a beautiful summer day in wray castle in england’s lake district on #igtravelthursday

 

Wray Castle Collage

Today is a flashback IG Travel Thursday for me – if you already follow my Instagram account @houseofanais, this place probably looks somewhat familiar from my photos taken in August: this is the lovely Wray Castle in Lake District.

On our visit it was a picture-perfect summer day in Ambleside, Cumbria, where Wray Castle – a rather new addition to the National Trust- is located by the beautiful lake Windemere, the largest natural lake in England. All in all it’s such an unusual place – a mock-gothic castle with turrets, crannies and nooks – and it also had a special link to the well-loved writer of Peter Rabbit – Beatrix Potter, which explains some of the Peter Rabbit-themed decor in the house.

Wray Castle

When looking at the castle from the outside – or even from the inside it is hard to believe that it was built only at 1840s! Unlike many other National Trust properties there isn’t much to see inside yet – the usual grand furnishing and royal history is lacking here, and the house was actually used as an educational building until 1990s, and still carries the classroom decor in most rooms.

Wray Castle is, however, a heaven for little explorers with its themed rooms and activities from Peter Rabbit’s garden and dressing up wardrobe to constructions areas and a children’s little library – a very unusual style indeed! National Trust has started the works to restore the house, but it will take years to complete – which leaves a lot of space for imagination when trying to picture the house in its former grandeur!
Wray Castle in Cumbria

The main staircase is grand and beautifully painted, and stretches all three stories up. This gives a good idea of how the house will eventually look like once the restorations has been completed. Typical to the gothic era there are also several colourful stained-glass windows still in place, and they give magical glow to the rooms.

Wray Castle in Cumbria

The weekend we visited had a lot of activities going on – here Miss A . is playing a made-up electric string instrument – we literally had to drag the children out of this cool “cave” of experiments as they were having so much fun creating their own sounds.

Wray Castle in CumbriaThe world of Peter Rabbit comes alive – there are some fun tasks to complete here, such as this harvesting of plastic veggies!

Wray Castle 2Wray Castle is as much about the outdoors as the indoors. For children there is a tyre swing to enjoy, croquet lawn for the family to use and quiz trail for the older ones, not forgetting the lovely lake (with a ferry during the summertime) which is perfect for a little picnic and fun games.

Wray Castle in Cumbria

Oh those views – this is what Lake District is all about – rolling hills, walking trails and some 50 shades of green stretching to the horizon. So peaceful!

Wray Castle in Cumbria

If you visit Wray Castle make sure you have enough time to wander around and down to the lake to enjoy the scenery and listen to the birds singing. This place is a little slice of heaven!

Wray Castle in Cumbria
Looking for a place to sit down for a snack and to practice some archery with Miss A’s new set

Wray Castle in Cumbria

Got to love this frame! It was a picture perfect summer day…

Here’s my Instagram feed from Wray Castle this summer showcasting especially those lovely interior details. Don’t forget to check out my Instagram feed @houseofanais for latest travel pictures and destination ideas!

And last, but not least – my IG-account inspiration comes this week from Tim: his IG account is @timj53. He has beautifully captured the colours of Sheffield Park by the lake in this picture:

timj53

Do you have a great Instagram travel story to share? Read the linky rules below and join us this week (but don’t forget to grab our logo {here} and link to at least one of hosts in your post). If you are not a blogger, but have an Instagram account tag your lovely travel moments with #IGTravelThursday. No blog, no Instagram? You can still join in the fun by reading our IG-related travel stories and by giving us some feedback love!IG Travel Thursday Linky Rules

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