There are few more beautiful places to visit than The Lake District. A region celebrated for its amazing landscapes, lakes and peaks, it continues to attract and inspire many artists and photographers from around the world. Also boasting some of the best natural food produce anywhere in the country its restaurants are talked about well beyond these shores. Stunning cultural highlights and lakes provide entertainment for all the family. Below we list some of our highlights in the area to inspire your adventure in The Lake District.
Eat & Stay: The Inn On The Lake, Glenridding
We were very lucky to spend some time at the spectacular Inn on the Lake, in Glenridding recently. This award winning 4 star hotel has 15 acres of grounds, with lawns sweeping the shores of Lake Ullswater, looking towards the magnificent Helvellyn Mountain range.
The 2 AA rosette award-winning Lake View restaurant provides something for all tastes. A very accomplished kitchen team, lead by experienced head chef, Mark Harris, produces a very fine dining experience with an emphasis on local produce.
Visit: William Wordsworth Home & Museum
William Wordsworth is one of Britain’s best-loved poets, his thoughts and writing about man, nature and society are as relevant today as they were the day he wrote them. We recommend discovering Wordsworth’s amazing life by visiting Dove Cottage and explore the riches of the Wordsworth trust collection in the museum situated in the heart of the wonderful Lake District. It was in this little cottage, at times ‘crammed edge full’ with people, in the heart of the remote Lake District, that William Wordsworth wrote some of the greatest poetry in the English language and Dorothy kept her famous ‘Grasmere Journal’, now on display in the Museum. The Wordsworth Museum is next door to Dove Cottage and there you will discover the greatest collection of Wordsworth’s letters, journals and poems in the world.
Area of Outstanding Beauty: Aira Force and Ullswater
Aira Force is a showcase for the power and beauty of nature, it’s a place to escape the ordinary. For 300 years visitors have been drawn here, where rainwater runs from the fells into Aira Beck and thunders in one 65-foot leap over the falls. Yet, Aira Force is much more than an impressive waterfall. A network of trails weaves its way from Ullswater lakeshore to Gowbarrow summit, passing towering Himalayan firs, rare red squirrels, woodland glades, picnic spots and views out across Ullswater. You can start your day in Glenridding and arrive by boat, taking in the sights of Ullswater Valley along the way, then stroll back to Glenridding through Glencoyne Park and along the lakeshore. Ullswater valley is truly breathtaking, with its beautiful lake nestled amongst towering fells. The epic scenery and relative underdevelopment compared to other areas of the Lake District gives Ullswater a secluded and tranquil feel
Visit: Muncaster Castle
The historic haunted castle, still a lived-in family home after nine centuries, commands lower Eskdale from its vantage point above the Ravenglass estuary.
Set in 77 acres of woodland and gardens against the backdrop of the Western Lake District fells, these idyllic surroundings provide memorable days out for visitors of all ages. Muncaster offers a full day out – or more – with something for everyone. From families with children looking for a range of activities to keep everyone entertained to groups looking for an excellent value venue for a day excursion or to visit one of our range of evening events for arts and culture, Muncaster Castle and Gardens and its Hawk & Owl Centre earn their place as a top attraction in Cumbria.
Eat & Stay: Askham Hall
Set in the unspoilt Lowther valley in Cumbria, Askham Hall, which fully opened this spring, offers a new style of hotel for the lakes – more a restaurant with rooms in an outstanding historic building. Askham Hall is really a bohemian-style home from home with a wonderful vegetable patch, elds and ponds with animals, set right in the heart of an incredibly productive area for wild food, game and meat. The focus is very much on the connection between the kitchen, the seasons and the local ecosystem. Head chef is Richard Swale (la Maison de Marc Veyrat, Annecy, Noma, and a protégé of Anthony Demetre and John Burton Race). His menus are inspired by his time at Noma and la Maison, both of which are run by pioneers of finding delicate flavours from local wild herbs and plants and balancing them with the best meats and vegetables.
