Rutland

The Barnsdale Hall Hotel is located by the north side of Rutland Water (the lake). When the taxi turned the corner, suddenly the gorgeous building caught my eye. The old hall at Barnsdale was originally constructed in 1890 for the 6th Earl Fitzwilliam as a family hunting lodge. It is believed the Barnsdale name was possibly brought from the area of the same name, just north of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire where the Fitzwilliam family had their ancestral estate. After that, the hall passed through the hands of a variety of owners.


Our room was huge and had a big window which overlooks beautiful Rutland Water and a part of Barnsdale Hall building. There were two 3-seat sofas which allow us to enjoy the scenic beauty while relaxing. The bathroom was clean and big as well. It's the perfect place to relax and enjoy the stunning atmosphere! We were in a gleeful mood!


I took a scenic walk before dark. There are many cottages with triangle-shaped roofs around the hotel, but it was off season, there were few people who stayed in this area.  It is so quiet but I could hear a variety of birdsong around me and see some animals. A sheep was watching me with its mystified eyes. And squirrel cut across in front of me.







Wrapped in fresh air, in picturesque snow and frozen scenery in winter and in the tranquillity of nature, we could feel profoundly relaxed.




Rutland Water is the largest man-made lake. It has an interesting shape and is Anglian Water's drinking water reservoir. The peninsula, surrounded on three sides by Rutland Water is called Hambleton, where used to be in three parts; Upper, Middle and Lower (or Nether) Hambleton. In 1976, the flooding of the lower land left just Upper Hambleton and part of Middle Hambleton (now just known as "Hambleton"). It is also called as the "lost village". I am intrigued by the history of this lost village, and I have my mind set on reading this history.

It is thought that Hambleton used to be the capital of the Anglo Saxon kings in Rutland at one time. Hambleton means 'the settlement' (tun) 'on the crooked hill' (Hamble). Rutland has a rather ordinary name "estate of a man called Rota".

In the quiet of the morning, we enjoyed watching daybreak from the window. Clouds covered the sky, but it was beautiful. After the breakfast, we took a stroll. The ducks were strolling too!




We were ensconced on the sofa until a taxi came. It started to snow. We would had loved to stay more, but we left The Barnsdale Hall Hotel. In Oakham, we had time because the first train from Oakham on Sunday is 12:45! We was supposed to go home via London, but changed to assured route due to the snow.

These are our events during the weekend. It was simple but we could get our feast on exuberant wildlife and a beautiful and historical site. It was a really nice trip.

Comments

Popular Posts