Castle in the Clouds

Thomas Plant made a fortune in shoe manufacturing, sold the business, and built Lucknow on a shoulder of the Ossipee Mountains between 1913 and 1914 - a granite and stucco house in Arts and Crafts manner with hand-worked woodwork, an octagonal room and a good deal of technology unusual for the date, including a central vacuum system, a circular shower and interlocking kitchen tiles. He then lost his money in bad investments in the 1930s, the house was foreclosed, and his creditors let him stay on until his death in 1941. The estate covers over two thousand hectares of mountainside with trails to waterfalls and ledges, and the view from the terrace runs down the whole length of Lake Winnipesaukee.

What you'll find

• An Arts and Crafts house of 1914 - granite, stucco and worked timber.
• Early domestic technology - central vacuum and a circular shower.
• A terrace over Lake Winnipesaukee - the length of the lake in view.
• Trails to waterfalls and ledges - across the mountain estate.

When to go

May to October; late September for foliage. Three hours.

Before you go

It closes for the winter. Autumn foliage weekends are extremely busy. The access road is steep and narrow. Trails are rocky and involve climbing.

Nearby

Lake Winnipesaukee is below; the White Mountains are north.

Key facts