathroom when I get home) and a light dinner in the hotel’s bistro after an exhausting but exhilarating day.
The next day we woke up to a beautiful, blue sky day but with the snow still thick on the ground, staff digging cars out of the carpark and our car also now snowed in we decided to stay in and enjoy the ambience of the drawing room in the hotel by the fire looking out over the lake and drinking coffee and playing this new game that I had been given as a present from Pauline’s mother and included in our luggage, called “Bananaramas:”– a modified form of scrabble I would call it.
It proved to be a lot of fun at least until Pauline won with placement of the last tile. it was fantastic to have a day out to simply enjoy the surroundings in this wonderful historical hotel.
On our last day and with the roads and carpark in considerably better shape we ventured out after a wonderful breakfast looking out over the snow covered lawn and surrounding mountains and drove along the lake through the historical townships of Windermere and Ambleside and while it was too treacherous to park anywhere to walk the streets or stop to visit the World of Beatrix Potter attraction the townships were very quaint although no doubt would be buzzing during the summer months.
We determined that we must come back here in the spring to enjoy this wonderful part of the world and the amazing walks and water activities on offer. That night we had a magnificent dinner in the elegant Lake View Restaurant and during the dinner encouraged one of the young waiters to come out and visit Australia on his next holiday which was fun. It is so fascinating to hear locals having an interest in travelling to Australia like Aussies having the same interest in travelling to the UK – it is such a close bond between the two countries.
The next morning it was time to leave and while snow was still on the ground, we knew we would be able to get through taking the northern route above the Yorkshire Dales over to our next stop, York. Along the way we sighted this large barn beside the roadway and a full carpark and decided to call in and find out what all the excitement was about. It was called Mainsgill Farm Shop and was a café, general food store, butcher, bakery, delicatessen, department store and Christmas shop all under the one roof located out in the middle of nowhere and was buzzing with people all doing their shopping or having lunch – just the most amazing place to wander around. It you want to visit it is located on the A66 east of West Layton.
Until next time when we tour the fabulous city of York.
Bruce & Pauline
When Wine Calls 
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