Friday, November 21, 2014

Postcards from the Lake District: Wray Castle

In my post earlier this week, I explained that one of the ways I organize plans for our trips is by weather. Meaning I keep a list of outdoor activities and a list for rainy or cold days. I knew both from looking at the forecast and from what I've learned about English weather that I better be prepared for rain when we visited the Lake District.

At the top of my rainy day list was a visit to Wray Castle. It looked really unique... a medieval-style castle built in the mid-1800s. Because its somewhat strange history, the castle was given to the National Trust completely empty. Meaning no paintings, sculptures, furniture or other relics that typically fill these types of properties. Much to our delight, the National Trust has instead packed the castle with incredibly family-friendly activities.



My kids made crafts, built a castle out of foam blocks, played ping pong, and dressed as knights and kings.





But their favorite was acting like Peter Rabbit, the mischievous and beloved Beatrix Potter character. An entire tower of the castle has been developed into a Peter Rabbit play area. The best part? This isn't at all out of place or tacky. Potter had close ties to the castle. She spent a holiday there when she was young, and she used the royalties from her first book (The Tales of Peter Rabbit, of course!) to purchase large portions of land around the castle.




And it felt a little bit like Potter might have been watching over us that day. Because just as we arrived, the clouds cleared a bit and we were able to enjoy the land she once owned.






This post is a part of Friday Postcards at Walking on Travels. I shared photos from a Lake District hike around Hawkshead last week, and will share more photos from our time in the Lake District next week.



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