Slip Sliding Away

With the sun shining this afternoon, we set off once again to Fell Foot, this time armed with up to date NT membership cards so we could get the free parking (see Mondays blip for details!).
And what a delightful afternoon it was, walking around the lake shore in the warm autumn sunshine. Fell Foot used to be the country villa of a wealthy Manchester industrialist, who’s passion was sailing and boating. The villa was demolished in 1907 and only the boathouses remain, with the largest now being the cafe. This slipway and cradle were used to launch and recover what was the most luxurious steam yacht on Windermere in its day.
And if you take the modern yachts away, the view would not be dissimilar to that of 120 years ago - including the paddle steamer tied up at Lakeside pier opposite.
The play starts again tonight with a good sized audience to look forward to. Though it may be beneficial to have a quick look at the script before I set foot on stage - I’m fairly confident I can remember all my lines, but better safe than sorry!