Christmas in Cumbria

The Troutbeck Valley, in England's Lake District (Cumbria)

Greetings from Ledbury, where we've not long returned from spending Christmas in The Lake District.

Goodness only knows why it's taken 16 years for me to return to this incredibly beautiful part of England. I first visited Cumbria back in 1986, for just a couple of days; I can't even remember where I stayed but it was probably in Windermere. Then, in 2009, Kevin and I were in the region with friends as they were all doing the Coast to Coast cycle route from Whitehaven to Sunderland. Again, we only had a day or two to explore prior to the cycling commencing, but both of these brief visits were enough for me to decide I wanted to return some day.

I suppose the Lake District is far enough away from Surrey to make it more of an expedition. Of course we've driven further on many occasions, with multiple trips to various parts of Scotland, but somehow we haven't managed to get back to the countryside made famous by literary luminaries such as Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter. However, now that we're in Herefordshire it's not such a great distance; the 300km journey up to Troutbeck took about four hours, not counting an hour or so for a lunch stop in the very pleasant and well-to-do town of Knutsford in Cheshire. Oh boy - there is some money there! I kept thinking it was the Cheshire equivalent of Harrogate in Yorkshire, with its many eateries and high-end boutiques.

The businesses of Knutsford in Cheshire went all out with their Christmas decorations!

Wallop, in Knutsford:
'Eatery * Drinkery * Tomfoolery' 🤣

See, now this is just one of the reasons I love England.
Stopped by chance in Knutsford for lunch, stumbled across this!

Gaskell Memorial Tower in Knutsford, Cheshire. 
Elizabeth Gaskell was a former resident, and she based her novel Cranford on the town

 

In the fading daylight we arrived at our cottage in the little village of Troutbeck, about 10 minutes' drive from Windermere. The village consists of a series of tiny hamlets, perched on the hillside. Some of the dwellings are very old indeed, but others are new-builds (as ours was), constructed at least partially in the style of traditional local dwellings, in local stone. It's clear that a good percentage of the houses in Troutbeck operate as holiday accommodation and I suspect the permanent population is very small.

Applethwaite Cottage in Troutbeck, above Lake Windermere

We made very good use of the wood-burner during our five days in Troutbeck

Room with a view:
Actual view from our cottage sitting room in Troutbeck, Cumbria

View from our little garden area in Troutbeck,
the hills turning incredible shades of purple in the morning light

After many months of almost unrelenting grey skies and rain, the weather gods were smiling on us and the entire time we were away it was dry, cold and sunny.

On Christmas Eve we drove down to Windermere to explore the town, making the most of the limited trading hours before everything closed down for the public holidays. The anti-capitalist in me was pleased to see that quite a few of the stores and restaurants had already ceased trading for the festive season, probably a sensible decision given that there were relatively few tourists around. I say this with a good dose of cheek, given that I took advantage of one particular shop being open by purchasing a fabulous pair of lace-up boots on sale!

We were lucky to get an outside table in the town's most popular café, because even at this subdued time of year people queue to get a seat! The coffee was acceptable, but the pastries and cakes were superb.

Sunrise on our first morning in Troutbeck, Christmas Eve

The little town of Windermere, where they take their Christmas decorations seriously!

Windermere has lots of pretty houses

Such were the size of the pastries consumed that we didn't require lunch, and after stopping at a local supplier to supplement the cottage's store of firewood we returned to the cottage to change into walking boots. We tripped across fields and hills, down to Jesus Church where I was very happy to discover - completely by accident - that the stained glass east window, behind the altar, was Pre-Raphaelite! It was dedicated in 1873, having been jointly designed by Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris and Ford Madox Brown. 

The existing church structure was built in 1736, although there was a previous church on the site as early as 1506 and some of the older building's features remain. It's technically a chapel rather than a church, partly because of its diminutive size but apparently also because it does not have a tabernacle.

