As Chairman of the 77 Club it fell to me to organise the Summer Trip again this year.

With a small committee to help me, we arranged a bus trip to the South Lakes and a visit to two major attractions, neither of which we've been to before.

The day would start with a boat ride on the lake, lunch at Brantwood House and continue with an afternoon visit

to the house and Gardens of the author, painter and environmentalist, the late John Ruskin.

A surprise awaits our party as a fourth attraction is slipped into the mix.

We all met up to catch the bus from Mitchell's Auctions Centre at Cockermouth, as the venue was easy to get to and had plenty of car parking spaces.

It also meant that the bus would not have to waste extra time driving up the valley to pick everyone up.

Consequently an hour later we arrived at the Coniston Boating Centre and Bluebird Cafe.

Time for a quick coffee and relaxation before our boat trip.

Right on time, around the corner came the National Trust Steam Yacht Gondola, so we made our way down the jetty to get on board.

With a train like whistle and puff of steam we departed the Bluebird Cafe and headed out on our lake sailing.

We had a party of 23, so many of them had already taken the seats at the bow of the boat. Loes chose to start the voyage at the stern.

Our ex-chairman John, relaxed now as he has shed all responsibilities for the day.

He's obviously settling in nicely as we gently cruise down the lake.

Our boat was originally built in 1859 and ran a passenger service on the lake right up to 1938. It was later converted to a houseboat, but sank in a storm.

It was rescued in 1978 by the National Trust, then extensively rebuilt in the Barrow Shipyards, before re-entering service in 1980.

Our journey today would take us part way down the lake and drop us three quarters of an hour later at Brantwood Jetty.

[ The blue dots are mine, superimposed on my photo of the map found in the main cabin.]

The motive power for the gondola is a large steam engine powered by environmentally friendly, compressed wood chip logs.

It takes about eight packs to complete a cruise the full length of the lake. It is also much cleaner and easier to use than coal.

- - - o o o - - -   The original engine was not present at the time of the boat re-build, so a suitably replacement was sourced from the Festiniog Railway Company of North Wales. It was a spare boiler unit for their loco 'Prince' but was not needed, so it made a timely replacement for the Gondola.   ( Photo courtesy of the Ffestiniog Web Site ) - - - o o o - - -

A suitable steam piston engine was sourced from a Newcastle company, which closely matched the Gondola's original engine layout.

Together they propelled the Gondola smoothly and quietly across the lake.

In the previous boat photo the firebox and boiler unit even looks like a railway engine !

The main cabin had been perfectly restored, but was underused today due to the fine weather and most people wanting to be outside.

Forward of the cabin was more of our party,enjoying the cruise down the lake.

The magnificent gold, serpent bowsprit could be seen up close as we disembarked.

Time to organise this crowd into some sort of order for a group photo . . . behave yourselves at the back !

Eventually we got there . . . with this photo courtesy of Kathryn.

- - - o o o - - -

From the jetty we made our way up to Brantwood House.

On the way to the house we passed Ruskin's old rowing / sailing boat and a carriage that would have transported him on his travels.

I chose to explore the gardens first . . . this was the 'Moss Garden' . . . a feature found also in many wealthy Japanese homes.

The name "brant" is Norse for steep and Brantwood Gardens live up to its reputation for including steep rocky slopes and querky paths.

The walk took us over to "Ruskin's Pond" . . . created to (rather unsuccessfully) raise fish.

Work in progress, as the overgrown garden is in the process of being cleared and re-planted by house staff and volunteers

in order to restore it as it would have been in his day.

The plan is to have the garden up and running in 2026.

- - - o o o - - -

Lunch was served in the Terrace Cafe, where there was a lovely looking selection of cakes on offer.

Ready and eagerly awaiting the arrival of lunch.	Mr Ruskin's portrait oversees the room.

We had pre-booked "soup and a sandwich" for 23 people and we were able to fill the whole of the second room of the cafe.

No names or pack-drill but you'll be able to recognise yourselves no doubt.

- - - o o o - - -

Our relaxed timetable gave us two hours after lunch to further explore the House and Gardens.

Next to the Archway (with the carriage) was the main entrance, now used as the shop and information centre.

Unlike the Gondola, the house is not owned by the National Trust but is run and maintained by an independent Brantwood House Trust

First stop was Ruskin's bedroom, where many of his original Turner paintings are displayed.

Ruskin was a contemporary of the slightly older and famous artist and an avid collector of his work.

This was the Dining Room, one of the other additions that Ruskin made to the house.

The table was graced by many of his guests, including his wide artistic circle and even the famous Charles Darwin.

As well as the wonderful seven arched window, the side doors opened onto a beautiful view of the lake, with the Coniston Fells as a backdrop.

In the centre of the lake you can see The Gondola steaming past on another trip down the lake.

The house also displays many of his large collections of minerals and crystals.

He was fascinated by the miniature world of the rock as well as the macro world of the landscape around him.

Brantwood features a number of exhibitions at present.

This was the "Wild of Wing" exhibition from Rachel Singleton in the upper floor, Severn Studio of the house.

"The Treasury" hosts a permanent exhibition of Ruskin's mineral and geological collection, plus a playable octave of Ringing Stones (sadly no soft hammer to play them).

One last exhibition for me . . .

Upstairs above the Cafe, more Emerson cartoons guide your way around Brantwood . . . if you visit with kids, do this first.

- - - o o o - - -

Our time at Brantwood was drawing to an end but we had one more surprise on the way home.

We set off and our driver did a great job negotiating the minor road down the eastern side of the lake, to High Nibthwaite.

The lower end of Coniston, but sadly there were too many trees to catch a good photo of Peel (Wild Cat) Island.

In the field adjacent to the road we found an Andrew Gormley Statue.

He's famous for his massive iron sculpture of Angel of the North and also his Iron Man statues, notably set in the sands of Crosby Beach near Liverpool.

Coniston was a favourite holiday destination of his and somehow has this site has acquired one of the Iron Man Statues for itself.

Somehow this group photo was a lot easier to take than the one on the jetty.

Looking across to Peel Island and up the lake towards the South Lakes high fells.

Coniston Old Man and Dow Crags seen as we pass through the village of Beckstones.

Yew Tree Farm, High Yewdale, as we drive back towards Ambleside.

Through Grasmere with the 'Lion and the Lamb' on top of Helm Crag.

Thirlmere was looking particularly low after the recent drought . . . that's now Loweswater's water supply after recent water supply changes !