Here at Hovershotz, we have lived in Cumbria and worked in the Lake District most of our lives but we’ve never seen the hidden gem that is the Claife Viewing platform until we were asked by the National Trust to film it. It is located on the shores of Lake Windermere near the ferry at Far Sawrey, Cumbria. Hovershotz provided some aerial drone photography and video. To be honest when we first saw it we thought it was a Victorian folly but it’s history is far more interesting than that:
National Trust Claife Viewing Platform Lake District
The Viewing Station
Built in the 1790s and later expanded, the building had windows tinted with coloured glass, designed to recreate the landscape under different seasonal conditions. Yellow created a summer landscape, orange an autumn one, light green for spring, dark blue for moonlight and so on.
We’re hoping to re-create this today so you can imagine what these views might have been like, but the modern equivalent is using a filter on your camera or smart phone. Imagine the Instagram opportunities.
In the 1830s and 40s it was used by wealthy visitors for parties and dances. This quote from Mary Maria Higginson, who attended a dinner dance at Claife Viewing Station Cumbria in the nineteenth century, paints a vivid picture of what it was like to come here:
“The very nicest dance that I can call to mind was given by a friend at a place called The Station. It was built on account of the beautiful view it commanded, both up and down Windermere . . . the winding walks around the Station lighted up with Chinese lanterns and coloured lamps made charming promenades.”
A monument
By the end of the 19th century Claife Viewing Station had fallen out of favour and fell into disrepair. Today, the building remains a rare example of a purpose–built public viewing station and is one of the earliest monuments to Lake District tourism.