We walked across rolling hills and gurgling streams to reach Jesus Church

Jesus Church, just down the hill from our cottage in Troutbeck, The Lake District

The Pre-Raphaelite window in Jesus Church, Troutbeck.
It was designed jointly by Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris and Ford Madox Brown

Cemetery with a view: the churchyard of Jesus Church in Troutbeck

Late afternoon sun strikes the tops of trees
- view from our rental cottage front door as we returned from Jesus Church
(Troutbeck, Cumbria) 

Because we choose to have our formal Christmas celebration on 24 December (in line with Scandinavian tradition), we had booked a table months ago at one of the two local pubs, about a 15-minute walk from the cottage along a short section of road and then a lengthy section of rocky paths. Armed with torches in the pitch dark of late afternoon we made our way to The Queen's Head. Our meal was adequate but not great; for some reason we were seated in splendid isolation at the back of the pub in a booth, despite there only being a few diners in the main part of the dining area, and our server didn't seem inclined to encourage us to order dessert... so we didn't! 

After another bracing 15-minute torch-lit walk back to the cottage with stars blazing above us in an inky black sky unpolluted by light, we stoked up the fire, finished off the bottle of Prosecco we'd opened prior to setting out for dinner and cracked open the panettone we'd brought with us from Ledbury.

Cheers!
Kevin enjoying a beer at The Queen's Head in Troutbeck on Christmas Eve

Christmas Day dawned brilliantly sunny once again and after a slap-up, leisurely breakfast we made the most of the weather by doing a two-hour ramble which afforded us views of Lake Windermere a little further along the Troutbeck Valley. Given everybody else was sitting down to their Christmas dinners we only encountered a couple of people along our route.

Then it was home to prepare our traditional, weirdly-timed, too-late-for-lunch-but-too-early-for-dinner Christmas Day meal, which we usually sit down to at around 4pm. As always the cooking was accompanied by my Christmas playlist. I'd been saddened to hear of Chris Rea's death just a couple of days before, as I'd been a fan since his first hit Fool If You Think It's Over (1978). Over the years I'd had a few of Chris's albums. He had a very distinctive, gravelly voice and by all accounts was a down-to-earth chap. Of course, at this time of year, no festive playlist is complete without his superb crowdpleaser, Driving Home for Christmas.

Kevin and Yours Truly, with Lake Windermere in the background, on Christmas Day
- in Troutbeck, Cumbria

Teeny-tiny ferns growing in between layers of stone
- dry stone wall, Troutbeck

*sigh*
I do love a bit of moss! It grows in abundance along many of the Lake District's traditional dry stone walls

Late morning shadows above Lake Windermere on Christmas Day

Another babbling brook in Troutbeck, Lake District - on Christmas Day

Green, gold and russet - the colours of the Lake District on a sunny day in winter

Everything is still spectacularly green, even as far north as The Lake District.
It's been a very mild winter thus far

We couldn't believe our luck, but Boxing Day was yet another gloriously sunny day. We set out late morning armed with thermos, sandwiches and mince pies, undertaking a fairly strenuous hike to Wansfell Pike which wound relentlessly uphill for 2.5km (!), with icy patches becoming ever more treacherous as we neared the summit. 

I was glad we hadn't left it any later in the day to set off because as we ate our lunch on the peak and then headed back down to Troutbeck, at least a hundred walkers and their dogs arrived in a steady stream. Clearly everybody was determined to walk off the excesses of their Christmas Day feasts.

It reminded me why we nearly always choose to visit popular tourist spots off-season; I recalled with a shudder our 2009 trip to the Lake District when we made the mistake of driving through the town of Windermere - there were, quite literally, crowds of people walking four or five abreast on the narrow footpaths and spilling onto the road. My understanding is that the number of tourists has increased dramatically since that time, so one can only imagine the throng in the summer months. The horror!

