I found a nice hotel in Ireby, near Bassenthwaite. The owners were really nice, very welcoming and we were the only guests on Sat evening. The 3 course meal on Sat was great. Basically they ask you what you don’t like and then create a dinner plan based around avoiding things you don’t eat. We found it really good as we didn’t have to worry about food after a day on the hills and it was lovely surprise. They’ve got some great wines, local beers and a very good bar too.
I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a nice place to stay in a lovely hamlet with easy access to the fells and great local road cycling. It’s not far from Whinlatter either.
I reckon anywhere you can easily/cheaply get a taxi home from isn’t really “away”. It’s local.
For us, part of being away is looking at different landscapes be they mountains, lakes, beaches, cities, etc. etc. Although we live in a nice part of West Yorkshire, the landscape is Pennine moorland for many, many miles. Going away gives you something different. We’re 5 miles from Halifax and Hudds so Shibden, although very nice, doesn’t meet the brief.
