Celebrating Lake District cottage holidays 2015

The best of Lake District cottage holidays 2015

Happy New Year! Lakelovers take a look back at holiday memories from the Lake District 2015 and look forward to a happy and healthy 2016!

As Lakelovers approach ’40 years in the making’ we celebrate a record year as the Lake District’s self catering specialists.

“Lakelovers continue to become the number one letting agency choice for luxury, quality holiday properties in the Lake District,” says Managing Director Paul Liddell.

Hamper Prize – best holiday memories 2015

And we’d like to take this time of reflection to thank all our loyal and valued customers of the past, many of whom we welcome year after year, and we look forward to welcoming future holidaymakers to browse the largest collection of self catering cottages in the treasured Lake District National Park.

Not a time for gloating, but a time for thanks and being proud.

This year our portfolio of now over 450 self catering properties across the Lakes has grown still further and we are proud to maintain the Lakelovers high standards, whereby only holiday properties that are VisitEngland rated 3 Star or higher are selected for the Lakelovers portfolio.  This is not the only criteria. We hand-pick our collection based on our almost 40 years self catering holiday experience, and we hope you agree that we offer some of the very best self catering holiday experiences in the Lakes.

Whether you’re looking to book a holiday at the moment or not, it is worth having a nosy through our portfolio. For some properties the owners themselves have given the holiday homes their own special touch; some have hired professional interior designers and architects; for others we have helped out with style and design recommendations.  All worth taking a look around!

We’ve collected together quite an exquisite range of holiday homes, for all budgets.  From large 20+ sleeping estates and sheer luxury apartments; cosy cottages in prime locations; perfect architect designed home-from-home holiday retreats; to sought-after boathouses and holiday lodges; and of course the Lakelovers ribbon runs through them all – the perfect combination of unique Lake District charm mixed with comfortable and stylish fittings and furnishings.

Properties aside, a holiday in the Lake District is about taking time out, slowing down, getting fresh air, enjoying the natural beauty of the landscape and unique wildlife, taking on outdoor challenges, spending time with loved ones and relaxing. And we have loved sharing our favourite things to do and see in the Lakes over 2015 and even more, enjoyed hearing what yours are. . .

Earlier on during the festive period we asked you on Facebook and twitter for your best holiday moment(s) from your Lake District 2015 holiday, with a delicious Hawkshead Relish hamper for all who entered our prize draw.

Here are a collection of your great memories and photos of holidaying with Lakelovers in 2015. . . thank you for sharing. And well done to Jill Smythe for winning the draw prize, the luxury Hawkshead Relish hamper! Find us on Facebook for more shared memories, photos and Lake Distract inspiration!

• Janet Bennett “Stopping to admire breathtaking view over Lake Coniston – a magical memorable time” 
• Kate Nicholson “Every day’s a holiday when u live in #LakeDistrict” 
• Glen Hutton “Taking my young daughter to Beatrix Potter’s House, Hawkshead.It was a dream come true for her.
• Marg Burgess “While staying in a cottage in Hawkshead got a call I had sold my house ‪#relief#happy”
• Deb Bev “Best Moment, we took the plunge and left the car at home. Still had a fab hol while protecting the environment” 
• Johanna Mather “We come up to the Lakes twice every year but it’s sometimes just the simple things that stay with you. On this occasion it was skimming stones on the shores of Windermere, just down from Wray Castle. Good times! Xx”
• Carole Griffiths “Discovering Rydal Caves with a 6 year old!”
• @beth51north “Walking up Cat Bells in the sun!”
• Peter Hayhurst “Visit to Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway. I visit every few years and have done since a child. A great treat even though I now live a long way away. It reminds me of my holidays as a child and being raised in Barrow.”
• Jill Smythe “Our Lake District holiday was all about meeting up and doing things together – Mountains, Pubs, Meals, Walks, Talks, Laughs & Sightseeing”
• Wendy Price “Not one from 2015, but the reason the Lakes are so incredibly special to us, is that it’s where we found out I was pregnant with our boy. It had been a long and emotional journey to get that far and we just knew something was different that time. I had never felt such utter serenity and calm as I experienced on that holiday, enveloped by the beauty and peace of such a stunning place. It touched my heart forever, and I believe that moment was passed onto my son as he utterly adores the area too! He’s nine now and says he feels Cumbria is like home. It’s ‘our’ place – this year, last year, forever x”
• Kev Burnley “Meeting these two people on ‘The Struggle’. I unintentionally snapped them just before getting chatting to them, then almost an hour later in Glenridding, I realised I’d left my camera at the viewpoint where we were talking. I dashed back there, more in hope than expectation. Halfway back, a guy in a 4×4 stopped me in my car. He’d met them too, and they’d asked him to look out for my (quite distinctive) car, as they’d got my camera. I met them just approaching the Kirkstile Inn. They were so happy to return my camera. They’d also left a note at the viewpoint “To the kind man who gave us directions” leaving their mobile number and saying the camera would be at the police station in Ambleside. I was moved to tears. I wish they could have the hamper.” 
• John Turner “Here’s us on one of the walks we did during our stay at Kirkley Bank.” “We stayed at one of your properties ‘Kirkley Bank’ for a week early in 2015. We used it as a base for some great walks. It was so good we’re going again next year.”
• Dirk Smith “The hills are alive to the sound of perfect silence.”
• Dirk Smith “Love the fact that we can leave Durham where we live and three hours later we can be enjoying a walk with beautiful views. Here we are from one of our trips to the Lakes this year at the top of Walla Crag and Janice having a Julie Andrews moment.”
• Maralyn Smith ‏“There were two, – the boat trip on Windermere and the trip to the Motor Museum which was really good.”

2015 has been a rollercoaster of a year

Looking back on 2015 there have been highs and lows, with the low of Storm Desmond actually showcasing the Lake District in all its glory – the #SpiritofCumbria rose up.  It was uplifting and inspiring – the warmth and unique community spirit of Cumbria coming into its own.

Although the effects will continue for many poor local people, our area is breathtaking, community spirit is inspiring and the Lake District is very much open for business.  

With 2016 booking up quickly already and new exciting properties on the horizon, we are excited about the year to come, but we also want to recognise some of 2015’s achievements: 

Increasing our record levels of occupancy throughout our entire portfolio is still seen as a high within the company, although Lakelovers treat this as the norm, our biggest high in 2015 has to be the recognition received from VisitEngland having the highest quality score throughout the Lake District in terms of Visit England Gold Awarded properties, this is continuing to grow and our customers are loving these exceptional standards.

Lakelovers achieve Bronze Award for the largest sustainability certification, the Green Tourism 2015  awards ! 

Then there was the special local award, awarded to Lakelovers from Windermere & Bowness Civic Society for ‘noteworthy contribution to the visual amenity of the villages 2015′ 

Lakelovers’ Plum Cottage was a winner of the ROSE Award, new National award from VisitEngland for excellence in providing ‘warmest welcome’.

A look ahead to 2016 

In 2016 we have so much to look forward to, including website refresh, office expansion, working in partnership with sought-after locals like celebrity TV Chef Peter Sidwell to offer exclusive holiday experiences and closely following and being involved in the training of five brave Lake District Mountain Search and Rescue Dogs and their handlers.

Much, much more. . . but for now it is time to celebrate 2015, thank our holidaymakers and property owners, past and future and wish everyone a Happy New Year!