Tr avel report LAKE DISTRICT M
ORE years ago than I care to admit, while working for my hometown evening newspaper, we had a saying about newsworthy events anywhere in the world.
No matter what the happening was, good or bad, there was always ‘some b **** r from Bolton’ in the thick of the action.
And so It was during a fantastic long weekend break in the Lake District I took recently with my wife, son and daughter, plus respective girlfriend and fiancé.
As we checked into the beautifully restored, four-bedroom Gate House at Coniston, as guests of Coppermines Cottages, framed documents on the wall proclaimed that the historic house set in beautiful Lakeland scenery had once been the home of famous Edwardian artist Alfred Heaton Cooper… who came from - yes, you guessed it - Bolton.
Brought up in the town, Alfred was one of six children of mill worker parents who went on to become a celebrated landscape artist in the early 1900s.
He left school to be a clerk in Bolton Town Hall, but soon won an art scholarship and went to London in 1884, where he was heavily influenced by Turner, Constable and the Barbizon school.
After a spell painting in Norway Alfred ended up living in the Gate House with his Norwegian bride and growing family and settled into a life of continuous painting with his works, prints of which adorn the walls of the house, now selling for several thousand pounds. A gallery in Grasmere bears his name.
So, as well as being fantasticallyrestored in a major refurbishment in 2016, to the highest possible standard, the Gate House has a fascinating back story that makes your stay even more special.
Which is perhaps one of the reasons why the house was awarded a ‘highly commended’ certificate in the Self-Catering Holiday Property of The Year category in the 2017 Cumbria Tourism Awards.
The Gate House is situated just outside Coniston, in the heart of the picturesque Lake District. The magnificent Visit England ‘5 Star Gold’ Georgian property, which comfortably sleeps eight, is now a fabulous Lakeland home.
Located a stone’s throw from Coniston village (less than a third of a mile), set on the road to the striking and historical Coppermines Valley, the property has managed to retain outstanding historical features, while being lovingly transformed into a dream home with views over open fields to the front and the bubbling Church Beck to the rear. The perfect place for romantics, families, friends and outdoor enthusiasts alike.
While all the rooms have been refurbished to the highest standard the favourite spot for most will be the spacious kitchen and dining area at the rear of the house - which boasts all the latest mod cons and many tasteful personal touches with a double Belfast sink, large range cooker, dishwasher, fridge/freezer, washing machine and tumble dryer. It is a fantastic room for quality family time or enjoying an evening with good friends.
Upstairs, where every bedroom is special, the en-suite bathrooms are just amazing, lavishly decorated in keeping with the Georgian era.
Outside there is a gravelled private car parking area for three cars (essential in the Lakes), plus parking at the front for two more vehicles.
Not that you will be needing them once you get there as the pictureperfect village of Coniston is just a few hundred yards away, with its friendly and welcoming pubs and restaurants and several shops and tourist attractions - one of which is the Steam Yacht Gondola, which we boarded for a bracing sail around Coniston water.
First launched in 1859 by the then Furness Railway company as an attraction for train day trippers, this amazing vessel was rescued from the scrap yard in the late 1970s when Vickers Shipbuilding Ltd of Barrow restored it to the Victorian splendour we see today (at almost 400 times its original cost if 1,000 guineas!).
The 84-foot long National Trust run vessel sails several times a day (weather permitting) and is even now eco-friendly, burning special log chip blocks which cause no air pollution.
Its sumptuous interior and fittings are just as they would have been almost 160 years ago and it is well worth putting on your ‘must do’ list.
Another attraction even nearer to