After overnighting in Dubai we flew into Manchester, picked up our hire car and drove to Augill Castle in Kirkby Stephen, our accommodation for the first week of our holiday. The castle is between the The Lakes District and The Yorkshire Dales and in an ideal location for setting out to explore the areas.
Built around 1840 by a local family it was a grand house of the time. It has had its share of colourful owners including Dr Abercrombie, surgeon to Queen Victoria, and it is reported that she once stayed here on her way to Balmoral.
The current owners purchased the property in 1997 and set about a major rebuilding project which took them 15 years to complete. It has since been run as a B&B and small wedding venue.
Kirkby Stephen is a traditional market town and is ideally located in the beautiful Upper Eden valley of Cumbria. Surrounded by pastoral rural scenery and wild uplands there are breathtaking views in every direction and it is part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The town has a great variety of shops, restaurants and pubs to satisfy their visitors. It has been a great place to base ourselves for the first week of our holiday.
Margaret River & Beyond 
What a stunning place!
Very pretty indeed.
some blue sky! we’d like that here at Cowaramup. keep enjoying your holiday all the girls are still with us.
Hope the weather is improving at home.
Absolutely beautiful Kerry. My Grandad was born in a little town called Beetham in the Lakes District was lovely to visit there in 2012. Keep on enjoying yourselves look forward to your next post. 😘xx
It is such a pretty area. Really enjoying it.
Looks fabulous. Love your 4-poster, and the views. Soak it in
All the furniture was lovely. We had great views from our room on the first floor.
Looks beautiful Kerry, I love England but sadly never got to the
Lakes District.
Maybe next time….well worth coming this way if you have the opportunity.
It looks amazing, great to see the the photos, so what car did you end up with and did it have a gps in it. All well here except Dr Skenda got to me this week and have a large cut on my hand, so no wash up for me😀
No GPS but TomTom working well. Glad you have a couple of dishwashers.
Have a great holiday Kerry and Jim I love that part of the world enjoy 😊
Thanks Ros…such a lovely area.
Looks like a beautiful place to kick off the holiday. Have a wonderful time.
Great start and weather pretty good as well.
Fantastic K & J, a beautiful area, look forward to more
It’s a lovely area….so diverse.
Looking very peaceful with good weather. Enjoy the break. Cheers H&T
Sounds just like escape to the country. Looks beautiful
Yes it looks just like some of the places you see on ‘Escape to the Country’. I think I could live here!!!!!
Looks fabulous!! Great pics Kerry, keep them coming. Enjoy xx
Thanks Anne. Beautiful part of the world here.
Wow what a great start, great accommodation and amazing countryside, Alan was born in Sheffield and his Uncle and Aunt still live there. Were there about 8 years ago, loved it. 🙂 xx