We were delighted to be invited to dance at the wedding of Jonathan’s niece Kate to Gareth, with the added bonus that it was to be held in the Lake District.   A total of eight dancers and four musicians travelled to Windermere along with family members, (and a dog) - for the wedding on Saturday 9th April. The venue was a country hotel with magnificent views over the lake and surrounding countryside.

It turned out to be the most spectacular place in which to dance, alongside a smaller lake in the hotel grounds. The weather was also perfect - warm and sunny.

We had time for a short warm-up practice before the bridal party arrived at the lake. The happy couple walked through a guard of honour of sticks before the dancing began.

Some of the guests were surprised to see a new side to Jonathan, Joanne and George Rabbitts who had made a quick change into their Morris gear.

The final dance called "The Wedding Ring" had been learnt especially for the occasion. It involved the bridal couple standing in the middle whilst dancers moved around them and finished with rose petals appearing from hankies to be thrown over the couple.

 

 

Later the same afternoon, Garston Gallopers met up with a local side, The Westmorland Step and Garland Dancers to dance-out at the lakeside near Ambleside.

Quite a crowd of spectators gathered to watch.

We enjoyed watching a different style of dance, including clogging and demonstrated our entire repertoire of dances.

We finished by teaching the other side our finale dance ‘Shepherds Away’.

 

Photos : Edward Allfrey : Alan Hulford : David Woodhead
Text : Jackie Breadmore