One of the stiles we clambered over on our Boxing Day walk up to Wansfell Pike

Spectacular views of hills and valleys above Troutbeck and Ambleside,
from the summit of Wansfell Pike on Boxing Day

Lake Windermere sparkling under low winter sun on Boxing Day
- taken from the summit of Wansfell Pike

And then, sadly, our time in the Lake District was at an end.

On the morning of departure we were wishing we'd booked five or six nights instead of just the four, and that was due in no small part to the weather obviously. Had it rained every day we probably would have been more than ready to pack up and leave. Overall I was very happy with the accommodation I'd selected, and particularly its quiet location. We are already thinking about returning, maybe next time in early spring or late autumn - hopefully early / late enough to avoid the worst of the peak tourist season.

Unfortunately we hit terrible traffic on the return journey to Ledbury and it took more than six hours to reach home. We really had enjoyed a charmed five days in the Lake District, the contrast made all the more stark as with every mile we drove south, the skies became greyer and darker, eventually turning to rain.

Sunrise, viewed from the little garden area of our rented cottage in Troutbeck

Myself and Kevin enjoying the gorgeous green hills of Troutbeck, just outside Windermere

Swoon!
Just look at that golden colour on the hills opposite our rental cottage 
- just before sunset in Troutbeck, Cumbria

Well, it's New Year's Eve at the time of writing - my least favourite 'holiday' and it's highly likely that by the time midnight ushers in 2026, I will be tucked up in bed asleep. Still, there's some chance we might get a flurry of snow this week so... fingers crossed!

I do hope 2026 holds many wonderful things for all of us. 

Until next time,

- Maree  xo

Getting into the Christmas Spirit

Our house with festive lights and mistletoe on the front door

Yes, yes - I know. 

The long-promised post on the house has not yet come to fruition. There are a number of reasons for that, but I hope to finally publish something over the Christmas or New Year period.

In the meantime, I thought I would share some images of the lead-up to Christmas here in Ledbury, and the wider Herefordshire / Worcestershire region.

The mistletoe was a gift from a friend who, handily, has a tree in her garden that tipped over
in a storm... meaning the mistletoe can be reached without an industrial crane!

Our first festive event was the excellent Traditional Christmas Market in the grounds of Great Malvern Priory, only a 15-minute drive from home. I am pleased to report this was a very stylish market - a tat-free zone, with lots of high quality artisans selling delicious food and drink, handcrafted items and festive decorations. Unfortunately it was *very* wet and although we braved the stalls clad in rain jackets and armed with umbrellas, after an hour we decided we'd had enough. The Priory gave us some respite - it had been decorated, there were choirs performing, lots of activities for children and they even had a café set up. But due to the inclement weather outside, it was rammed, so not particularly conducive to lingering.

Still, we very much look forward to next year's market which - fingers crossed - might be blessed with better weather conditions.

We arrived at the Traditional Christmas Market at Great Malvern Priory just as it started to rain

Christmas carols with a difference:
the Worcester Ukele Club doing the honours at the Traditional Christmas Market, Great Malvern Priory

Now, on to Ledbury.

Man, this town loves a festival! Since we moved here in July there have been numerous large events where the main street is closed off to accommodate food vans, tractor parades, rides for the kiddies and musical performances. There must have been at least one each month, and of course Christmas is no exception.

Along with thousands of other locals, a few weeks ago we attended the Christmas Lights Switch-On. By way of entertainment there were a brass band accompanied by carol singers, Morris dancers and a local youth rock band. And of course the magical moment when the Town Crier (who attends the same 06:30 strength training circuit class that we do on a Wednesday morning) did the countdown and - * hey presto! *Ledbury was lit up, generating a spontaneous cheer from the crowd. What a joyful moment, and an interesting modern phenomenon. I can understand that in 'olden days' it was quite exciting when large-scale electric lighting was activated, but it's somehow pleasing that such a simple thing can elicit celebration, even in jaded old 2025.

