Its not often enough that me and my girlfriends are able to get away together and the last two years have been no exception what with COVID and all. We were suppose to go and see Alanis Morissette in 2020 in Dublin, but that got cancelled and rearranged and our flights cancelled and rearranged so many times that we ending up sacking it off in the end. In fact I think, to date, she still hasn’t played that Dublin show! Anyhoo, what we did in preparation for that, was start saving a small amount a month, each, into a savings account, so that when the trip came around, all our accommodation and spends was already available.
Come late 2021 and the ‘fun fund’ including all our Alanis refunds, was looking quite tasty, so in the absence of Alanis, we decided to go to the Lakes for the weekend, which lead us to staying at Windermere Marina Village. And what a lark we had.
The accommodation is beautiful and absolutely ideal for a girls weekend away. It’s all modernly fitted out, the breakfast bar with stools was a big hit for us. The rain shower is amazing, and with two decent sized bedrooms for the three of us, there was ample room for cosy snoozy time.
Out balcony overlooked the marina, which, when not raining like a pissing cow, was incredibly pretty. The only thing spoiling it was that we were there the weekend after storm Arwen, which had pretty much obliterated the jetty outside our apartment, so the massive crane obstructing the view ruined out pictures, but that can’t exactly be helped now can it?
The fact that the weather was so abysmal when we were there actually meant we made good use of the apartment itself. You’re able to order a food delivery; Sainsbury, Asda and Tesco all deliver to the complex. It meant we didn’t have to worry about hauling a load of prosecco and chocolate cake across from Newcastle at least. The fact that there’s free parking right outside every property though certainly helps when you arrive and need to unpack in the biblical torrential rain.
Other than bare essentials (there was a Nespresso coffee machine – happy Newman) and washing up/dishwasher tablets, loo roll etc, you pretty much need to bring everything else yourself, so if you have a favourite tea or want some milk on your cereal, definitely make sure you pack it. We felt there wasn’t quite enough toilet roll provided an ended up buying some more so if you’re a group of lasses having prosecco wees every 20 minutes, bring an extra roll with you too. That said, I’m sure you would have been able to ask for more at reception if you needed it.
In terms of distance to Windermere, it’s about a 15 minute walk to the bottom of the lake and the main high street where all the shops and pubs are. We found a gorgeous bar called Boaters Bar where they had some gorgeous festive cocktails and live music on the Sunday night. The Marina village itself also has it’s own pub which did amazing truffles fries, something we were very ready for after a hairy drive across the peak district to get there!
We paid about £550 for three of us for three nights which, considering the spec of the place was decent value. It felt like a treat, but after almost two years of cancelled or rearranged travel plans, a treat we were well deserving of!
