A grand day out
In January we took Alan's mum back to her home near the lakes and it was a good excuse for a wander. We visited Blackwell, an arts and crafts house near Bowness, built by Baillie Scott for a Manchester brewer, Sir Edward Holt. It was to function as his 'holiday home'! It is a lovely house overlooking Lake Windermere. After a spot of lunch (they have an excellent café) we drove over to Rydal water where there is a pretty footpath that follows the course of the River Rothay. The excellence of the walk can be verified as we were following Sir Chris Bonnington, presumably working off some Christmas excesses, down the track. We finished off with a quick visit to Grasmere church.