The Black Bull Inn is located in the heart of Conniston. While this does mean it is on the main junction in the village (but what does 'busy' in the Lake District really mean?), you can happily watch the world, and their dog, go by in the sun-trap beer garden, get a bit more cosy in one of the many rooms inside, or grab a seat at the bar.
The Black Bull does good grub, but the reason you should stop off here is for the beers - as the Conniston Brewing Company brews next door (spy their hydrometers and tanks from the car park if you are a real real ale fan) and so they serve lots of their beers on tap or by the bottle.
We were luckily enough to stop for a pint the day after their Barley Wine had been crowned Champion Beer at the GBBF.

www.blackbullconiston.co.uk/
1 Yewdale Road, Coniston, Cumbria LA21 8DU, United Kingdom
+44(0)15394 41335
Google map: bit.ly/PQej3r

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Lovely tranquil setting with an idyllic garden facing the mountain of Melbreak. Off the main tourist track but still very busy in the early evening, although you can get away from the hustle and bustle in the cosy dining room. The food is freshly cooked mainly from local ingredients, from steak and ale pie (small portions available) to pork tenderloin and fillet steak. The pub has its own brewery, now based in Hawkshead, producing a range of very drinkable ales, including the long-established Melbreak Bitter, Langdale and Esthwaite Bitters and the award-winning Loweswater Gold. There are many walks surrounding the Buttermere Valley and the Honister Rambler bus service is very useful if you only want to walk in one direction. Less-crowded walks are possible in the Loweswater Fells and on Melbreak and the smaller Hen Comb, or even just along the shores of Loweswater or Crummock Water. Comfortable rooms each with their own individual characteristics and good views.

kirkstile.com
Cockermouth, Loweswater, Cumbria CA13 0RU
+44(0)1900 85219

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On a recent visit to Keswick, I discovered a delicious solution to the often difficult problem of dining out while traveling with children. I found a courtyard tucked behind a pub (Kings Arms), a sports bar (Casa's Bar) and a pizzeria (LB's Pizza House) that was perfect for family dining. With the courtyard setting, we could dine outdoors, catch a favorite sport on TV, and enjoy a mix of food and beverage from any or all of these three establishments. Our goal that evening was to watch the gold medal Women's football match of the summer Olympics, and the bar tender from Casa's accommodated us by finding the game on the television set near our table. Along with pints of ale and cider carried out from the bar for refreshment, we ate some of the best pizza I've ever had, a thin and crispy, spicy hot Diavolo that had been stonebaked in a wood fired oven (with margherita pizza for the kids, of course.) The meal was so delicious we ordered another pizza and had a second round of drinks to take us through the second half of the football match. My only regret at the end of the evening was that we were far too full to finish the feast with a sticky toffee pudding.

23 Main Street Keswick, Cumbria CA12 5BL
+44(0)800 840 1241
Google map: bit.ly/OIytx8

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The Masons Arms is a what people hope for in a Lake District inn, it’s a quaint old building full of character with dining available in lots of nooks and crannies. They sell an excellent range of beers and offer a full menu with lots of traditional favourites alongside some more unusual options such as ale and cheddar rarebit. In good weather the great range of light bites make it the ideal place to stop for lunch; sit outside on the terrace with the birds singing and take in the fantastic views over the valley.

www.masonsarmsstrawberrybank.co.uk/
Strawberry Bank, Cartmell Fell, Grange over Sands, Cumbria, LA11 6NW
+44(0)15395 68486
Google map: bit.ly/SMfuFM

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The Brown Horse is situated in the heart of the Lake District, but slightly off the beaten track in an unspoilt area with great views over rolling fields. The inn has a welcoming rustic atmosphere with wooden beams, a flagged floor and a real open fire. Much of the delicious food is grown onsite or sourced locally, with regional specialties such as Cumberland sausage and Lakeland lamb on the menu. Wash your meal down with a pint of real ale; the pub brews its own and has a great selection on tap.

www.thebrownhorseinn.co.uk
Winster, Windermere, Cumbria LA23 3NR
+44(0)15394 43443
Google map: bit.ly/PrCVmX

