The River Lea in Ware is popular with canoeists and walkers, but is probably not on many tourists’ to do lists. I live nearby but only just discovered the quaint Dutch summerhouses that line the river just outside the town centre. It forms the largest collection of riverside gazebos anywhere in Britain.
Some of these buildings date back to the 17th century, but most were constructed during the 18th and 19th centuries: as traffic became a growing problem along Ware High Street, owners of properties here took to building small outhouses at the bottom of their gardens, overlooking the river. They were probably inspired by the buildings along the canals in the Netherlands, indeed the majority were built during the reign of William of Orange, and they became known as Dutch summerhouses.
After World War II there was talk of building a road between the houses and the river; owners were unwilling to invest in the upkeep of these potentially estranged buildings and they fell into disrepair. This remained the case until the 1980s when restoration funds were finally raised. At this point the outhouses became known as Gazebos and the first was lovingly restored in 1984.
Travel with Intent 
What a beautiful area that is 🙂
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What wonderful architecture. Tom The Backroads Traveller
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What a gorgeous place to take a walk.
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really a wonderfull place, always beautifull when there is water in the landscape, have a nice end week,Greeting from Belgium in Mons
http://louisette.eklablog.com/
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I love water too. I have been in Milan today and spent a lovely few hours walking along the canals.
On Thu, Feb 26, 2015 at 11:11 PM, Travel with Intent wrote:
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Beautiful place!
Thank you for joining Water World Wednesday
Kim,USA
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This is a real lovely place and the story behind it is nice to read too! #alphabetphoto
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How fascinating. I’m glad they are being looked after. #AlphabetPhoto
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Aaahh what gorgeous photos, so peaceful and relaxing. Love it #alphabetphoto
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These are fabulous, wouldn’t you just love to own one and be able to sit with a book, watching the world go by? #alphabetphoto
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Aren’t they lovely, what a wonderful idea and nice to see they looking in their prime #alphabetphoto
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Great photos and info.
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These are fantastic postcard shots!
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So beautiful, Debbie. 🙂
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Lovely and fantastic!
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Oh, I WANT one!! Lovely photos Debbie and an interesting tale.
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I LOVE gazebos!
ROG, ABCW
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I would love to go for a walk there or for a sail along the river. It looks beautiful. x #alphabetphoto
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Exquisite water views. And love the design of the buildings by the water too. Charming.
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It’s really not what you expect in Hertfordshire. I shall be back in summer for more walks. Although it doesn’t look it, it was a cold, miserable day. I took these shots in a rare sunny moment!
Sent from my iPhone
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Wonderful riverside area.
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I would love to live there!
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It would be wonderful to have views like that
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It all looks so peaceful and serene, – I do love gazebos.
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love all of them. thanks for sharing
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They were such a lovely find 🙂
On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 2:00 AM, Travel with Intent wrote:
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