Blenheim Lodge Bowness
Walk up a little used lane in Bowness on Windermere, and you will find hidden away on a quiet Lake District hilltop the much-loved holiday home of a Manchester magnate. Built in 1868, this place looks down and out beyond the slopes of Brant Fell with far reaching views over the waters of Windermere – England’s largest lake – accompanied by an equally stupendous panorama of the iconic fells of the Lake District National Park. What an amazing place this must have been to holiday in!
A POTTED HISTORY
Blenheim Lodge, now our Bed and Breakfast, is this place. Rumour has it that the original owner departed this life unable to bequeath his mansion to his only child, a daughter, due to the laws of the time; but much of the character of the original house lives on. We are Robert and Janz, and we have been living here since 2002. One day, right out of the blue, two descendants of a previous wartime owner knocked on our door. It was a wonderful visit we thoroughly enjoyed: we learned then much too about the house and its residents in the early 1900s.
OUR PLACE
Guests who appreciate a friendly homely atmosphere with character and history will enjoy staying at Blenheim Lodge. We offer a calm and peaceful atmosphere, where, in the quiet, one can hear the birds sing by day and the owls hoot by night. Our B&B literally adjoins Brant Fell, and we have lost count of the number of cows that lean over to munch our hedge, the restful scenes of ewes and their young resting in the shade of age-old leafy trees, and the shy wild deer which sometimes jump our hedge in order to eat our plants!
We have 3 single and 8 double rooms at Blenheim Lodge. All have private en-suite facilities and all are beautifully and carefully furnished with high quality linens. We believe in offering a restful comfortable night’s sleep, and, for that reason, have invested heavily in handmade pocket sprung mattresses upon which guests have assured us that they felt like they were “sleeping on a cloud”. Like any home, none of our bedrooms look alike. Each has its own character to compliment the age and style of the house. In order to achieve this, we have placed many antique pieces in our rooms, including William IV 4-Posters decorated with hand-sewn silk drapes for that luxurious touch.
Breakfast is served in our dining room, where we discovered part of a servants’ bell panel still intact on one wall when we arrived. There is also an old inglenook fireplace. Food is served freshly cooked to our guests, and includes local bacon and sausage handcrafted and delivered by a 3-generations’ butchers. Our free-range eggs come from a local farm too and are also delivered straight to our door. Of course we can also cater to guests with other dietary preferences, and have a breakfast menu for guests to choose from.
We liked to welcome our guests with a hot cuppa and biscuits in our guest lounge on arrival, where there are a couple of club chairs positioned just so in the triple bay windows to overlook Lake Windermere and the fells. There is a serene feeling in our lounge that we hope will be the beginning of our guests’ relaxing getaway in the Lakes.
TRAVEL AND ACTIVITIES
Blenheim Lodge is easily accessible by public and private transport. We offer FREE parking to our guests whilst they are staying with us, and can arrange third party paid transfers for those who are coming to us from airports, for instance. We can also arrange door to door tours for our guests. Please do just ask.
There are plenty of activities to enjoy in the Lake District National Park which are easily accessible from Blenheim Lodge. Here are some suggestions below:
- Visit historic homes such as Beatrix Potter’s Hill Top and William Wordsworth’s Dove Cottage
- Enjoy sedate walks in picturesque storybook settings such as Tarn Hows
- Take a ferry cruise on Windermere Lake Cruises – we are only 5 minutes’ walk from the Lake shore; and, remember, guests staying with us can get 10% off some of their excursions on presentation of our discount ticket
- Go wild swimming or ghyll scrambling for an adrenalin fix
- Climb a mountain – they are called fells here, and there are plenty of them to choose from, but please make sure of your preparedness before you do so
- Take it easy with a film in the vintage Royalty Cinema in Bowness, only 3 minutes’ walk from our door
- Check out the pretty villages and towns in the Lakes, and enjoy what each has to offer – food, attractions, shops, local scenery
- Do something different – herd a group of sheep with a sheepdog!
Finally, just simply relax! It’s what getaways are all about. Come and stay with us at Blenheim Lodge, and sleep easy. Fall asleep to the sound of silence, and awaken to the sweet music of birdsong.
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