Overview

Blackwell House is a fascinating place to visit. It was designed as a holiday home the Holt family brewers, by Mackay Hugh Baillie Scott. Much of the furniture is built in, and so has been preserved along with the house. One of the rooms has stunning views of Windermere. There is a good cafe and shop, and sometimes there are talks on about the history f the place, which has also been a boarding school in the second world war and then a day school, offices and now a house of interest. The house is open all year, and the tickets last all year. There was no concession for disabled people. This is probably because most of the house is accessible. There are lots of beautiful details to notice so multiple visits would be great if you lived nearby. There are always local crafts for sale in the shop, and seasonal goods.

Transport & Parking

There are disabled spaces in the car park situated nearest to a gentle ramp with handrail.

Access

Once up the ramp, the entrance is step free and both cafe and shop are accessed along a level corridor. There is ample space for wheelchairs in the large rooms and wide corridors. All of the ground floor is wheelchair accessible, and there is a lift to go upstairs into part of the first floor. Unfortunately, this lift only allows access to an exhibition room and a room where workshops take place. Perhaps to separate family quarters from servants rooms, there are stairs to a lower landing (no handrail), and stairs back up, also no handrail. So it is not possible to see the rooms set out as bedrooms, nor the exhibition about the school, which is a great pity. There were plenty of seats to rest on, especially the padded benches, as some of the Arts and Crafts chairs were too frail or precious to use. But these are all clearly marked. We were given a map and information about the house, the latter was in quite small print. The talk would be an alternative.

Toilets

There is an outdoor toilet block which a disabled person would not need to use. The accessible toilet is inside the building, on the corridor into the house, but you do not have to buy a ticket to use it! It isn't large but there would just about be room for a carer, and no changing places toilet to my knowledge. The loo was very clean and had grab rails etc.

Staff

The staff are brilliant and could not be more helpful, from the person serving in the shop, the cafe staff and the guide who gave us the talk.

Photos