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The glorious weather came to an end, replaced by cloud and occasional drizzles of rain. The tops of the fells were invisible, so we were recommended to visit Holker Hall - a good choice, as it turned out.
Holker Hall is located south of Windermere, quite near the sea (missing some of the clouds gathering around the fells). It is the current home of Lord and Lady Cavendish (they occupy one wing, the rest of the enormous building is open to the public). It has beautiful gardens (even in grey weather), extensive parklands, the historic house itself, and the Lakeland Motor Museum.
The Hall, seen from the gardens
The garden has beautifully laid-out formal sections...
...beautiful flowers everywhere...
...a wonderful water feature, starting with steps...
...leading up to a circular pond...
...and then climbing up between two water cascades (I liked the swirly feature at the bottom)
The outer reaches of the gardens become less formal, and are very pleasant to walk through
Coming to the edge of the gardens, there is this very Narnia-like gate leading out into the parklands...
...where the young (and young at heart) can have fun running around a mazy path that is longer than it looks!
[Holker Hall web site]
[Previous visit to English Lake District, September 2008]
