This message has been sent to the club - not a bad part of the world.
Dear Lincolnshire Bird Club,
I am writing from Derwentwater Independent Hostel (Barrow House), in Borrowdale, as I thought you might be interested in organising a field trip to the area. Several of our staff members are interested in natural history and would be very happy to help where possible.
The hostel, occupying a Grade II listed Georgian house, is an excellent base for bird watching (lake, fells and woodland on the doorstep, with coast, marsh and estuaries fairly nearby), and the grounds also attract red squirrels, deer, badgers, moths, butterflies and dragonflies. One of our staff members regularly places a moth trap in the grounds and is happy to share his findings, but you are welcome to bring your own. He has also seen otters on Derwent Water and the River Derwent this year.
A beautiful waterfall tumbles through the grounds, clearly seen from the dining room and rear bedrooms, and the damp mixed woodland supports a number of interesting ferns, bryophytes and fungi. The valley is known as the Borrowdale Rainforest! There is more information about the hostel grounds and hydro-plant on our website:
www.derwentwater.org/ourhostel/groundsandwaterfall
We are open all year, enabling you to take advantage of each season, and you are welcome to a free overnight stay for 2 people to assist in planning.
With 88 beds across 11 bedrooms we can accommodate a variety of group sizes, and there is plenty of space to relax or spread out your work and equipment. We offer delicious home-made meals and packed lunches, with good experience of catering for special diets and hearty appetites, but there is also a guest kitchen for preparing your own snacks and hot drinks, and the many restaurants and pubs of Keswick are only 3 miles away.
We have attached a brief information poster, but please ring 017687 77246 or email reception@derwentwater.org if you would like more information, and hopefully we can welcome you to Derwentwater soon. If you want to get in touch with Cumbria Bird Club for collaboration/advice etc then please see
www.cumbriabirdclub.org.uk/contact
(the Secretary, Dave Piercy, ran the hostel with his partner until their retirement a few years ago).
Best wishes,
Katy Moore (Hostel and education assistant) and Tim Butcher (Hostel manager)
P.S You are also welcome to use the hostel for a day trip, with meeting rooms and refreshments if required, but please ask us in advance.
We are a registered not for profit charity, providing accommodation and room hire for groups, families, and individuals in the Borrowdale Valley.