One of the many food vans offering seasonal treats to the revellers of Ledbury,
at the Christmas Lights Switch-On

A member of Ledbury's canine residents, rugged up in his Christmas pudding festive jumper ♥️

Morris dancers shootin' the breeze before their next performance
at the Ledbury Christmas Lights Switch-On

Big crowds enjoying the festivities at Ledbury's Christmas Lights Switch-On
(this is the main street)

Just by luck we happened to be standing right underneath the fake snow blower
at Ledbury's Market Hall when it was switched on!

The Market Hall and Christmas tree do provide festive cheer on these cold, dark and long evenings

A couple of weeks later Ledbury hosted its special Christmas Late Night Shopping event. Stores across the town had decorated their windows and were serving mulled wine, Prosecco, mince pies and other treats to the hardy customers who braved what was, sadly, another windy and very wet evening. You've got to feel for the retailers as numbers were definitely down. The poor carollers were up an alley, huddled under the shelter of a canopy!

They woz robbed!
One of the local opticians has the best decorated window in Ledbury, but it was only a runner-up in the shopfront decoration competition.
(the winning window was rubbish... they must have paid off the judges, ha-ha)

The brass band stoically playing on under the shelter of the Ledbury Market Hall,
with the wind and rain all around them!

The Chocolate Box only opened its doors in November.
It stocks high-end (and very pricey!) chocolate and I hope it survives the current difficult financial environment

Black-and-white buildings in Church Lane, decorated for Christmas

More black-and-white splendour and festive decoration in Ledbury - the Feathers Hotel

At the top end of Ledbury's high street - we love the upper windows, each illuminated with a single star

This house is just opposite the top of our street.
They (and their neighbours) have done an elegant job of Christmas decorating!

In between the Christmas Lights Switch-On and the Late Night Shopping we very much enjoyed a wine tasting evening in the historic St Katherine's hall, once part of St Katherine's Hospital which was founded in 1232 by Bishop Hugh Foliot. The hall itself was built around 1330-40. This event was hosted by Hay's Wines, a superb specialist wine and spirits store just across the high street from the hall. What fun! Hard to beat an evening where a couple of hundred people lurch from table to table, enthusiastically sampling everything from fizz, white, rosé and red to dessert wine and port... and getting gradually more tipsy! Representatives from individual vineyards and wine wholesalers were available to advise on tipples from Europe, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, the USA, the UK and even lesser known wine regions such as Georgia (former Soviet Union republic). There were spittoons provided but I only saw one person use one - and just the once, ha-ha!

Our festive season activities have not been confined to the local area. In early December we nipped over to the north-western side of Herefordshire to visit two National Trust properties near Leominster, about 50 minutes' drive from Ledbury but only 10-15 minutes' drive from each other.

We were fortunate to have one of those gorgeous, sunny-but-frosty winter days requiring hats, gloves and scarves, and Croft Castle was a sight to behold against a cerulean blue sky. We did a tour of the house, in which some of the rooms were decorated for Christmas in the Victorian style. Although there's been a building on the site from around 1085 when the estate was established by the Croft family and baronets, the current building dates from the 1660s. We also visited the lovely church, which actually pre-dates the house by several centuries.

Croft Castle and St Michael's and All Angels Church, on a gloriously sunny winter's day

The dining room of Croft Castle, decorated for Christmas in Victorian style 

The western side of Croft Castle, near Leominster

The bell tower of St Michael and All Angels Church (13th century)
- Croft Castle, near Leominster

The light-filled interior of St Michael and All Angels church with its ornate tiled floor
- Croft Castle

Berrington Hall was less impressive! Ugh - what a spectacularly ugly building in red sandstone, which Wikipedia rather kindly describes as having 'a somewhat austere exterior' but with 'delicate interiors.' We'll have to take their word for the latter, and that of the National Trust, because unfortunately we'd just missed the last of the guided house tours when we arrived. 

