You can walk around Rydal Hall and its beautiful gardens without realising there’s a rather clever little secret hiding amongst the trees.

Tucked beside Rydal Beck is a tiny stone building known simply as The Grot. Built in 1668 by Sir Daniel Fleming, it was designed as a viewing station for Rydal Falls — and it might just be one of the earliest examples of a purpose-built viewing station in Britain.

But the clever part is the way it was designed.

From the outside, it looks like a small stone hut. Open the door, however, and the waterfall is perfectly framed through the window on the opposite wall. In fact, the route was deliberately designed so visitors wouldn’t see the falls until they opened the door, creating a rather impressive reveal.

And it wasn’t just the Georgians who appreciated it. William Wordsworth was particularly fond of the Grot and wrote about the surrounding scene in An Evening Walk.

I love the idea that someone built a tiny stone room hundreds of years ago purely because they thought the view was worth framing.

And honestly, they weren’t wrong.

So next time you’re near Rydal Hall, keep an eye out for the little building beside the falls. It might be small, but open the door and you’ll find a view that’s been impressing visitors for more than 350 years.