Gateway to the hotel

Best viewed *larger*

I really wanted to call it 'Gateway to the stars' but at that time I didn't know quite a view nature celebs were staying at this hotel too! It was a long journey to Rutland - took the wrong direction from Cornwall! It was all a surprise, as I met so many friends there, as it was the annual Bird watching Fair - a Glastonbury for nature lovers, 7 huge marquees packed with everything to do with nature, several lecture marquees, an Art marquee, all placed in the middle of the reserve... perfect & it was hot hot hot too!

This is the hotel we stayed at - Barnsdale Hall:

The old hall at Barnsdale was originally constructed England's aristocracy. Europe's largest man-made lake and resulted in the creation in 1890 for the 6th Earl Fitzwilliam as a family hunting lodge. The hall was built on the sheltered south facing slopes of the Vale of Catmose and the Gwash Valley. The geographical position of the hall placed it in the heart of the most prestigious fox hunts in the country; The Quorn, The Belvoir and The Cottesmore and gave the Earl the opportunity to play host to Royalty, including Edward, the late Duke of Windsor and Mrs Simpson and the cream of England's aristocracy.

It is believed the Barnsdale name was possibly brought from the area of the same name, just north of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire where the Fitzwilliam family had their ancestral estate.

During the post war years, the hall fell into disrepair and passed through the hands of a variety of owners. When the twin valleys of the River Gwash were flooded in the mid 1970's to create a reservoir, Rutland Water became of extensive nature reserves which attract a large number of endangered species, particularly the Osprey.

The 80's and 90's saw the construction and expansion of Barnsdale Hall Hotel, with the main hall and its rich history as it's centerpiece.

Copied & pasted from the web - saves me explaining it! Nice hotel, definitely worth it for once a year anyhow!