Wray Parkland & Castle National Trust

Compassionate Café with St.Mary's Hospice

This Friday - Compassionate Café is a welcoming drop-in space for people living with life-limiting conditions (including dementia), carers, and anyone experiencing grief or loss. First Friday of every month.

📅Friday 5 June
📅10am –12pm
📍Joey’s Café at Wray

Come along to:
• Access support
• Learn about local services (including dementia support)
• Meet others who understand
• Enjoy a relaxed chat in a peaceful setting

A free tea or coffee provided. All other items are available at 20% discount.

No booking needed – just drop in. A member of the team will be there to welcome you. Free parking available for attendees.

Part of Branches of Care, a collaboration between St Mary’s Hospice and the National Trust, offering gentle, nature-based wellbeing activities for people living with life-limiting conditions (including dementia), carers, and those experiencing bereavement in beautiful Lake District settings.

Café

Walking inspo for - a longer walk

Windermere West Shore: Wray Castle to Claife Viewing Station

Take in the beauty of Lake Windermere with this scenic lakeside walk along the peaceful west shore. Starting (or finishing) at Wray Castle and Claife Viewing Station, it’s a great route for a relaxed day out - with a Joey’s café at each end ☕

Route options:
➡️ One way: 4 miles (6.4km) | approx. 1 hour 30 mins
➡️ Return: 8 miles (12.8km) | approx. 3 hours
🐕 Dogs on leads welcome

From Claife Viewing station it's a short walk to the car and passenger ferry or to Windermere Lake Cruises jetty at Ash Landing jetty. Or you can retrace your steps to Wray.

Find the full route guide here 👇
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/lake-district/claife-viewing-station-and-windermere-west-shore/windermere-west-shore-walk

[Image descriptions: Image 1 stained glass in a window of an old stone building with views over the lake. Image 2 Gothic looking turrets of Wray castle against a blue sky. Image 3 A signpost showing the walking routes. Image 4 Information board with trees behind.]

Make the journey part of the adventure...

Leave the car behind and arrive at Wray the scenic way with Windermere Lake Cruises’ Green Cruise

Glide across the lake, take in the views, and step straight off the boat into Wray’s beautiful grounds. It’s an easy, sustainable way to turn your visit into a full day out.

- Relaxing lake journey
- Greener travel choice
- Direct access to Wray and lakeshore walks

Slow down, soak it all in, and make your day out even more memorable.

👉 Plan your visit by boat https://www.windermere-lakecruises.co.uk/cruises-fares/green-cruise

[Image descriptions: Image 1 Wooden boat moored by a small jetty near a stone boathouse, surrounded by trees. Image 2 Wooden passenger boat on the lake with shoreline buildings and hills in the background.]

Walking inspo for >> Wray Castle to Latterbarrow circular walk

Looking for a walk with a bit of everything? This rewarding circular route from Wray Castle combines lakeside views, woodland trails and breathtaking panoramas from the summit of Latterbarrow.

Duration: approx 2.5 hours
Distance: 4.8 miles (7.7km)
Dogs on leads welcome 🐕‍🦺

Find more details on this walk here: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/lake-district/wray/wray-castle-latterbarrow-circular-walk

[Image description: Dry stone wall divides two green fields with a lake and mountains in the distance and bright blue sky]

Wray is right by the lake, and with half-term coming up and warmer, sunnier weather on the way, we’re sharing the RNLI’s top safety tips.

If you’re struggling in the water, . Remember it. Practise it. Share it. It could save you or someone you love.

[Image descriptions: Image 1 Young person floating on back in open water; text: “Struggling in the water? Float to live.”]

Compassionate Café at Wray...a warm and welcoming space where you are invited to connect, chat and take a moment to pause.

The Compassionate Café is open to anyone in the community living with life-limiting conditions (including dementia), their carers, and those experiencing grief or loss.

🗓 First Friday of every month
⏰ 10am – 12pm
📍 Joey’s Café, Wray, Ambleside LA22 0JA
🚗 Free parking is available for attendees (please speak to a member of the Wray team on arrival).
☕Enjoy a complimentary tea or coffee, plus 20% off other items

Set in the beautiful grounds of Wray, it’s a friendly, supportive space led by the Hospice and National Trust teams.

For more information, please contact: [email protected] Community, Participation & Volunteering Manager

We hope to welcome you soon 💚

[Image descriptions: 1. Two people sat on grass alongside the edge of lake. 2. Outside seating at Joey's cafe at Wray. Two rows of yellow seats with round tables underneath a canopy with string lights. 3. Two people sitting and chatting at a picnic table with a hot drink and cake. 4. National Trust poster for “Compassionate Café at Wray” featuring two people sitting outdoors drinking hot drinks with text.]

Earlier today a sapling from the felled Sycamore Gap tree was planted at Wray.

Grown from seeds gathered from the much-loved tree at Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland, this sapling is one of fifteen planted across each of the UK’s National Parks. They form a living legacy that brings together our most protected landscapes and a message of resilience and hope.

Planted in partnership with the Lake District National Park, this Tree of Hope also marks the beginning of a new shared wellbeing initiative Branches of Care, from St Mary's Hospice and the National Trust. It brings together the hospice’s expertise in supporting people through illness, dementia and bereavement with our restorative natural spaces.

The sapling was planted by a facility user of St Mary’s Hospice using a spade from the National Trust’s very own collection. A rather famous spade that in 1902 planted four oak trees at Brandelhow, the first property of the National Trust. The planters of those trees included National Trust Founders, Octavia Hill and Canon H D Rawnsley, Sir Robert Hunter and HRH Princess Louise!



Image descriptions: A group of people plant a young tree on a grassy lakeside. One person holds a spade near a black planting pot, while another steadies the tree inside a freshly dug hole, with water and trees visible in the background.
A newly planted young tree stands upright in a small patch of turned soil on a grassy lakeside.
A group of people stand on grass near a lakeside around a young tree planting site. Gardening tools and soil containers are nearby, with the lake and hills visible behind the group

Looking for a great family day out in the Lake District? 🌿

The Wray estate is full of outdoor activities, open spaces and opportunities to explore at your own pace. Check out our top 10 things to do at Wray to help make the most of your visit.

🔗 https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/lake-district/wray/top-ten-things-to-do-at-wray

[Image description: A family of five walking along a treelined path beside lake Windermere.]
📷National Trust Images/Paul Harris