Pictured below are some of the Berrington Hall yew balls, which were relocated from another spot earlier this year and which immediately started to fail, due to the shock of transplanting combined with the driest spring and hottest summer on record. Still, the National Trust gardeners have made the best of a bad lot by decorating the brown Christmas pudding shaped balls as... giant Christmas puddings!

Berrington Hall, near Leominster, in all its 'austere' splendour - not to my taste!

Fine views from the exterior of National Trust property Berrington Hall
near Leominster, Herefordshire

A trail of destruction at Berrington Hall!
Ancient yew balls that were relocated earlier this year - the shock of the relocation,
combined with the driest spring and hottest summer on record, meant they have all but died...

...but at least somebody had the clever idea of dressing them up as giant Christmas puddings!

Another view of Berrington Hall (and another one of those damaged yew balls), near Leominster

Today we've jaunted over to the Oxfordshire part of The Cotswolds to meet up with dear friends Roy and Tracey for a pre-Christmas lunch. I don't think we'd been to Burford for possibly ten years or so, and gosh how nice it was to be reminded that it is a very charming town. We had an hour to wander up and down the high street and its surrounds before our booking, and I spent no small portion of that time ooh-ing and aah-ing at beautifully decorated windows and gorgeous Christmas wreath-clad front doors of cute cottages. That golden Cotswolds stone takes some beating when it comes to architecture.

A very pleasing wreath on a lovely Cotswold cottage in Burford
- The Vicarage

The Church of St John the Baptist in Burford, Oxfordshire

These Burford people really know how to decorate a front entrance!
And just look at that Arts & Crafts wall lantern... *swoon*

One of Burford's lovely gift stores along its high street

A long avenue of pollarded trees and golden Cotswolds stone cottages
- Burford high street

Our lunch venue - the cosy and welcoming The Angel pub in Burford

Festive splendour around the specials board in the bar area of The Angel in Burford, Oxfordshire

We have invited about ten of our neighbours to Christmas drinks on the 22nd of December and we're looking forward to having more than just the usual quick doorstep conversation. The people in the street are a friendly bunch but when we see each other, one of us is always just about to head off somewhere, or we are halfway up a ladder cutting back a shrub etc. We have fingers crossed for our sitting room ceiling, a big chunk of which fell onto the floor a few weeks ago, followed by a steady ingress of rain. The leak has been repaired, but the 125-year-old lath-and-plaster ceiling is being completely replaced the week prior to our little soirée, and we have doubts that we'll manage to get it painted before the New Year...

As for Christmas itself, we'll be spending it in a small cottage in the picturesque Lake District village of Troutbeck, which is not far from Windermere. We have Christmas Eve dinner booked at the local pub, with hopes that it won't rain *every* day (it's a very wet part of the country), though if it's cold enough for the rain to turn into snow we'll be happy indeed.

And finally, a few more random festive shots...

One of Great Malvern's nicest gift stores has a whole basement level
dedicated to Christmas decorations!

Impressive decorations from this coffee place in nearby Hereford

'The Vegan Yorkie'
- lunch with former London work colleagues Julianne and Sam, at the Malbury Café, just 5 mins from home.
It's essentially a giant Yorkshire pudding filled with roast vegetables and vegan sausages! ♥️

15th century local pub The Prince of Wales, looking splendid for Christmas

Well, hopefully these images have helped to get you in the Christmas spirit, particularly those of you in Australia who are already suffering through extreme heat and bushfires. Here's hoping there is some relief in sight for you.

Wishing my readers a Christmas that brings you joy, whether that's a big family gathering or a quiet little celebration like ours. And particular thanks to friends and family abroad who send cards and gifts each year. It reminds us that, though we are very far away, we have people who love us scattered across the world.

Winter sunrise through the mist in Ledbury
(taken from a moving car on the way home from our obscenely early weights-circuit class)

Until next time,

- Maree  xo