As we enter July, I think we can all agree that the weather has been rather disappointing of late. However, the sun has eventually arrived, and the weather certainly appears to be picking up. Although the rain was not kindly received, it has resulted in lush gardens.

Our blue poppies love the wet ground and have thrived this year providing a growing spectacular show.  Howtown is now surrounded by stunning colours, both in the gardens and out on the fells.

Thanks to the Penrith Red Squirrel Group, which supplies us with a special mix of seeds and nuts, Dani ensures our regular squirrel visitors are well-fed, while red squirrels enjoy hazelnuts, they avoid raw acorns due to toxic tannins that the greys can tolerate.  Both species delight in the see discs from Elm trees.  It’s always fun to learn something new!

Our Howtown Bees have suffered during the wet and windy weather of Spring and early Summer. This weather has made it hard for the bees to get out and forage and for a new queen to mate.

Our beekeeper Lucy Mote reported an early season swarm, our hive was strong, so Lucy took away some brood to prevent this from happening again. Despite this, the hive has somehow become queen-less by June! By bringing some fresh eggs back to the hive, the bees should raise a new queen. Hopefully, she will be mated before too long, ensuring a strong colony to survive the winter. Two of this year's Howtown weddings have enjoyed fresh honeycomb straight from the hive, which was a treat!

We continue to offer the Hotel for exclusive group bookings and have been thrilled with the enthusiastic response from our guests. It is lovely to see families and friend gathering in this beautiful landscape enjoying lovely walks and all the trappings Howtown Hotel has to offer.   

As part of our weekend packages some visitors have hosted a wedding, each featuring a marquee in our lakeside field, making for idyllic celebrations in wonderful weather.

Our holiday cottages are operating as normal with our dine-at-home menu proving very popular amongst our guests. The tea room, open daily continues to delight visitors with a selection of savoury and sweet treats.

I hope this provides you with a small update from the beautiful valleys of Martindale. The lush greenery and the fells covered with bracken and foxgloves at this time of year together with the contrasting wildflower meadows continue to create a vivid inviting landscape. 

As always we hope to welcome you back here soon.

Sending you summer wishes.

Our early summer galler is available to view here