http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19239
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.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19239 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18378 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18378 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16752 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16752 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13342
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?]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13342 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12384 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12384 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12379
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.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12379 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12359
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.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12359 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12338 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12338 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12334
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.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12334 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12333
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...]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12333 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12329 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12329 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12328
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.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12328 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12323 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12323 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12319 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12319 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12318 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12318 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12154
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!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12154 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11222 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!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11222 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11193
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.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11193