Stickle Tarn Lodge

We own a timeshare week (Saturday 28th. September to Saturday 5th. October) at the exclusive Burnside Park in Bowness which we are offering for rental this year. We have been there every year since we bought it 22 years ago, which is when our love of the Lakes began in earnest. Unfortunately, for the first time, we cannot make it this year. Amongst other things our son is getting married in July and we will be away for a couple of weeks - so Jeanne won't have sufficient annua...l leave left for us to go to the timeshare as well. The cottage sleeps six and is in a very quiet development about 10 minutes walk from Bowness pier. It is luxuriously appointed and includes free access to the pool and leisure complex of the Burnside Hotel - which is on the same site literally 1 - 2 mins walk from the front door. The park is a member of the Hapimag group, and a link to the website is provided. Hapimag would normally rent the cottage for about £1200 plus at this time of year. If the booking is made through ourselves, we can offer it for £950. If you are interested, please just contact us directly by email (johnandjeanne@placeinthelakes.com) and we can provide further information https://www.burnsidepark.co.uk/self-cater ing-cotta…/…/type-a (Please note: The photos taken from the Hapimag website. They are from cottages which are more or less identical to our one, which is cottage 10)
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John and Jeanne would like to wish all of our guests a very happy new year. Thank you to everyone who stayed at the lodge during 2018, and a special thank you to those of you who come back again and again...we greatly appreciate your loyalty.
The lodge will be closed now until Monday 11th. March.
Reservation requests have already been coming in apace. So if you are thinking of booking, do please check the booking calendar to avoid any disappointment.

Looking across from White Cross Bay to Conniston

I've added a "blog" page to our mobile website. Please keep an eye on it as I'm going to keep it frequently updated with news about the lodge and LOTS of pictures Lakeland pictures: https://stickletarnlodge.com/…/…/31/s tickle-tarn-lodge-news/

We've been visiting some fantastic adventure playgrounds recently now that we have grandchildren with us sometimes. Lowther Hall near Penrith (about 50 mins drives) has an amazingly magical "lost castle" woodland "experience" (that's the only word for it!). We were there for hours. The hall and its grounds will appeal to young and old alike, and we were fascinated by what’s been done there and the history behind it all. https://www.lowthercastle.org/to-do/the-l ost-castle/ Nearer to home, we revisited the Brockhole Visitor Centre. Again, the adventure playground was fantastic, and there’s an aerial “net world” for older children + a Treeptop Adventure for all ages. Check out the picture of Jeanne on the playground zip wire!!

Hello all! A few weeks ago we were having our own "week in the Lakes" and went for a walk along Longsleddale (Long Sleddale) - a beautiful valley which we've been wanting to explore for several years. Unfortunately, the rain closed in on us and the views were poor, to say the least. But we bravely carried on and constantly heard the sound of barking hounds echoing around the valley. We soon realized that a hound trailing event was taking place. The hounds follow a trail of a...niseed and are amazingly fast and athletic; but on this occasion the rain had washed away the scent and they'd got confused. Eventually, they came down from the hills and we got to see them from afar off. I've attached the pics I took, blurred of course by the mist and the fact they were four or five hundred yards away. But we've been longing to see another trail event for many many years, and it's all very exciting...so these pics are the best we can offer.
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We managed to visit Haweswater on Saturday as we'd heard that the remains of the flooded village (Mardale) were visible. Here are some pictures of the parched mud and exposed stone walls. The water level is some 20 to 30 feet below it's "normal" level. During the drought of 1995, even more of the village remains were visible, including the old church. Despite the rain this weekend, there is the possibility that in the next few weeks levels will fall even lower than they were in 1995. It's an amazing sight that is probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience...but with global warming, who knows? It might become a more regular occurrence. Anyhow, we were thrilled to see it whilst we had the opportunity.

