This charming 17th-century inn close to Bassenthwaite Lake has pretty much got it all, from a cottage garden for summer cocktails to a chintzy lounge with winged chairs & polished brass for fireside chats in winter or a spot of afternoon tea with all the dainty accoutrements. The oak-panelled Fell restaurant offers up-market dining in a setting of polished glasses & starched linen (think venison loin or roast guinea fowl), although the recently opened bistro is a better bet for cheaper & more casual meals – burgers pasta, coq au vin & a children’s menu. But for real character & atmosphere, head to the tiny bar where brass beer pumps glow in the lamplight & the shiny blood-red walls are finished in yacht varnish. It all adds up to a star turn in this neck of the woods.