THINGS TO DO IN CUMBRIA AND YORKSHIRE DALES
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A Diver’s Hangout
We knew we wanted our studio and St Marks to be used for all kinds of activities, but little did we know that it would turn out to be perfect for a diver's hangout. This is just what we were told when a group of scuba diving instructors and students arrived to stay...
Go Ape Adventure
Despite having a dislike of heights, I have been wanting to try a Go Ape Adventure for so long and finally got the chance to have an awesome time. We couldn't have asked for a better day to try out Go Ape's Tree Top Adventure in the stunning environment of Grizedale...
Stop waiting for the right time
On a weekday evening after work recently, Damian and I got in the car and headed in to the Lake District for a hike and some wild camping, (and yes we did adhere to the rules of wild camping) with the plan that we would be up early and back to our desks in time for...
Yoga and Positivity
When the wonderful Sonia arrived in her campervan on our drive, it was the start of a fabulous bank holiday weekend full of yoga and positivity. If you want your venue to have a boost, then just book Sonia, as her energy for life envelopes you and you spend the whole...
Good food, creativity and friendship
When we viewed St Marks, we did not even know back then that we would be gaining a week every year where good food, creativity and friendship would be a big part of our Spring season. This is exactly what we get when our quilting ladies return from Scotland and the...
Our First Yoga Retreat
Back in April 2018, when we hosted our first yoga retreat here at St Marks Stays, it was the realisation of one of our dreams from 2015. When we were looking for a new home, the thing we loved about St Marks, was the studio room and the opportunities we could create...
Appleby Horse Fair
This year was our second year to witness the travelling and gypsy community make their way through Sedbergh to Appleby Horse Fair. There is something lovely about being in Cautley, because in our location, we just hear the clip clop of horses and get to watch the...
Fun interior design. Why not?
Not taking ourselves too seriously, we wanted to have some fun interior design in St Marks Stays and why not hey! I always love hotels, bars and restaurants that are quirky and we wanted to create a little bit of that with our designs. Bedroom five is named Monteverde...
A love for Moroccan Interiors
I (Joanne) knew one of our rooms and especially a bathroom was going to have an Moroccan inspiration, because it turns out, I’m not the only person with a love for Moroccan Interiors. There is something about the vibrant tones and patterns that is so different to the...
What is a triple bunkbed?
When people are enquiring about booking St Marks Stays, the question asked a lot is, ‘What is a triple bunkbed?’ So with the unveil of bedroom three, here is exactly what our triple bunkbed looks like. Bedroom three is the middle room in the house and has had the...
Style inspired by Mackintosh
The style inspired by Mackintosh is within our bedroom number two in St Marks Stays, which sits to the right down the little steps and has the fabulous views of the hills at the back of the house. The style we are talking about, is of course Rennie Mackintosh and a...
Our Namaste welcome to you
As we open up our newly renovated rooms, here is the transformation of bedroom one and our Namaste welcome to you. We had always called the bedrooms by numbers for our reference when we moved in to St Marks, but talking to lots of people, it became apparent that...
A Creative Studio
One of the draws of St Marks for us, was the studio as we immediately saw it as a creative meeting room that would be perfect for residential retreats. It has been used in the past as a classroom for Bolton School and a creative base for the previous owner’s company,...
Is it a Drawing Room, or a Parlour?
Having the luxury of two living rooms here at St Marks Stays, we were wondering what to call the second living room and had conversations about if we were frightfully posh, would it be called a drawing room or a parlour? The word Parlour comes from the French word...
Renovating to commercial constraints
It has been amazing that lots of followers online have felt encouraged to advise us on our renovations and what they would like to do with the house and unfortunately our answer has always been, ‘Arh but yes we are renovating to commercial constraints’. We love the...
Why we are putting the social back in to the dining room
Our main vision for a change in lifestyle was to create a place for people to be more social in and for our latest before and after renovation, here is how and why we went about putting the social back in to the dining room. Every memorable holiday for us has involved...
Doing your own reupholstering
When we told people we were renovating the dining room, we were asked a lot, as though it was the norm, the question of, ‘Are you doing your own reupholstering?’ Well despite having a degree in Textiles and Knitwear, I (Joanne) am not skilled at all with a sewing...
Our First Year
Although it has not been a full year since we moved to St Marks, as we take a break for Christmas, the end of 2017 seems an appropriate time to reflect on our first year. I am not going to lie, it has been a rollercoaster of a journey already and whilst you all know...
Kendal Mountain Festival
On our first look into the Kendal Mountain Festival, we thought it would be more of interest to Damian, given that he wishes to pick back up his training for a mountain leadership qualification, but wow we were wrong. I (Joanne) loved it! It was so good to see Kendal...
Walking in Sedbergh
Being situated in the Howgill Fells there are plenty of places to go walking in Sedbergh and here is a little glimpse at the stunning landscape of Winder Fell in the Autumn. Even the misty views do not disappoint and the autumnal colours at this time of the year are...