This has to be the best veggie cafe in the Lakes.

I had an awesome breakfast, looking over the mountains, in the (very rare!) lakeland sunshine. Great food, good portions, and a cool bike shop upstairs too.

Bell Close, Keswick, Cumbria
www.lakelandpedlar.co.uk
017687 74492

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It is a high quality, excellent restaurant, one of the best within the National Park.

in the village square of Broughton-in-Furness,
www.beswicks.co.uk/

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Cafe in the building of Lakeland Plastics flagship Windermere store.

breakfastliverpool.blogspot.com/2007/11/029-first-floor-cafe.html

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Perfectly understated and calmly organised, The Samling remains intimate even on its busiest days. Where larger luxury hotels are loudly decked with people, The Samling seems to swallow its guests into every nook and cranny of a carefully managed estate.

Once in its grasp, this estate holds you close and loses you to subtly changing views and timeless simplicity. There you can sit frozen, forgetting what it was drove you through The Samling's gates until eventually you stir and shift towards the dining room and where the best food is served by the best people.

The hotel also has some tenuous link to Wordsworth but frankly, who cares?

Just off the road to Waterhead and Ambleside.

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A breath of fresh air, literally. The UK's only independent family-run motorway service stations (north and south-bound on the M6 just on the edge of Lakeland) was built in 1971 by a local farmer and a baker on a site that used to be a farm and with floor to ceiling windows overlooking Howgill Fen. In summer, picnic tables overlook the ponds. Proper food, too, (I had steak pie) sourced from the farm and freshly-made sandwiches; there's even a farm shop to buy supplies if you're going self-catering. Eat your heart out Moto.

M6 Junction 38

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Whilst you can ask for finest wines known to humanity in Penrith, you may be disappointed to find that Withnail and I's infamous afternoon tea wasn't actually filmed there.

You can however go to a little village about 10 miles away called Shap, where a cute shop on the main street will sell you amazing sandwiches and glorious home made cakes. Die hard fans may want to head to Wet Sleddale to see the derelict building (Sleddale Hall) which was Uncle Monty's holiday home but there are much nicer picnics spots. Get a map, a good pair of walking boots (Withnail's carrier-bag-over-shoe skills won't do) and explore.

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This is one of those country pubs where, upon first entering after a long day's hike, you wonder whether you've mistakenly barged into someone's front room. Sure enough, you do have to keep the house rules in mind: live music only (no jukebox); make an effort to chat with the regulars; and number one, real ales only. Anyone asking for a lager top or a snowball or something will be greeted with a disdainful stare that could dry up Lake Coniston...

But play the game at this very independent family-run venue and your reward will be a fine selection of beers at rock-bottom prices and a genuinely hospitable local atmosphere, where the folks know everything about the area and will give you far more tips than this site ever can. Lastly - if you're lucky - beyond the usual bar meals at lunchtime, plates of free pub nosh have been known to come out from time to time to help soak up the ale.

Foxfield, Broughton-in-Furness, Cumbria, LA20 6BX
Tel: 01229 716238
Off the A5092 or opposite Foxfield station
www.princeofwalesfoxfield.co.uk

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This traditional village cafe uses mainly organic and local produce and the food is fresh, simple, and satisfying - they bake their own bread and you can really taste the difference.

Princes Street, Broughton-in-Furness

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The King's Head serves an array of Jennings ales and, in a county with more pubs than you could care to mention, is loaded with character. For a start, it's haunted - weird noises late at night have often been reported, and a couple of Australians staying there recently were so spooked they left town.

The pub was built in 1640, and as recently as 2003 refurbishments turned up a deep well in the corner of the main bar, now covered over with a glass plate. There's a beer garden and a bowling green, formerly the stables and paddock from when this was a coaching inn. There are four rooms with shared bath too (£25), a great place to start or finish the Cumbria Way.

14 Queen's Street, Ulverston
Tel: 01229 588064
(not to be confused with The King's Arms on King Street)

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A bit slow, and a little pricey, the World Peace Cafe is still a must for the altruistic or the plain curious. Run by the Manjushri Buddhists from nearby Conishead Priory, from 11.30 to 2.30 it serves only organic, fair-trade vegetarian food (mains £5.00, sandwiches £4), cakes and a selection of teas from Earl Grey to Ayurvedic.

