LOCKDOWN!
England is in lockdown again. It is our third lockdown since the outbreak of Covid-19 here in 2020. Some people and business owners are dismayed, or perhaps even angry. Personally, I believe it is a necessity, and indeed should have been instituted much sooner to prevent the UK’s huge numbers of the seriously ill and dying. At Blenheim Lodge, we have done and will continue to do our best to observe the rules, and even to take extra precautions in order to ensure the safety of our guests and ourselves.

TAKING PRECAUTIONS – WHAT WE ARE DOING:
- When room reservations come in online, we begin by contacting ALL those who have made new bookings. We feel that it is most important that we telephone or email all our lead bookers to chat with them as soon as their reservations come into our diary because we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to speak with them to first before booking. Where possible, we like to speak to all our guests prior to arrival to ensure that they are aware of what we are doing here, and also to ask whether they are agreeable to our new ways of working. If someone isn’t happy with our precautionary approaches, then we will ask them to cancel without penalty.
- Another precaution we take is to ensure gaps between stays in the same room in order to give us extra time for deep cleaning and airing the rooms. Thus, we do not book any bedroom back to back.
- We also have different protocols now from before in order to minimise social contact and increase social distancing, such as the ways in which we now serve breakfast and administer check-out procedures.
- Alas, our check-in procedure has also perforce been changed. Where, in the past, we would have invited guests to a welcoming tray of tea or coffee and biscuits in our lounge, we are no longer able to do this due to the extra cleaning, particularly of fabric, that we simply cannot keep up with when we are busy. However, we have always had refreshment trays in our bedrooms, so guests can brew their own cups of tea and coffee.

THE OPTIMISTIC VIEW!
Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, announced England’s third lockdown on 4 January 2021, which came into effect the next day. At Blenheim Lodge, we duly closed off all booking availability for our guest rooms as soon as the lockdown was announced. As far as we are concerned, it is truly one of the only ways to help prevent the spread of the virus i.e. by following the rules. As we await the administration of recently approved vaccines to the UK’s populace and the development of herd immunity, it therefore makes sense for all of us to work together: that is, to make an effort to save lives simply by being as patient and careful as we can right now.
Restrictions and two former lockdowns have characterised daily life in the Lake District National Park where Blenheim Lodge, our home and B&B, is located. Covid-19 is a tough and novel disease to mankind, but thankfully we now have not one but three vaccines available to fight this disease. Meanwhile, I pray constantly for people I don’t even know, that they might get better and that their families will be spared the heartbreak of bad news. And, if and when the latter does happen, then for them to experience God’s embracing arms in their sorrow.
Let’s look out for that rainbow in our lives!

LOOKING FORWARD!
Mankind has the ability to look forward. We are characterised by tenacity of purpose and the desire to move beyond the murk, so to speak. At Blenheim Lodge, we are no different. We did a few things which we hope would show our guests how seriously we were taking the virulence of this virus even before the government had lifted restrictions after the first lockdown. Guests looking for bed and breakfast accommodation that they can feel safe in will be able to see and read the steps we have taken on our website:
- Keeping safe – Covid-29 Precautions: https://www.blenheim-lodge.com/covid-19/
- Our Good To Go kite mark from Visit Britain, which can be seen on our website and which we have incorporated in email letters sent to all our guests who have booked to stay with us:
This logo from Visit England signifies that our B&B is serious about keeping our guests as safe as we can through the protocols we have instituted at Blenheim Lodge. - Changes in the way in which we are serving breakfasts: https://www.blenheim-lodge.com/temporary-breakfast-menu/
- In the guest letter, we have outlined all that we are doing to help us all keep safe, and have included links to governmental guidelines on the same.
- Perhaps, for guests who are unsure about booking ahead to stay with us, one of the most important changes we have made is to our cancellation policy. Now, instead of a cancellation policy, we are offering a re-booking policy, so that guests can make a reservation KNOWING that they will not lose out on any payments they have already made. For more information about this, please see here. Guests may be re-assured that their bookings can be carried over to as far ahead as the end of 2022. Price differentials can be paid when rebooking their rooms.
SPECIAL OFFERS
As part of our optimism about looking forward to re-opening again when the government has deemed it safe to do so, we have set up some SPECIAL OFFERS for anyone contacting us for DIRECT BOOKINGS on the telephone. Our phone number is 015394 43440. These offers are NOT available on any of the booking sites that Blenheim Lodge is on, such as Expedia or Airbnb.

