Fell Foot Park

Fell Foot Park is a country park, formerly the grounds of a Victorian house, situated beside Windermere, a lake in Cumbria, England, and in the ownership of the National Trust. It is just north of Newby Bridge on the A592 road in the civil parish of Staveley-in-Cartmel in South Lakeland district.

Fell Foot
Fell Foot Park
Location in Cumbria
LocationCumbria, England, UK
Coordinates54.2751°N 2.9523°W / 54.2751; -2.9523
Operated byNational Trust

The estate was owned by Jeremiah Dixon, mayor of Leeds in 1784,[1] 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[2] and one of the founder members of the Royal Windermere Yacht Club. 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.[3][4]

The manager's house (originally built as a gas works),[3] several boathouses including one converted to a cafe,[5][6][7] and a workshop and dock[8] are Grade II listed buildings. They were constructed for Col. G.J.M. Ridehalgh.[3] 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 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 and the preserved Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway.[9]

The park's buildings were flooded during the 2015–16 Great Britain and Ireland floods.[10]

A new watersports centre opened at the north end of the park in 2018.[11] The park holds regular events, including a parkrun event every Saturday[12] and the All England Open Stone Skimming Championships every August.[13]

References
  1. "Lord Mayors & Aldermen of Leeds since 1626" (PDF). Leeds City Council. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  2. "George John Miller Ridehalgh". Grace's Guide to British Industrial History. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  3. Historic England. "Manager's House, Fell Foot Park (1225513)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  4. "Fell Foot Park". About Britain. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  5. Historic England. "Southern boathouse at Fell Foot Park (1225561)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  6. Historic England. "Northern boathouse at Fell Foot Park (1266317)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  7. Historic England. "Cafetria, Information centre and adjoining boathouse at Fell Foot Park (1225511)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  8. Historic England. "Workshop and adjoining dock at Fell Foot Park (1225512)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  9. "Fell Foot Ferry". Windermere Lake Cruises. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  10. "Flooding at Fell Foot". National Trust. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  11. "Walney's world sailing champion Steve Goacher opens Fell Foot Active Base". The Mail. 25 June 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  12. "Fell Foot parkrun, Newby Bridge". Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  13. "Stone-skimming champion beats own record on Windermere". BBC News. 18 August 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.

Further reading


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