Windermere furniture maker in line for award

Windermere’s Lakeland Fells Furniture Ltd has reached the finals of the Cumbria business awards.

The quality furniture maker has been shortlisted for the manufacturer of the year award, and some of the region’s top hotels say that recognition is well deserved.

Lakeland Fells, a small young team led by local man Andrew Smith, has developed a reputation for quality, attention to detail, and responding quickly and imaginatively to customers’ needs and requests. They recently completed a £65,000 contract for Lancashire County Council to equip bedrooms and dormitories at the Tower Wood outdoor pursuits centre. In contrast, they have worked with a number of high-end hotels in the locality.

They made furniture for two award-winning hotels, the Cranleigh boutique hotel in Bowness, and Windermere’s Cedar Manor Hotel, which were listed numbers one and two in the 2013 Travellers’ Choice Awards for the Most Romantic Hotels. The bedrooms at Cedar Manor were all fitted with locally-made furniture from Lakeland Fells, using eco-friendly hardwood. The company also made the furniture for the bar, reception and two bedrooms at the Cranleigh. Cedar Manor won the best international hotel interior award in 2011, and has just been judged Best Small Hotel in the Cumbria Tourism awards.

One major contract was for fitted wardrobes and units for the Windermere Marina Village, completing a huge emergency order following the flood damage there. LFF also made furniture for the reception area and guest lounge at the luxury Hapimag timeshare resort in Bowness.

Clients paid tribute to the company and their attention to quality and detail. Jonathan Kaye, owner of the Cedar Manor Hotel, said: “Andrew at Lakeland Fells Furniture has furnished all our upgraded rooms and designed beautiful furniture that is in keeping with the age of the hotel but also delivering style and quality.  The furniture is hand-crafted and built to last for the life of the hotel and longer.  The after-sales service is also second to none, and we are always assured of excellent customer service from the team at Lakeland Fells.”.

Stephen Hargreaves, owner of the Cranleigh Hotel said: “We use Andrew and his team because they care about what they do and they want the finished product to be right for you. We would not use anyone else in the area. We have built up a great working relationship with Lakeland Fells and they have produced some fantastic products for us that our customers fall in love with. If you want attention to detail and people that care working for you then you’re in the right hands with Andrew and his team.”

Jason Dearden, managing director of Windermere Marina Village said: “We have used Lakeland Fells Furniture on three major projects totalling nearly 50 holiday-let properties. They have completed a wide variety of quality pieces for us in both bedrooms and living areas.  We have found them flexible to work with and they always come up with innovative and practical ideas to complete any room.”

 Award-winning designer Alison Tordoff , of Fidget Design, said: “I have worked with Andrew Smith for many years on various challenging and interesting projects and he always rises to the challenge. His firm’s understanding and interpretation of our designs is excellent.”

 

 

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Ambleside cinema in line for national award

Zeffirellis of Ambleside has been shortlisted for the national Cinema of the Year awards.

The cinema is in the finals, along with Rambling Road Entertainment for the film Downhill, in the Premiere of the Year and Cinema of the Year categories at the prestigious Screen Awards. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in London in October.

The small town multi-screen cinema is up against the likes of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and X-Men: Days Of Future Past in the Premiere of the Year category and Picturehouse Entertainment in the Cinema of the Year category.  The premiere of Downhill was one of the town’s major events of the year, with a champagne reception and an imaginative decoration of the cinema reception.

Zeffirellis’ sister restaurant Fellinis has also just been short listed in the Cheshire and Lancashire Life Food and Drink Awards 2014 in the category for Lakeland Dining Excellence.

The 5th annual Screen Awards will be held at the The Brewery in London on October 23 , celebrating excellence in film distribution, marketing, advertising and exhibition. The awards event will be a coming together of the industry’s who’s who for an evening of recognition and celebration.

Managing director Dorothy Smith said: “I’m truly delighted that both Zeffirellis and Fellinis have been nominated for awards. To be in the running against the ‘big’ boys is an incredible achievement. This follows on from Zeffirellis winning the Cumbria Life Outstanding Service Award earlier this year. None of the recommendations would have been possible without the tremendous support and assistance of both teams at Zeffirellis and Fellinis.”

William Wordsworth and the invention of tourism: new book launched

A book which hails William Wordsworth’s role in the invention of tourism has been published by a Japanese professor and launched at his former home in the Lake District.

The work stems from a visit by the author, Saeko Yoshikawa, to Wordsworth’s home at Rydal Mount where she was shown a Victorian album of pencil sketches by the curator, Peter Elkington.

Prof Yoshikawa, of the Kobe City University of Foreign Studies in Japan, is an expert on Wordsworth and tourism in the English Lake District.

In trying to identify the artist of the sketches, many showing scenes associated with the poet, she researched how he had been received by some of his early readers, and what poems were popular among tourist-readers.