Please check out our SPECIAL OFFERS here. They range from:
- free night stays
- solo travel offers
- a surprise gift
- And if you wish to treat someone with a getaway, then we also have a voucher offer with a generous expiry date of 12 months from the date of purchase.
QUESTIONS?
Please feel free to contact us at enquiries@blenheim-lodge.com if you have any questions about our Bowness B&B and our Special Offers. As usual, we will offer the best service we can to our guests, ranging from assistance with booking local eateries, door to door tours, and activities to enjoy. If you are travelling by train and require transfers, then please contact us for taxi numbers.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT BLENHEIM LODGE
We are all different and have our own tastes about what we like and what wouldn’t suit us. At Blenheim Lodge, we believe in being honest and prefer guests who are looking for a getaway – especially after these difficult months of the coronavirus pandemic – to get in touch with us if they have any queries at all in their minds about whether our B&B is best suited for their requirements.
Blenheim Lodge is a quietly situated peaceful home from home B&B. Guests enjoy our friendly hospitality because they want to feel welcomed and safe, and enjoy the family atmosphere of our Lake District guest house. Guests love our beds which they liken to “sleeping on a cloud”; and they like that our place is clean and tidy; and love the Lake Windermere and fell views from their rooms.

Blenheim Lodge is tranquilly located on a hilltop in hidden Bowness. At the back of our house are fell acres and lovely trails leading to viewpoints. The Dales Way Footpath is a minute’s stroll from our door, which makes our Bowness Bed and Breakfast an ideal place for anyone walking this beautiful long distance path, (although, of course, one can do as much or as little one likes of it). We have had many Dales Way walkers at Blenheim Lodge, and enjoy hearing their stories.

Despite our quiet hidden location, Blenheim Lodge is conveniently situated only a couple of minutes’ walk to bustling centre of Bowness on Windermere, with all its shops, eateries, and attractions.

Lake Windermere is a 5-minute walk from our door. One if its main attractions are the Windermere cruises which staying guests can see from their room windows as they ply the waters of England’s largest lake.

Finally, Blenheim Lodge is best suited to guests looking for a restful break. We are not set up for visitors who go out and return drunk or disorderly to our guest house, or drink heavily in their rooms and become raucous or cause damage. Guests who stay with us would have chosen Blenheim Lodge precisely because they enjoy the peace and quiet here. The silence can be such in our home that one can literally hear the proverbial pin drop! It is no wonder that our guests find Blenheim Lodge such a relaxing and rejuvenating place to stay.

Conversely, there are many hotels, guesthouses, and self-catering places which actively welcome late night revellers and partying groups, so there is something out there for everyone in Bowness on Windermere. It’s just that Blenheim Lodge is not one of them.
STAY SAFE. KEEP WELL. WE LOOK FORWARD TO WELCOMING YOU!
My heading above says it all! Please take care and keep well. We look forward to welcoming you when we can re-open safely again to our guests. At present, let’s all sit tight and pray and hope for the best!
Take care, dear readers, and God bless.

Blenheim Lodge . . . panoramic Lake views, peace and tranquillity, nestled against acres of beautiful fields and woodlands, in the heart of the English Lake District National Park.’
Visit our website: http://www.blenheim-lodge.com
Email: enquiries@blenheim-lodge.com
Telephone: 015394 43440
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