|
With that nip in the air, the changing colours of our landscape, and wood fires burning in the valleys, we can see, smell and feel a shift to autumn (or an Indian summer!) and a new season to enjoy Cumbria’s Living Heritage.
|
|
|
Share your love of heritage in Cumbria and forward this newsletter to a friend.
|
|
|
Our gardens are beautiful – our firesides welcoming – and lunch, a seasonal delight.
|
|
|
Early autumn colour bursts from the garden borders at Hill Top as the cosy atmosphere of the house welcomes you in. The fire is lit, the vegetable patch is ready to be harvested and it’s your last chance to join an exclusive out-of-hours tour. You can experience Hill Top out of hours and get up close to items from the Beatrix Potter collection. Outside of the school holidays Hill Top closes on a Friday to allow for essential care to take place and is an opportunity for a quieter experience of Beatrix's inspiring farmhouse.
|
|
|
The gardens at Brockhole on Windermere are stunning at this time of year. Take a stroll or join a guided tour around Brockhole's Mawson gardens and get an insight into its history, plants and seasonal highlights. If you are feeling adventurous – or a little romantic - hire a boat and enjoy the landscape reflected in its still waters - and then enjoy a bite to eat at The Gaddum Restaurant.
|
|
|
Holehird Gardens always rewards visitors with beautiful displays. It may be getting a little cooler, but the dominant colour palette in Holehird’s Walled Garden at this time of year is hot! Next to the entrance, you won't be able to miss the bright gold of Acer palmatum 'Sango kaku', always one of the first acers to show its autumn colouring. Throughout the Walled Garden swathes of dahlias, crocosmias and heleniums create a vibrant patchwork of red, orange and gold. There are opportunities to join the Lakeland Horticultural Society members at a variety of courses.
|
|
|
We are excited to let you know that Asham Hall’s Kitchen Gardens have been recently extended! New additions include dwarf fruit trees such as morello cherry, plum, damson and peach, and there is also an expanded fruit cage with more exotic fruits, such as Japanese wine berries. Other developments include new ‘hotbeds’ bursting with veggie delights such as beetroot, radishes, carrots, rhubarb and leeks, to name just a few, and lunch is served in the Kitchen Garden Café, prepared with produce straight from the land.
|
|
|
At Dalemain, they like to constantly bring something new to their historic Gardens. This year, owner Jane Hasell-McCosh has been busy creating the new Shell Garden, which sits between the Terrace and the Elizabethan Knot Garden. Jane has used 150kg of shells and laid each of them by hand. If you see the Shell Garden on a rainy day, you will see the scallops change colour as well! The white of the shells transforms into a golden path of shells, making them look absolutely extraordinary.
|
|
|
Deep in the forest, three crafted acoustic king-size wooden megaphones are set deep in the woods of the Forestry commission’s Grizedale Sculpture Park.This is RUUP, designed and built by students from Estonian Academy of Arts, looking for a way to help us all notice and listen to the sounds of the forests. Ruup offers a place to rest your feet, as well as your thoughts. Sit, think, and listen. Each three-metre diameter megaphone acts as a "bandstand" for the forest amplifying the sounds of nature in their glorious setting.
|
|
|
Hutton-in-the-Forest house closes to the public on 7 October, so this is your last opportunity this year to visit this ancient and historic Cumbrian house. A tour through the interiors at Hutton is a remarkable journey in time. From the medieval Stone Hall to the high Victorian Drawing Room, the rooms are rich in history and notable for their contents. Every room has fine examples of furniture of its period and there is an interesting collection of needlework and tapestry, some of it more than 500 years old. The Gardens, Grounds and Woodland Walk remain open until 31 October.
|
|
|
Autumn can be a lovely season to get out and about. Levens Hall & Gardens is in a perfect location to begin or end your day out in the countryside as it is surrounded by scenic footpaths and quiet cycling routes. A walk through Levens Park may reward you with a sighting of the black fallow deer and the herd of rare-breed Bagot goats. Levens Hall is situated on the Cumbrian Coastal Way footpath and the National Cycle Way route 6 passes nearby. You can down load maps here. And every walk or bike ride deserves a nice cup of tea!
|
|
|
The tranquility of the autumn months are particularly felt in the woods and informal gardens at Mirehouse. Coming along the main drive, you will notice that the hydrangeas retain their intense blue and that the maple is beginning to turn. The quiet walled bee garden still has butterflies and bumblebees out on sunny days, and along the verandah the Lady roses are blooming. Colours in the woods are just begining to turn and the views across Bassenthwaite Lake from the lakeside walk are calm and beautiful. Walking through the gardens and woods at Mirehouse is a chance to experience the stunning landscape of the North Lake District at its best. Time to enjoy
|
|
|
These are just some ideas for inspirational days out, there are lots more here.
Enjoy your days out in a World Heritage Site recognised for its cultural landscape.
|
|
|
|
|