The result is this study* of the opening of the English Lake District to mass tourism where she examines Wordsworth’s role in the rise and development of the region as a popular destination. “For the middle classes on holiday, guidebooks not only offered practical information, but they also provided a fresh motive and a new model of appreciation by associating writers with places,” says Prof Yoshikawa.

“The nineteenth century saw the invention of Robert Burns’s and Walter Scott’s Borders, Shakespeare’s Stratford, and the Brontë Country as holiday locales for the middle classes.” Investigating the international cult of Wordsworthian tourism, Prof Yoshikawa shows both how Wordsworth’s public celebrity was constructed through the tourist industry and how the cultural identity of the Lake District was influenced by the poet’s presence and works.

Wordsworth has been seen as an opponent of tourism, notably in his opposition to the proposed development of the railway line beyond Windermere. Says Prof Yoshikawa: “Wordsworth certainly frowned on some kinds of tourists, but as he himself wrote a guidebook, he could not have been totally negative. After all, he had come to Grasmere as a ‘stranger’ in the first place.”

In some of his poems, he guides readers to actual spots in the Lake district: in An Evening Walk a footnote advises the reader to visit Rydal lower waterfall; Michael invites readers to turn their steps up Greenhead Gill; and The Wishing-Gate describes a traveller reclining on the moss-grown bar of the gate, which became a popular tourist spot in the later nineteenth century. “His poems explicitly encouraged visits to the district” says Prof Yoshikawa.

Welcoming Prof Yoshikawa at a reception to mark the launch of the book, curator Peter Elkington said: “Wordsworth actively encouraged tourists when he lived here. He was known to stand and chat with them at the gate, and – if he liked them well enough – would invite them to come and look around.”

He added: “I think this is a remarkable book which is clearly going to have a significant impact for students of literature and tourism.”

The book is the winner of the 2014 Fukuhara Award from the Memorial Fund for the Study of English and American Literature.

Kobe City University of Foreign Studies promotes the study and teaching of foreign languages and cultures, to instil in students a deeper understanding of international affairs and foreign countries. The English faculty includes many distinguished scholars and eminent researchers with doctoral degrees who are committed to excellence in teaching. Prof Yoshikawa has delivered papers previously to the Grasmere Wordsworth Summer conferences.

 

*William Wordsworth and the Invention of Tourism 1820-1900 (Ashgate Press).

 

 

 

Glamping takes to the road with Go Yurts

Glamorous camping is about to take to the road with a new concept in trailer-tent holidays.

A portable yurt has been developed in the Lake District which offers all the best features of glamping but with the freedom to move from site to site.

The Go Yurt is a luxurious and eco friendly tent with its own shower and toilet wet-room, fitted kitchen and wood burning stove. But it can be towed by a regular large estate car. The trailer is very stable and slimmer than the towing vehicle, so it is easy to navigate along narrow roads and restricted spaces. Then on site it opens out to a 14ft diameter space with a wooden trellis frame, cooker and fridge ready to link to camp site hook-ups, and top quality furnishings from John Lewis and Next.

The Go Yurt has been developed by Kendal entrepreneur and keen camper Hamish Foulerton, inspired by George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces TV show. Hamish, a landscape gardener and tree surgeon by profession, developed the prototype mobile yurt and is now offering a bespoke made-to-order service to customers’ own specifications.

High standards of insulation mean that the Go Yurt can be used all year round. There are LED lights in the floor and ceiling, and the wood-burner stove can be fitted in the centre or at the side. And aware of the weather impact on camping holidays, there’s an air-dry heating system so that the yurt can be packed away wet – and then plugged in back at home to dry out.

On site, the Go Yurt can be set up by one person within an hour, or four people in 20 minutes. The basic version can sleep up to eight people. Storage space under the yurt means that bikes and canoes can be stowed away overnight.

Hamish and his wife Michelle, a florist, and daughters Georgia (8) and Frankie (4) have been testing the Go Yurt at camp sites in the Lake District.

“This is an ideal solution for the family who loves camping,” said Hamish. “Yurts provide really stable and well-insulated camping accommodation, but until now they have only been available in-situ on certain camp sites. The whole point about camping is that you have the freedom to go where you want.

“Whether you enjoy getting back-to-basics, or the full-on glamping experience, our trailer-based folding yurt tents offer the perfect blend of personal and portable.”

The trailer yurts can also be used as a versatile space for events, as pop-up cafes or hospitality tents, or as mobile therapy rooms at sporting events.

The current prototype is the 14ft version, but there are plans for three other sizes – a basic 12ft version, a 16ft version and a large 18ft version. The compact 12ft version will fit into a standard garage and be towable by any car.