The cafe also offers evening sessions in its very own meditation room (cost £9.50) - there's even a lunchtime guided meditation (£4.50) followed by soup of the day...

5 Cavendish Street, Ulverston
01229 587793
www.worldpeacecafe.org

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Fantastic pub for lunch after a hard morning's hike - the ploughman's lunch plus a pint of Black Sheep or Riggwelter, both glorious darker ales from the Masham brewery, sets you up for the rest of the day. The bar is to be found in the converted stables, the white-washed walls and horse brasses don't attempt to hide the humble beginnings of the place, far from it, the bar is a cosy and even on busy weekends, often a fairly quiet spot to have a meal or just a drink. Dog friendly too, we've taken ours into the bar without problems, or there are tables outside if your pooch is wary of other people. Decidely a locals' pub, it is nonetheless a friendly place to escape from the hordes of tourists around Beatrix Potter's house in near Sawrey. Having never stayed in the hotel I can't comment but if the bar is anything to go by it should be great!

Far Sawrey, Ambleside, Cumbria, LA22 0LQ
Telephone: 01539 443425
www.sawreyhotel.co.uk/

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A truly excellent high quality restaurant in one of the best and most interesting large villages/small towns in the southern Lakes.

Three pubs in the village itself, one (the Manor) has the best selection of beer in the county, another (Old King's Head) has the best pub food in the area, and the third (the Black Cock) has its own unique character.

Broughton-in-Furness on the A595, at the head of the estuary of Wordsworth's river, the Duddon.

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A fantastic venue in the centre of Kendal featuring music, theatre, dance and comedy events and 2 cinema screens as well as exhibitions, activities for kids, an atmospheric bar and a great restaurant. Their forthcoming Womens Arts Festival features an amazing line up of artsists that you wouldn't expect to see performing in a small market town in Cumbria.

Brewery Arts Centre
Highgate, Kendal, Cumbria
Tel: 01539 725133
www.breweryarts.co.uk

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A Lakeland institution and a top spot to drink in the stunning views as well as the local ale. You might need to book to eat in the restaurant, but the pub grub is top notch – I’d recommend the ploughman’s, stuffed full of local produce.

Barngates, Ambleside LA22 0NG
Tel: 01539 436 347
www.drunkenduckinn.co.uk/

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Friendly cafe in a converted woodmill in Staveley (between Kendal and Windermere). Good menu - I recommend the tasty veggie chilli and homemade cakes. There are also some tables outside, including some that overlook the river at the back.

Mill Yard, Staveley, LA8 9LR
01539 822329
www.wilfs-cafe.co.uk
Nearest station: Staveley

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Restaurant, cafe, jazz bar and cinema all rolled into one! Located in Ambleside, I have been visiting this place for over 20 years. In that time it’s gone through some changes but it still remains a wonderful place to go especially now with the addition of a jazz bar playing live jazz most Saturdays.

The restaurant and cafe are veggie but the kind of veggie that makes you want to convert! Cinema has four screens – two in the main building and two just down the road on the edge of the beautiful park. Go for the ‘movie deal’ (cinema ticket and meal) then afterwards listen to jazz for one of the best nights out in the Lakes!

Zeffirellis
Compston Road
Ambleside
LA22 9AD
www.zeffirellis.com
Tel: 015394 33845

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The Old Keswickian is a traditional fish and chip shop in the centre of
Keswick at the heart of the Lakes. It doubles as a take-away and eat-in restaurant which is popular with locals and tourists alike. The shop uses local Cumbrian produce and is perfect for a quality fish
supper after a hard day's walking!

www.oldkeswickian.co.uk

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One of the many pleasures of eating at The Jumble Room is the feeling that you are almost sat in front of the telly with your food on your knee.

There's no TV, I hasten to add, but the knockout indulgence is all there with the added benefit of the food being amazing, heartwarming and restaurant quality. The staff are so friendly you may start thinking they are actually long-lost relatives and scratch your head a bit when they ask you to pay the modestly priced bill.

Langdale Road, Grasmere, LA22 9SU
015394 35188
www.thejumbleroom.co.uk/

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