Passion Of A Windermere Fashion!

Windermere in the Lake District is not the first place you’d think of to order a Safe Sex on the Beach mocktail or, for that matter, spend two nights in a hotel room dubbed The Passion Suite, with its own mood lighting and door tabs advising early morning room attendants that we are ‘tied up’!

But then again, you may not yet have discovered the Cranleigh Boutique Hotel on Kendal Road, Bowness, not only a stone’s throw from the lake itself, but also Trip Advisor’s No 1 hotel for Romance and, allegedly, No 3 in the world!

With its own independent entrance and lots of accoutrements guaranteed to bring a wry smile to your face, The Passion Suite boasts bathtime tv, three levels of mood lighting designed to ignite the laziest of libidos, and décor that promises to turn mid-life crisis into mid-life nymphomania!

“I didn’t know,” I told Mrs H. “Honestly!” I implored. But, I needn’t have worried. “I love it,” she said, pressing every lighting button on the panel almost simultaneously, “and I want a jacuzzi so that I can relax. Go for a walk if you want. See you later!” So much for reigniting passion!

The Cranleigh is a real alternative to many of the exclusive properties that you will find in the likes of Coniston, Kendal, Ambleside or, indeed, Grasmere, and, somehow, has found its own niche.

It’s different and different is good. Some won’t want the offer, others will love it and, since there are enough ‘love its’ around, the Cranleigh with its clever cross-marketing strategy will stay the course when others fail.

The man behind the hotel is Stephen Hargreaves but, under the guise of Hargreaves Enterprises he has developed three other venues in Bowness which he cross sells via the Cranleigh.

BAHA is his all-embracing barbecue restaurant and grill with live music, chicken and home-made sauces at its heart, whilst The Fizzy Tarte champagne bar, next door, with its afternoon teas and glasses of bubbly, is a contrasting alternative. Both are just a few hundred yards from the larger drinks venue that is the Lake View Garden Bar.

More to the point if you stay at the Cranleigh Boutique Hotel you get a 15% across-the-board discount at all three venues, giving you variety whilst also taking pressure off the Cranleigh kitchen in terms of it not having to deliver anything other than breakfast which, I have to say, was top notch.

So, at its heart, the Cranleigh Boutique Hotel is a b&b offer but a very good one at that.

Earlier, ahead of check in, we had made our way from Leeds to Coniston and the Ruskin Museum.

This is where the pulling power of Donald Campbell’s famous K7 jet hydroplane, Bluebird, has made the village of Coniston one of this year’s hottest Lake District destinations.

Visitor numbers to the tiny but fascinating museum have rocketed since the iconic craft, which crashed on Coniston Water in January 1967, returned to its spiritual home.

BIRTH OF A ROCK STAR!

It is also where you can learn about Owen Glynne Jones (1867-1899), widely regarded as the world’s first rock climbing superstar after being immortalised by the Abraham Brothers, the first duo to take photographic equipment to remote ledge and rocky outcrops, capturing action shots of free rock climbers like Jones.

“Come on” urged my wife. “It’s already two o clock and although it’s only 12 miles to Windermere’s Jetty Museum we need to make tracks because it’s a slow drive.”

We were soon wending our way to our next destination debating how a place as small as the Ruskin Museum could house so many fascinating facts: Donald Campbell, Bluebird, Owen Glynne Jones and John Ruskin, the social revolutionary who challenged the moral foundations of Victorian Britain.

However, the Jetty Museum quickly proved itself another highlight of our day.

Open for just five years it is a heritage boat museum – steamboats, canoes, rowing boats, sailing yachts…even a water glider - and exists, in part, thanks to the work of another visionary, George Pattinson, who set up the museum’s forerunner, the Windermere Steamboat Museum in 1977.

I LOVED IT and the £12 adult entry fee is worth every penny. You can even go for a sailing on Windermere in one of the museum’s heritage boats.

Emille, our host in BAHA that evening, was the Lake District’s best advert for tattoos! And what a lovely man. Our conversation soon turned to this Hungarian export’s chief hobby: his own body art!

“What does OQP stand for?” I asked, after spying the acronym on his arm.

“Only Quality People he grinned,” before heading off to get our food. Emille was the best advert possible for BAHA and, indeed, a Quality person himself!

That evening, I relaxed in The Passion Suite’s jacuzzi bath – alone – watching tv whilst my wife turned the adjacent bedroom into something akin to Blackpool illuminations, ensuring that she had tried every light permeation before retiring for the evening!

The following morning, we engaged in another favourite activity, taking a Windermere Lake Cruise to Ambleside where we made our first in-depth exploration of this busy, but beautiful town, including its 17th century Bridge House, a Lake District icon that sits directly over Stock Beck and is probably one of the most photographed buildings in the National Park

“We’d better get moving or we’ll miss the return boat to Bowness,” said Mrs H after a couple of hours. “What’s the hurry?” I asked, almost forgetting that we had afternoon tea at The Fizzy Tarte.

Another idea from the head of Mr Hargreaves, the champagne bar is next to BAHA and, at 3.30pm, afternoon tea is a lovely intermission to the day, serving as a precursor to a later evening meal / drink at the Lake View Garden Bar,….

….or, for the most determined, an afternoon ‘meal’ that will see you through until bedtime! Personally, I was stuffed and never ate another morsel until breakfast the following morning!

It was time to head back to Leeds but, before we did, one of the staff at the Jetty Museum had earlier suggested that we make a quick stop at the Blackwell Arts & Crafts House before moving on, and so glad we did.

This creation, built in the Arts & Crafts style, was designed by architect Mackay Hugh Baillie. Originally built as a holiday home for the Holt family, founders of Manchester’s Holt Brewery, in 1900, it was a complete reaction to the over bearing clutter of the Victorian era.

Spacious, airy and, in so many ways ahead of its time, Blackwell is a place to linger and be enjoyed with its breathtaking views of Windermere and fascinating historical story.

With renewed passion in my soul, the memory of a Fizzy Tarte and an introduction to the world’s first Rock Star, we began our journey back to sunny Leeds pondering how West Yorkshire could ever again reach the dizzy heights of Windermere!

Life would never be the same again, especially if I invested in a bathroom jacuzzi with tv and mood lighting.

I snapped out of my day dream, quickly realising that fantasy was only for the likes of Tolkien!

Fast Facts
Cranleigh Boutique Hotel: www.thecranleigh.com
Bed & breakfast with 15% off all food and drink at the hotel’s associated venues: BAHA, The Fizzy Tarte Champagne Bar and the Lake View Garden Bar. The Passion Suite costs approximately £225 for two nights Mon-Wed, rising to £234 per night Fri/Sat.
Windermere Jetty Museum: www.lakelandarts.org.uk
Annual passes / Admission: Adults £12; Students £9. Child (15 and under)·
Windermere Lake Cruises: www.windermere-lakecruises.co.uk
Ruskin Museum, Coniston: www.ruskinmuseum.com
Adults: £10.00; Children (under 16) £6.00; Family (2 adults, 3 children) £30.00. Children Under 5 Free
Blackwell (The Arts & Crafts House): www.lakelandarts.org.uk/blackwell
Adults £12; Students £9; Children (15 and under) £6

…..and a word from Cumbria Tourism:
“The museums (Jetty, Ruskin, Blackwell) are all part of our Culture Campaign, the Let’s Go Culture project, which is funded by the UK government via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and supported by Westmorland & Furness Council. More details here