Campers interested in trying the Go Yurt can book a trial weekend at the Windermere Camping and Caravanning Club site. The hire cost will be deducted from the sale price if a Go Yurt is ordered. See www.goyurts.co.uk for details. The basic price is from around £18,000.

 

Notes to editors:

• The trailer is very compact and the contents can be stored inside when packed up.
• The integrated heating system means that even if put it away wet, the yurt can be dried out and ready for use next time.
• The trailer is very stable and because Go Yurts are slimmer than the towing vehicle, it is easy to navigate along narrow roads and restricted spaces.
• All Go Yurts can be towed by regular large estate cars, so you can leave your Go Yurt on site and use your car to explore the surrounding area.
• Go Yurts can be set up by one person within an hour, or 4 people in 20 minutes.
• None of the furniture is fixed so it can be moved and changed to suit your needs.
• You can choose exactly what furnishings you have, just like you would in your own home.
• Go Yurts are fully insulated and can be used in all seasons; cool in the summer, warm and dry in the snow and rain.
• Go Yurts connect to standard campsite electrics and services just like a conventional caravan.
• The low consumption 12v electrical system means that you can also use a vehicle inverter system, solar panel or silent generator for power.
• The space underneath your Go Yurt can be used to store equipment, such as bicycles, push chairs and canoes.
• Being trailer based and requiring no planning permission, your Go Yurt could also be used as an extra room at home.
• The Go Yurt 14’ can sleep up to 8 people and the 18’ version can sleep up to 12 people.
• You can use curtains to create rooms or zones inside your Go Yurt.
• Go Yurts can also be made accessible by wheelchair and are suitable for any standard campsite pitch.

Current optional extras include:

• Cotton / PVC cotton in a wide range of colour options
• Specify the position of doors and windows
• Wood burning stove
• Kitchen area with sink, hob, fridge, oven, colour-changing overhead lighting
• Colour-changing sound activated LED floor lights
• LED ceiling lights
• Shower, wash basin and toilet
• Wireless home entertainment projection screen system.
• Folding dining table and chairs
• Double / king size round sofa bed
• Luxury self-inflating mattresses
• Storage trunks
• Hanging wardrobe
• Wicker drawers and corner bin

Luxury holiday home high in the Dales

Exclusive holiday homes in one of the most beautiful areas of the Yorkshire Dales are being developed in the shadow of the county’s second highest mountain.

The discreet development of luxury static caravans is under way in a spectacular setting at the head of the Ingleton waterfalls trail.

To one side, the second highest of the “three peaks”, Ingleborough (723 m / 2,372 ft). Underneath, the country’s deepest and largest network of potholes. The holiday homes, a couple of miles up a narrow moorland road beyond the village of Ingleton, are going on sale at just under £40,000 and will appeal to Dales lovers who appreciate the true notion of “getting away from it all”.

Matthew Binns, of David Hill Surveyors, who manage the site at Beezley Farm for the Ingleton Scenery Company, has two show homes ready to show prospective buyers. “This is a chance to own a really luxurious country retreat in the very heart of the Dales,” he said.

The luxury caravans have central heating and double glazing, two double bedrooms, top of the range kitchens, satellite broadband – and spectacular views from a decked area outside.

Viewings are by appointment only with the agents, David Hill (details below).

The waterfalls nearby were painted by landscape artist JMW Turner, and were visited by Arthur Conan Doyle (whose literary hero Sherlock Holmes met his demise, of course, at a famous waterfall).

• Ingleton has been well-known for its caves and magnificent mountain scenery since the 18th century, but after a series of articles appeared in the local press, public curiosity prompted the appointment of an Improvements Company to make the waterfalls accessible to the public.
• The trail first opened on in April, 1885, charging a twopenny entrance fee. Thousands of visitors flocked to Ingleton by train from Bradford, Manchester and Leeds. In June 1888, some 3840 people visited Ingleton in one day alone.
• The famous trail takes walkers along the banks of the river Twiss through Swilla Glenn with its coin embedded tree and on to Pecca Falls, Pecca Twin Falls, Holly Bush Spout and Thornton Force. A footbridge bridge crosses the Twiss and leads to Beezley’s Farm where Falls Park is sited. It then descends the River Doe to Beezley’s Falls Triple Spout (with its three waterfalls side-by side), then continues onto Baxenghyl  gorge,  Snow Falls and finally walk through Twistleton Glenn and back to Ingleton.

For more details:

http://www.falls-park.co.uk/

01756 795621

info@falls-park.co.uk

Effective media relations: a collage of press cuttings

Blowing one’s own trumpet – this terrific montage of press cuttings (all material provided by Cumbria PR) was designed by Badger Press of Windermere. It’s part of an exhibition in Wray Castle to celebrate the achievements of the three-year Windermere Reflections project.