William Wordsworth had a way with words back in the day. He lived in Cumberland and died in Cumberland and if ever you find yourself in England’s Lake District you can find his gravestone in the churchyard of the charming little village of Grasmere.
The village has changed very little since he wrote his “Daffodils” poem.
There are none of the all too familiar shop brands here in the twists and turns of this popular little place, apart from the local Co-op.
There’s a Chocolate Shop, a Gingerbread Shop, shops that sell Camping and Walking Gear and the inevitable Gift Shops, but apart from that there is little else to spend your pennies on.
There is a wide range of good accommodation within a five mile radius of Grasmere from cheap Hostels to 4 star Hotels.
My wife was 70 earlier this month, so as a special treat I booked us a one night stay in the 4 star Wordsworth Hotel in the center of the village. The Wordsworth Hotel is a luxury Victorian style Country House Hotel.
It has 35 luxury bedrooms, 2 Junior Suites and 2 Luxury Suites.
I decided to push the boat out and chose the Dequincy Suite, one of the nicest rooms in the Hotel with superb views of the majestic mountains and beautiful gardens.
The Dequincy Suite is stylish and spacious with a seperate lounge, 2 large LCD T.V’s, a Coffee Machine, a King Size Bed with Egyption Cotton Linen, an I-Pod Dock and a luxurious bathroom with a walk in Shower and Jaccuzzi Bath.
I know what you’re thinking, but you’re only 70 once, and it’s only money.
As it was such a special occasion I arranged for the Hotel to provide champagne on ice, chocolates and a bouquet of flowers on arrival.
Management was over the moon as you can imagine, but we decided to deny ourselves a glass of bubbly until we had properly recovered from our trans pennine journey, by testing out the Hotels Spa pool, which we had entirely to ourselves.
The village and the Hotel were surprisingly busy for the first week in October. Most people seemed to be kitted out for exploring the surrounding hills. I was tempted to join them, but it would have been both selfish and irresponsible to leave management alone with a bottle of bubbly. Especially on her birthday!
We enjoyed another relaxing drink in the Hotel Bar, before being escorted to a window table for two in the atmospheric Signature Restaurant.
There was a wide menu choice which I will leave to your imagination. The wine unfortunately wasn’t quite up to expectations at £36 a bottle, and I was also disappointed to note that I was charged £38 for it on my bill the following morning!
Despite these minor disappointments we thoroughly enjoyed our one nighter at the Wordsworth Hotel. Furthermore I have scored a few brownie points along the way. Roll on 80!
