Exploring the Grounds at Wray

Look out for the castellated towers, corner towers with narrow iron-rimmed arrow slits, coat of arms, and the impressive porte-cochere.

A porte-cochère or 'coach gateway' is a covered porch-like structure at a main or secondary entrance to a building through which originally a horse and carriage and can pass to provide arriving and departing occupants’ protection from the elements. Wray’s is particularly impressive.

Part of larger, deliberately ruined wall structures that encircled the castle. Mostly removed in the 1970s, the ruins included a crumbling tower in front of the main entrance.

This short, level walk with a few steps, passes through the castle’s collection of exotic trees and a shady grove of yews. The cobbled floor of a summerhouse can still be spotted beside the path. Don’t forget to look out for the Mulberry tree out past the café. It is said that William Wordsworth planted the tree in the grounds in 1845. There are some other interesting specimen trees, such as sequoias, cedar and beech and many of the surviving veteran oaks in the parkland pre-date the Castle.

Although no longer complete you can imagine how impressive it once would have been. Past the walled garden would have been the orchard.

Like the castle, the boathouse is bold and Gothic in style and large enough to store and launch small steamboats. It includes a jetty and mini harbour. Taking a boat trip is hands-down the best way to appreciate the lake’s beauty and you can catch Windermere Lake Cruises Green Cruise* at Wray’s own jetty *Easter to September.

Woodland links the house to the lakeshore. Epley Head is a famous viewpoint across the lake towards Fairfield and the historic Low Wood Hotel.

Windermere has few good beaches, and this stretch of shingle is a prized feature of the estate.

Owned by the Church of England, the church is part of the Dawsons’ landscape design and sits among champion oak trees. The interior is not open to visitors.

Ten and a half miles long, and a little over 200ft deep, Windermere is England’s largest lake. With some of the best views in the Lake District (to the north, the central fells; to the south, a wooded shoreline),

For scale and serene beauty, Lake Windermere is renowned as one of the most exquisite places in the Lake District.