Retired Nomads - Part 2 : Castle in the Clouds – Moultonborough, NH

Castle in the Clouds – Moultonborough, NH

Yes, there is a castle in New Hampshire, and it overlooks Lake Winnipesaukee, the state's most stunning body of water. We had planned to hike some of the trails on the property since the house tours don’t start until 10:00, but today was predicted to be a washout and it was.

We took an extra long route to get there in hopes that the rain would subside, and we could get some hiking in. The radar showed a break between the storms, but one lagged and they just overlapped and as the day went on it just rained harder.

We found parking and walked to the Carriage House and waited for the next trolley that took us to the top where the “castle” is. We were the only ones on this particular run and so we had a “personal” introduction before heading off on the self-guided tour. There were docents everywhere in the house to tell you about anything you may want to know. We learned of its owner's tragic riches-to-rags story. He overspent and made a lot of bad investment decisions. Instead of selling off any of the property, they just went deeper in debt. Upon his death the home went into foreclosure and Olive returned home to Illinois.

I don’t imagine many of us have heard of Thomas & Oliver Plant, but he was a factory laborer with an entrepreneurial spirit, and he started Plant Shoe Company and at his retirement in 1910 it was the largest in the world. He hired a large crew to build his stunning country estate in the Ossipee Mountains, which they called Lucknow. The property spanned 6,300 acres and featured a 16-room Arts and Crafts mansion, stable and six car garage, two gate houses, a greenhouse, a golf course and tennis court, a man-made lake, a boathouse on Lake Winnipesaukee, and miles of carriage and bridle trials.

For several years the Plants enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle at Lucknow, with state-of-the-art amenities, beautiful hand-made furnishings, and a large staff to run the estate. He seemed to be ahead of his time in that he had onsite childcare for his workers, recreation for them and more. He had designed these “needle-point” showers. He had twin sinks in the master bathroom. (which means they were wealthy enough to have running water) There was a stunning view from every window. He also was fond of what looked like stained-glass windows, but they actually were scenes painted on glass called painted rondels (which still look great this many years later)

"the pebble" on the road in

the kitchen with "self-cleaning" oven

2 housemaids shared one bath and each had a bedroom

almost every room had an "intercom"

master bath

needle shower is across from the sink - we didn't get photos of the whole shower

master bedroom

wallpaper in the sewing room

guest bedroom

views from the front patio

office

downstairs guest bedroom

he had a pipe organ

small room under the stairs

We didn’t get much time to get photos outside of the property due to the rain, but it let up enough at one point to get some quick shots.

We took the shuttle back down to the Carriage House where we had a lovely lunch. If the weather would have been better, they have a beautiful patio with gorgeous views. Greg had the Tom Foolery which was Oven roasted turkey, warm brie cheese, cranberry aioli, and applewood bacon on grilled bread. I had the Steak Tip Sub which was Grilled marinated steak tips with sauteed onions mushrooms and dew drop peppers, with melty provolone cheese. I had never had Dew Drop peppers before aka Sweety Drop Miniature peppers and they were awesome. Peruvian origin I think. Once I have a kitchen again I will have to get some of those!

inside the coach house

our room in the stable

steak sandwich

turkey sandwich

While we were eating it really started to pour. So, no hope of visiting the waterfall, the pond or the hike with 7 waterfalls.

So, throwing in the towel, we came back to the hotel to do some laundry. It’s still pouring out. We did see some wild turkeys on the ride home. We have been seeing turkeys almost every day lately.