Rabbits scamper about the lawn of Caroline Watson's beautiful Lakeland farmhouse.
The scene would have delighted the children's author and illustrator Beatrix Potter who bought the house in 1930 and filled its 16th century oak-panelled tea room with furniture, pictures and curios.
Now the house at Yew Tree Farm is bracing itself for the Potter Effect, the anticipated crowds of visitors attracted by Miss Potter, the new film about the writer's life, starring Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor.
Mrs Watson's house doubles as Hill Top, Potter's Lakeland home and she is expecting it to become a magnet for tourists from America, Australia and Japan as well as Britain.
Yew Tree Farm already features on the official "map of film locations", and by the time it has been spruced up with an anticipated grant from Cumbria Tourism it will be ready to share in the anticipated bonanza.
Locations used in the film stretch from Whitehaven in the west to the Settle to Carlisle railway in the east, with Loweswater, to the west of Windermere, given a starring role.
Beatrix Potter paid £2,805 for Hill Top, a huge sum in 1905. Last year 65,000 visitors passed through its doors. This year that figure will only rise by an estimated 5,000 because the house is too small to accommodate any more in comfort.
John Moffat, of the National Trust, which was bequeathed the property after Beatrix Potter died in December 1943, said the house will be open for an extra 16 days, with more staff being hired to monitor the increased influx of visitors.
"If we find that we're getting things damaged we'll have to look at the situation again," Mr Moffat said.
More about the movie and life of Beatrix Potter.
The World beyond the Film
As a new film biography of Beatrix Potter attracts fresh visitors to the spectacular corner of England where she used to live, we suggest a selection of alternative activities on land, lake and air for anyone who has had their fill of Peter Rabbit and Mrs Tiggywinkle.
The Lake District is preparing for an invasion. Normally the preserve of hearty ramblers with woolly hats and rosy cheeks at this time of year, it is about to be besieged by legions of Beatrix Potter fans hot on the trail of Peter Rabbit and Squirrel Nutkin.
The release of the film Miss Potter, starring Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor, is expected to bring coachloads of pilgrims to the late author's home at Hill Top, on the shores of Esthwaite Water. Other visitor attractions and sites likely to be thronged include the Beatrix Potter Gallery in nearby Hawkshead, and Yew Tree Farm near Coniston, which the film-makers used as Hill Top. Long queues are anticipated outside the World of Beatrix Potter in Bowness, and it will be hard to find a room at the Lindeth Howe Country House Hotel in Windermere, which Potter often visited.
Happily for those of us who want to experience Lakeland scenery without the crowds, there are plenty of escape routes. Here are a few suggestions on how to escape the crowds flocking to visit all the Beatrix Potter sites.
Hiking on the Old Man
The Old Man of Coniston is among the grandest hills in Cumbria, with a well-defined path to its 2,636ft summit, splendid views (on clear days) from the Pennines to the Irish Sea, and a fine bar, at the Sun Hotel, with real ales and log fires at the end of the hike. A nine-mile circuit from Coniston winds up by a stream into a valley ringed by high crags, then climbs past an old slate mine to a broad summit perfect for picnics, before descending to a tarn and finishing with a stroll by Coniston Water - and a well deserved seat by the fire in the bar of the Sun Hotel.
- Jarrold Pathfinder Guide: Lake District Walks; www.totalwalking.co.uk).
Walking in Borrowdale
This remote valley stretching south from the shores of Derwent Water is often claimed to be the loveliest in England. A favourite spot of Constable, the landscape painter, it remains much as he sketched it in 1806. An easy, circular seven-mile walk from the hamlet of Seatoller follows the contours of the valley to Grange, where there are two tearooms, the Grange Cafe in the main street and the Grange Bridge Cottage Cheese Shop by the river - both serving home-cooked food (though closed for most of January). Then it's back through woodland on the banks of the River Derwent, with the wild grandeur of the Borrowdale Fells all around. A pint of Doris's 90th Birthday Ale in the Yew Tree Country Restaurant (017687 77634, www.borrowdale.com/yew_tree.htm ) at the end of the walk is a treat not to be missed.
- Jarrold Pathfinder Guide: Lake District Walks (as above).
Boating on Windermere
The introduction of a 10mph speed limit has effectively banished jet-skis and speedboats from the lakes, restoring the kind of tranquillity that is best savoured in boats powered by oars and paddles. A few strokes on calm water are enough to push you away from busy roads and souvenir shops and into a world of little slate boathouses, woods that look like fairie dells, and swallows whizzing over the water for the fun of it. Swans fly overhead, gannets dive for snacks - this is the way to experience the authentic, timeless charm of the Lakes.
