UP THE gravel drive the car wheels make that lovely crunching sound as rubber meets stone - the subtle rhythm that heralds your arrival at somewhere stately.

And stately it certainly is - Blackwell, the Arts and Crafts house, is finally complete.

A striking presence in the landscape.

Blessed with glorious sunshine and temperatures touching the 90s, its opening week made the building's terraces the perfect place to be.

Perched high on a hill with vistas of Windermere and Coniston fells overlooking fragrant herbaceous borders with vivid blue cornflowers and rich red achilleas.

It's amazing to think that it's more than four years since the rumours that Abbot Hall director Edward King had set his sights on the rural Bowness retreat.

Since then, Edward, his staff, and the Lakeland Arts Trust (the charitable trust which runs Abbot Hall and Blackwell) have pulled out all the stops to raise the final £3.5 million needed to make the vision come true.

I never thought I'd see the day when the dapper Mr King would be waiting tables.

But there he was, in cream panama hat and smiling from ear to ear as he cleared the cups and chatted to people soaking up the sunshine on the garden terrace.

Although, to be fair to Edward, his staff say he mucks in regularly at Abbot Hall.

Blackwell is truly a magnificent sight.

A grand legacy handed down by architect Mackay Hugh Baillie Scott, who made a major contribution to the Arts and Crafts movement and whose love of art and nature became the foundation of his design philosophy.

Inside, the dream continues.

A medieval oak panelled hallway and Eric Gill wood engraving and a Victor Pasmore oil hang impressively.

The peacock frieze, in the Minstrels Gallery, and the White Drawing Room bathed in light - it almost takes your breath away.

Upstairs are two educational rooms, plus the Oliver Thompson Gallery and Jocelyn Morton Room.

Another fascinating feature is Miss Murphy's Room, telling the Blackwell story with photographs and text from the original owner - wealthy industrialist and brewer Sir Edward Holt, who built Blackwell between 1897-1900, as a holiday home - to the last occupiers, English Nature.

Blackwell's main rooms face south rather than west across the lake, getting the best from the sun throughout the day.

And Baillie Scott's skill with light is dramatic all through the house, from the dark panelled areas to the brilliantly sunlit.

First off on the Blackwell exhibition front is Magdalene Odundo's Clay Forms, displayed in the upstairs gallery rooms until September 23.

It brings together the art of sculpture and the craft of pottery in a selected group of work by the Kenya-born artist.

Vessels or forms of astonishing beauty and, with her fresh approach to handbuilding and burnishing, Magdalene has brought ancient techniques steeped in legends and traditions to the contemporary world.

Clay Forms is a blend of symmetrical shapes, tall and regal, dominating the space around them; and asymmetrical, cultured contours, abstract, hinting at the human body.

Altogether a mix of carbonised and oxidised terracotta.

Lustrous metallic and blazing orange, loaned mostly from private collections with a few for sale.

Magdalene's work fits well within Blackwell's light-filled rooms, particularly in the Oliver Thompson Gallery (watch out for the pebbles) with its somewhat cylindrical ceiling, also home to a Giaconetti oil on loan from the Tate as part of the partnership scheme with the Lakeland Arts Trust.

With its many window seats and panoramic views, Blackwell is uplifting, a great place to linger both inside and out.

I think my mother-in-law summed it up perfectly on her first visit: "It's the kind of place you feel you don't want to leave." I'd definitely go along with that.

l Blackwell is situated 1.5 miles south of Bowness, just off the A5074 on the B5360.

It is open seven days a week, 10am-5pm.

Further details on 015394-46139.