Jeanne and I often stop for a walk on our way across from Durham to do the lodge cleaning. A week or so ago, we had a trek in the the Eden Valley and came across a retired shepherd who was keen to show off his Collie (Mac) to us. There was a field with a few sheep nearby, and this is the video of Mac going through his paces. I've often seen dogs at work out on the Lakeland fells before, but never so close up and as a "personal" performance. What an absolutely amazing treat (i...t pays to be friendly!!) I'd always thought "come by" meant something like "come close to me and lie down". But it's more like, "go round behind the sheep" (to the right, I think). I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. And even though we've had to wait many many years for something like this, you'll very likely see dogs at work sooner or later in the Lakes! PS Don't forget to turn the sound on :-)
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It's far too long since I last posted here, but I hope to do so a bit more frequently over the summer months...including catching up with brief details of some wonderful walks we've had. As always, Jeanne and I have been working really hard in the close season to make the lodge better than ever, and we feel that our guests will definitely appreciate what we've done and some of the new "things" we've bought (I LOVE the silent kettle, for example...no more noise to disturb the ...TV!!) We've stayed ourselves quite a bit, and I've included a photo of the deer who now regularly visits in the early mornings at the back. We sat in bed and watched him for ages. A lot of our bookings now come through the Homeaway/Owners Direct website. We've been getting some fantastic reviews (http://www.placeinthelakes.com/reviews.h tml) and are busier than ever. So please don't forget to look and see what dates are still free; and we will ALWAYS offer the best discount we possibly can to our much-valued returning guests if they book directly with ourselves. We hope you all have a great summer!!
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A very happy Christmas to all our guests and friends of Stickle Tarn Lodge. Thank you for helping us to maintain and improve a wonderful holiday home that has brought tremendous pleasure to many people. Here's a picture of the living room decorated for this year's Christmas and New Year guests.

Our own family holiday at the lodge in October was a rather wet one, I'm afraid. Hey Ho! It IS the Lake (or Rain) District, after all. Thankfully, we've only had relatively few 'wash outs' in all of the 25 years or so that we've been visiting. But we've learnt how to have a good time regardless; especially when children are involved. Recently, we've discovered the delights of Wray Castle with our granddaughter Amabel (3). There are many different themed play areas for youngst...ers: soft play, games rooms, dressing-up rooms, art rooms, and 'Peter Rabbit' themed rooms (with costumes). The picture is of Amabel dressed up as Lily Bobtail. You can get to the castle on one of the launches, which also helps add some adventure and excitement to a wet day. Highly Recommended. Nearly forgot... It's a National Trust property, so there's an entry fee for adults; but free if you're a member, of course. It's well worth joining, especially as you can very quickly recoup your joining fee from the free car parking that comes with membership.
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Oh Dear! Each time I come to the Facebook page - as an irregular visitor - something has changed and I have NO confidence about what I'm doing. Sad, eh? But please be aware that I'm regretfully about to increase prices for 2018 bookings. Facebook guests, however, still have until December 31st to make bookings at 2017 prices.

Jeanne and I had a WONDERFUL few days at the lodge back in June. We walked in a favourite "secret" valley - Borrowdale; just off the A6, North of Kendal. Friends of the Lake District have acquired a considerable amount of land in the valley and have traditionally restored the pasture and woodland. I've attached some pictures of the wonderful hay meadows, replete with Stichwort, Ox-Eye Daisy, Knapweed, and many other bird/butterfly friendly plants. Walks in the valley can be either very easy, or more demanding - as you chose. Either way, it's a fantastic, easily-accessible experience.

Early Bird rates for 2018 are now available on the website (up to end of October). Discounts for friends and family will also apply (on TOP of the early bird rate). Please just mention that you, or your family, have made previous bookings.

Some recent adventurous guests spent a day at the Honister "Via Ferrata" - a sort of mountaineering version of 'Go Ape' for want of a better way to describe it. They kindly sent me some pics to put on Facebook...here you go! And this is the comment about it that was made: "It was a brill experience which is doable by anyone with a reasonable level of fitness, as long as heights don't bother you! We did the extreme level and had a lovely group and a good guide, who quickly put... us at ease. We did climbs up and down and across using the metal ladders, then a bit scary bridge crossing over a very high gorge, but wonderful views, and finally a net scramble . A good sense of achievement on completion and I would do it again." Not for everyone, I'm sure...but if you're interested, here is the website to visit: http://honister.com/via-ferrata/
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We have a small gap in our booking calendar...6 nights from Sunday May 7th. to Saturday May 12th. These can be booked for a "last minute" offer of £300.00 plus the usual £15.00 to White Cross bay for a leisure pass. Please contact us directly at: johnandjeanne@placeinthelakes.com or call 07976 013709 ...and do please share this offer with friends.... Many thanks!
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