A derelict Lake District boathouse featured in photos taken by Beatrix Potter’s father has been brought back to life for 21st century visitors.
The famous writer and illustrator and her family spent ten summers staying on the 40 acre Lingholm estate near Keswick and the original Boathouse was one of the features captured on camera by her father, Rupert Potter. Fast forward almost 140 years and a contemporary new Lingholm boathouse has now been unveiled as a holiday hideaway on the private estate.
The 19th century structure fell into disuse more than half a century ago and had become damaged beyond repair, but the current owners of the Lingholm estate have just completed a complex construction project to create a striking, new eco-friendly Boathouse adjacent to the original version on the shore of Derwentwater.
It’s a double celebration for the wider Lingholm Estate, which was last night (Wednesday 19 Jun e) crowned as Cumbria Tourism’s ‘Self Catering Accommodation of the Year’.
With panoramic lake views, underfloor heating and a freestanding bath overlooking the water, the new contemporary glass-fronted boathouse is finished in Siberian larch cladding and fuelled by a biomass boiler. As well its own Lakeside terrace and mod cons including a dishwasher and wine fridge, the 98m2 Lingholm boathouse features its own honesty bar and has a rowing boat for guests to borrow housed underneath the main accommodation.
Director of the Lingholm Estate, David Seymour, says, “We are thrilled to unveil the only new boathouse accommodation alongside Derwentwater in living memory and for us, the culmination of five years work. The challenge has been to create new luxury accommodation which sensitively blends into the surrounding woodland and gives a nod to the original boathouse.
“The first staying guests have told us that the privacy and tranquillity gives a sense of literally ‘owning ‘the whole lake, and we are proud to have created what we think is a unique new architectural showpiece which will stand the test of time.”
Lingholm’s Boathouse was designed by Shaw and Jagger Architects, who specialise in country house projects and sensitive work inside National Parks.
A 3-night stay at the Boathouse (sleeping two people) starts from £300 per night, depending on the season.
