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Black Moss Tarn is a lodge in a fantastic elevated position on the Neaum Crag Estate, set on the south facing hill above Skelwith Bridge, at the entrance to Langdale, and below Loughrigg Fell.
Set amongst the trees, the lodge has a wooden balcony at the front and decking to the side, with an additional seating area beyond this – a perfect place to site and enjoy glimpses of the amazing views across to Park Fell, Black Fell and Great How between the trees.
Inside, the lodge has good sized double and twin bedrooms, with an open plan living area which extends into the dining area and recently fitted kitchen. With plenty of storage, and the warmth of the wood panelled walls, Black Moss provides lovely cosy accommodation for a family holiday. For those of you who wish to connect back to the wider world, the lodge has its own broadband connection. Ample parking spaces are available adjacent to the lodge.
Black Moss includes a pass to the swimming pool facility (open from March the 1st to November the 12th), which includes a sauna, table tennis, additional wi-fi connection and a general place to relax. In the pool hall there is also a coin-operated washer and dryer. This is located in the centre of the estate just below. With the speed restriction on site, the estate provides a wonderful safe haven for children to explore with a variety of wildlife on your doorstep.
Neaum Crag is handy for access to the Langdale valley, with Chesters Café and the Talbot Bar close by at Skelwith Bridge and Ambleside only a few miles away. Stagecoach 516 bus at Skelwith Bridge is just a five minute walk from Neaum Crag Estate.
History of the Neaum Crag Estate:
Neaum Crag House was the original main dwelling surrounded by the woodland, with a Coach House and kitchen garden. In the late 1800’s a man called Fleming, a friend of Ruskin, occupied the house. The house was extended at that time and developed to look much as it appears today. There was a tower above the roof line, now gone, with windows to all sides which must have given superb panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. The grounds would have been managed and laid out with paths running through the woodlands. The area where the pool facilities now stand was a kitchen garden complete with large sundial. Most of the mature native and specimen trees date from this period.
As with many such properties the Great 1914-18 war altered everything and the house and estate struggled to maintain viability up to 1960 when the estate was sold to the Lake District Planning Board. Since this time the estate has passed into the ownership of Neaum Crag Ltd where the lodge owners are all shareholders. In the 1980s the company began installing timber ‘mobile homes’ instead of taking touring caravans. ‘Mains services’ were run to each lodge and the properties were delineated by boundary fences. These individual plots were then sold freehold with the chalet and its contents. From this time the estate has been developed into quite the hidden gem it is today with more substantial lodge structures taking over from the earlier designs.
A Woodland Delight.
A public footpath runs from the western end of the pool building down between the pitched chalet roofs to Skelwith Bridge. At Skelwith Bridge is a hotel, slate galleries with products for sale and Chesters by the River Café. There is an easy pleasant path alongside the River Brathay up to Elterwater. Above the pool building a public footpath runs up the steep one way hill and on up the drive to the large overflow car park at the top of the estate. It then follows the same line up through the larch plantation to exit the estate through a gate in the wall. Loughrigg Tarn and Loughrigg Fell can be seen to the right from this point.
The woodland is protected by a tree preservation order and the bird life is abundant. Red Squirrels can be spotted, roe deer and occasionally red deer wander at will through the grounds, though they are rarely seen in summer when the vegetation is high and badgers snuffle around in the small hours.
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