Fell Foot Park is a

country park A country park is a natural area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment. United Kingdom History In the United Kingdom, the term ''country park'' has a special meaning. There are around 250 recognised coun ...

, formerly the grounds of a Victorian house, situated beside

Windermere Windermere (sometimes tautology (language), tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere, Cumbria (town), Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in leng ...

, a lake in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

, England, and in the ownership of the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. It is just north of

Newby Bridge Newby Bridge is a small hamlet in the Lake District, Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is located several miles west of Grange-over-Sands and is on the River Leven, close to the southern end of Windermere. The hamlet is the site ...

on the

A592 road The A592 road is a major route running north–south through the English Lake District. The road connects Penrith and junction 40 of the M6 motorway), with Staveley at the southern tip of the lake, Windermere, which is skirted by the A592 ...

in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

Staveley-in-Cartmel Staveley-in-Cartmel is a small village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in South Lakeland district, Cumbria, England. It lies east of Newby Bridge, near the south end of Windermere, northeast of Ulverston. It is sometimes known as ...

South Lakeland South Lakeland is a local government district in Cumbria, England. The population of the non-metropolitan district was 102,301 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 103,658 at the 2011 Census. Its council is based in Kendal. It includes ...

district. The estate was owned by Jeremiah Dixon, mayor of

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

in 1784, who sold it in 1859 to Colonel G.J.M. Ridehalgh (1835-1892), a director of the North Lonsdale Iron and Steel Company, colonel of the 2nd Westmorland Volunteer Battalion

Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service ...

and one of the founder members of the

Royal Windermere Yacht Club The Royal Windermere Yacht Club is a sailing club which was founded in 1860, situated at Fallbarrow Road, Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria, England. History The first recorded yacht race was to be held on Windermere in 1818, using, as its land base, ...

. The house was demolished in 1907 to build a larger replacement, but the project was abandoned when the then owner died. The estate was given to the National Trust in 1948. The manager's house (originally built as a gas works), several boathouses including one converted to a cafe, and a workshop and dock are Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

s. They were constructed for Col. G.J.M. Ridehalgh. A local sailing and rowing club is located at the park and rowing boat and kayak hire is available during summer months. Other facilities include car parking, toilets, a gift shop and a playground. Between March and September,

Windermere Lake Cruises Windermere Lake Cruises is a boat company which provides leisure trips on Windermere in the central part of the English Lake District. It is based in Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria. History Windermere is the largest natural lake in England, ...

operate a passenger ferry service from Lakeside station to Fell Foot. At Lakeside, connection can be made to the same company's steamer service to

Bowness-on-Windermere Bowness-on-Windermere is a town in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. It lies next to Windermere lake and the town of Windermere to the north east with which it forms the civil parish of Windermere and Bowness. The town was histor ...

and the preserved

Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway The Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway (L&HR) is a heritage railway in Cumbria, England. Location The L&HR runs from Haverthwaite at the southern end of the line via Newby Bridge to Lakeside at the southern end of Windermere. Some services are ...

. The park's buildings were flooded during the

2015–16 Great Britain and Ireland floods The 2015–2016 Great Britain and Ireland floods were a series of heavy rainfall events which led to flooding during the winter of late 2015 and early 2016. 11 named storms produced record level rainfall from November 2015 - March 2016 in both ...

. A new watersports centre opened at the north end of the park in 2018. The park holds regular events, including a

parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun (stylised as junior parkrun) ...

event every Saturday and the All England Open Stone Skimming Championships every August.

References

External links

Fell Foot Park information at the National Trust
* Includes links to many maps showing Fell Foot and

National Trust properties in the Lake District Parks and open spaces in Cumbria Furness Staveley-in-Cartmel {{Cumbria-geo-stub

References

Further reading

External links