- Windermere Lake Cruises hires out rowing boats from April to October and operates cruises on passenger launches throughout the year (015394 43360, www.windermerelakecruises.co.uk ).
Cycling in Grizedale Forest
The Forestry Commission has regenerated this sylvan jewel of Lakeland between Coniston and Windermere with thick plantations of native oak, spruce, larch and pine. As well as signposted walking routes, a new 10-mile cycle trail meanders past picnic spots, open-air sculptures and quiet tarns and offers fine views of the surrounding fells. For the mud, sweat and gears brigade, rental bikes and trail maps are available near the Grizedale Visitor Centre where most trails begin. A cafe next to the centre, is open daily from 10am-5pm (closed January 8-19, 22 and 29, serving good food at reasonable prices.
- More information on www.forestry.gov.uk. Grizedale Mountain Bikes (01229 860369).
Taking tea with tigers
If young Peter Rabbit fans insist on seeing animals, take them to see real ones in the South Lakes Wild Animal Park at Dalton-in-Furness. It's a leading conservation zoo and home of the Sumatran Tiger Trust. The emphasis is on giving animals space, and non-predators are allowed to wander freely among the visitors. Apart from the Noah's Ark of creatures great and small, including tigers, rhinos, penguins and lemurs, the attractions include a steam railway, restaurants and picnic areas - and an opportunity to help endangered species throughout the world.
- South Lakes Wild Animal Park (01229 466086, www.wildanimalpark.co.uk). Open daily, currently from 10am-4.30pm.
Sailing back in time
Ullswater, the second largest of the lakes, is blissfully quiet and relaxed, with dramatic scenery reminiscent of the Scottish Highlands. Rob Roy MacGregor would feel at home here, and would probably recognise the Loch Broom post boats available for hire. They are replicas of sturdy, broad-beamed wooden boats with old fashioned gaff rigs, originally built for the stormy sea lochs of western Scotland, and sailing them below the heights of Sheffield Pike is like drifting back in time. A little island is conveniently located for tying up and tucking into a picnic lunch, and instructors are on hand to take the tiller for the inexperienced.
- Glenridding Sailing Centre (01768 482541). Open from February 15.
Strolling with Swallows and Amazons
A literary alternative to Potter mania is a stroll in the footsteps of Arthur Ransome, author of the Swallows and Amazons adventures. An easy, circular walk of four and a half miles from Grizedale Forest Visitor Centre meanders through countryside that is the quintessential rustic playground depicted in his books - sun-dappled woods, water and old dry-stone walls. It also leads to a churchyard in the hamlet of Rusland, which Ransome considered one of the most peaceful places on Earth - and where, in accordance with their wishes, he and his wife were buried beneath a pine tree.
- In the footsteps of the Swallows and Amazons by Claire Kendall-Price, gives details of 19 walks (Wild Cat Publishing, £7.95).
Flying above it all
The ultimate in Lakeland escapism is drifting in a wicker basket beneath a hot-air balloon, viewing lakes and fells from the perspective of the ospreys that nest high in the forests overlooking Bassenthwaite Lake. From a height of between 500 and 3,000 feet, the panorama on clear days can extend from Blackpool Tower to the Yorkshire Dales as the balloon takes its passengers on a "mystery tour" dictated by the prevailing winds. Each trip of about 10 miles ends in a sheltered field or slope with a celebratory glass of Champagne.
- Balloon flights operate between April and October; book through High Adventure, Bowness-on-Windermere (015394 47599, www.high-adventure.co.uk).
Climbing Everest in Cumbria
For rainy days, the Rheged Centre near Penrith is a perfect family refuge, with giant cinema screens showing Imax epics such as Everest and Shackleton, as well as a historical film on Rheged, the name for the ancient kingdom of Cumbria. Other distractions include shops and galleries showing arts and crafts, seasonal displays and demonstrations, and a mountaineering exhibition charting exploits of British derring-do such as the 1953 conquest of Everest. Look out for the ice axe belonging to the first person to climb the Matterhorn. There is also a cafe and restaurant serving local foods.
- Rheged (01768 868000, www.rheged.com); open daily 10am-5.30pm
- For more information on the Lake District, see www.golakes.co.uk, or call 0845 450 1199 for details of local tourist information centres.
For the current Weather forcast click here.
Mirefoot Cottages, Burneside, Kendal, Cumbria, LA8 9AB. Tel: 01539 720015. E:booking@mirefoot.co.uk
Website Designed by Mirefoot Web Designs, designer@mirefoot.co.uk. |
|
