River Brathay, Halfway House & an Arts and Crafts House
There is a place along the road between Coniston and Ambleside that had interested the photographer in me for some time now. It lies about three quarters of a mile from Skelwith Bridge, in the Ambleside direction, a small group of houses known as Halfway House. The name comes from its original use as a stable where horses were kept for pulling cart loads of gunpowder from the gunpowder works at Elterwater (now Langdale Timeshare). The horses were changed at Halfway house before the cargo was taken on to Ambleside, where it was loaded onto barges for onward transportation along the lake. The house there was also use as a tollbooth in the 17th century.
The part that sparked my interest in this area is the oxbow lake to the north of the cottages. With the river Breathy on one side, it is surrounded by reeds and very wet ground, but at the right time of day it produces a very photogenic landscape.
The building in the photos is Nanny Brow Country House Hotel. The hotel was built in 1904 in the Arts and Crafts style by London architect Francis Whitwell, when he came to the Ambleside area to build his family home. Whitwell was a well established member of the Arts and Crafts movement and many of the original features are still visible, having been rediscovered and restored by the current owners.