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The Sawrey Hotel on the road between Hawkshead and the car ferry across Windermere re-emerged from a makeover recently as the Cuckoo Brow Inn. Food is served every day from noon until 9pm and is excellent. They pride themselves on sourcing as much as possible from within a 20 mile radius - and with good local beers to boot. They genuinely welcome walkers, cyclists, wet dogs and noisy children - we often eat there with our muddy Springer after walks across the local fells without feeling like social lepers. In our view, best enjoyed when it's cold outside with a roaring fire blazing in the hearth in the centre of the bar - so July or August then.

www.cuckoobrow.co.uk/
Far Sawrey, Ambleside, Cumbria, LA22 0LK
+44(0)15394 43425
Google map: bit.ly/SNdCep

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This is a truly welcoming pub – we’ve visited in autumn when the open fires provided much needed warmth after a day on the fells. Our last visit was earlier this summer, when the splendid garden proved a sun trap (yes we were there on one of the few days the sun shone this summer.) The bar area is made up of three small, cosy rooms and there is a good choice of refreshment – in both food and drink.

www.themortalman.co.uk
Troutbeck, Cumbria, LA23 1PL
+44(0)15394 33193
Google map: bit.ly/NTVwYO

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Traditional country hotel offering the best of Cumbrian Hospitality. Excellent breakfast, good beer, comfortable accommodation and luxurious toiletries. We were made extremely welcome and the food was perfect.

www.the-royal-dockray.co.uk
Dockray, Matterdale, Penrith, CA11 0JY
+44(0)17684 82356
Google map: bit.ly/NTVIar

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Most free houses have real ales, but this pub has its own on site brewery too (try the Tag Lag). It's seventh heaven for beer lovers. And foodies. The restaurant is stuffed with delicious locally sourced food (the game pie is to die for) and the wine list is big enough to suit all tastes and pockets. After all the fine dining and beery imbibing at lunchtime you won't want to move, so book a room and enjoy it all over again at dinnertime!

drunkenduckinn.co.uk/
Barngates, Ambleside Cumbria LA22 0NG +44(0)15394 36347
Google map: bit.ly/NQEQBy

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This friendly pub with its own brewery, a huge range of real ales, real pub games, newspapers and comfy chairs and newspapers prides itself on "food for drinkers" - all made to order on Fridays and weekends. After a hike up Black Combe, to contemplate the late Harry Griffin's favourite view, the pies, with a filling of your choice are well worth the half-hour wait as they cook. Opposite the railway station on the West Cumbrian line it's an old fashioned pub with a wonderful panorama of the Duddon estuary. Cumbria for those who know it and accessible to all.

www.princeofwalesfoxfield.co.uk/
Foxfield, Broughton-in-Furness, Cumbria, LA20 6BX
+44(0)1229 716238
Google map: bit.ly/MV930I

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Notwithstanding Mike Harding's quip about Barrow being 'a town at the end of a 32 mile cul-de-sac', south Lakes is an un-touristy (aka quiet) and stunning part of the Lake District. Great Urswick is a sleepy, pretty village, all whitewashed cottages and a tarn complete with ducks, and the pub is a cracker. Roaring fires, flagged floors and cosy snugs, well-kept beer and a menu that might surprise you. Chef/owner Craig Sherrington is doing clever things with local produce (expect sea bass, mackerel and rabbit) in an innovative but unpretentious way. Avoid the crowds in Ambleside and Windermere; this place is a treasure.

www.generalburgoyne.com
General Burgoyne, Great Urswick, LA12 0SZ +44(0)1229 586394
Google map: bit.ly/MVaah5

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Tucked away from Kendal's busy main shopping street in one of the few riverside locations in Kendal. The Waterside Cafe is hidden away on a traffic-free, pedestrianised area beside the River Kent, making it a longstanding favourite of many locals, but easily missed by visitors. It meets all the requirements of even the strictest veggies; there's a new menu everyday, vegan and vegetarian meals are cooked on the premises with Fairtrade and organic ingredients, served by very friendly staff. If the weather's good enough, eat at the outside tables and watch the river flow by. Then, after a quiet, healthy veggie lunch it will be time to get back to the shopping, or walk off your lunch with a hike across the river to Kendal Castle to see the view that makes Kendal the gateway to the English Lake District.

www.watersidewholefood.co.uk
Kent View, Kendal, Cumbria LA9 4DZ
+44(0)1539 729743
Google map: bit.ly/g3uwqi

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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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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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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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