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Old Georgian port, nice harbour. Great museums like The Rum Story, which depicts the history of the town's links in the rum trade and slavery and The Beacon Museum. Great views from top floor of The Beacon across the Solway Firth.
30 minutes from Keswick
I'd recommend a guidebook, a map, a waterproof, stout footwear and talking to the locals.
By it's very nature, Lakeland is one of England's lungs - a place to wander, explore and sometimes discover yourself. It's a place to retreat to and BREATHE, not to congregate and queue up for the best Kodak moment ...
By all means let's share favourite pubs, restaurants, festivals and the like but do you really want to find someone else in your favourite spot overlooking Brotherswater - knowing that you invited them? Take the slow road!
Located near Borrowdale, The Honister Slate mine is a hidden treasure. It is located in one of the most beautiful and peaceful parts of the Lake District and even your drive up there will take your breath away.
When you get there, you can take trips into an amazing working slate mine. You can see giant underground caverns, old slate mining equipment and techniques and much more. During the summer you can also take a trip around the edge of the mine - a hair-raising high and narrow foot path.
The staff here are great and the experience second to none. The tamer tours are great for kids but there is plenty on offer for all ages.
The only drawback to the mine is that it can be quite hard to find. The National Trust are apparently quite reluctant to signpost this attraction - goodness knows why.
It is located on The Honister Pass in Keswick. There are more details on the website.
www.honister-slate-mine.co.uk/
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.
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/
Very clean, able to park on the beach, so no long walks to & from the car, & no having to carry all your beach toys very far.
Good children's section, and lots of activities to do for all.
Weston-super-mare, Junction 21 M5, or Weston-super-mare train station
So called as it is surrounded by rivers that feed into the Lea just slightly to the east and you can’t get to it without crossing a bridge.
It’s a relatively tranquil spot with some pretty cottages and riverside views and is a good starting point for the walks over Hartham Common and the meads. Inevitably, there’s a pub too, the Old Barge.
From the town centre, take Bull Plain to reach the bridge.
Acorn is a fantastic cafe. The food is made with love and dedication to the idea that food can be delicious and good for you. They do veggie and non veggie and both are good. Plus superb puddings which are yummy and rich without being over sweet.
We had a fantastic lunch there and then went for a tremendous walk on Long Mynd and decided to take a later train back so that we could sample the puddings with tea. There is also a garden to eat in.
Acorn Wholefood Cafe, 26 Sandford Avenue, Church Stretton, Shropshire, SY6 6BW. 01694 722495
Don't be fooled by the name, it's not actually a wine bar, it's more of a restaurant. Great selection of food and reasonable prices in a laid back atmosphere make it one of my fave restaurants in town. Try the pizzas they're ace, and I hear that the fried chicken (no it doesn't come in a bucket) is meant to be top notch.
You can just go in for a drink downstairs, try the cocktails - they’re lovely.
You can go early doors (5-7pm) and get a pizza for £6 and a bottle of wine for £10, bargain!
5-7 Chapel Walks
Manchester
M2 1HN
www.grinch.co.uk/
The best ice cream ever is to be found served at the Captain's Table in Woodbridge. Pascal, the chef/owner, churns out his own, and will also sell by the tub. It's unfair to single out the honeycomb and lemon curd flavours because the others are all so good too!
Runner-up is Suffolk Meadow Ice cream, sold at various outlets, farm shops and farmers markets in Suffolk - it's made on a farm in Rendham and sold by members of the family (say hello to George - the most cheerful ice cream seller I've ever met!).
Honourable mention to the ice cream parlour at Aldeburgh - the only problem is that its 60 flavours make choosing a nightmare.
The Captain's Table, Quay Street, Woodbridge.
captainstable.co.uk/
Suffolk Meadow ice cream - available throughout Suffolk.
Aldeburgh ice cream parlour, High Street, Aldeburgh.
It is a cafe, surprisingly enough, but the traditional-style ice cream is the best I have ever tasted. If you are in the Glasgow or Ayrshire area it is well worth the journey.
Esplanade, Greenock, near the Ocean Terminal where if you are lucky you might see a cruise liner (www.inverclydenow.com/news-shipping.asp)
The first Cadwalader's ice cream parlour is in Criccieth. I remember queuing up for the delicious ice cream when I was a little girl, and the shop is still there, now with a much bigger range of flavours (Dragon's Breath?). Pick up a cornet as you walk up the hill from the beach to the castle.
Address: Castle Street, Criccieth, LL52 0SB
Tel: 01766 523665
www.cadwaladersicecream.co.uk/index.asp
Brymoor ice cream is made in Jervaulx in Wensleydale. They only use milk from their own herd of pedigree Guernsey cows. You can either buy ice cream from the parlour at the farm itself or you will find it stocked in various local shops and supermarkets. It is a local favourite for very good reasons.
Brymor
A.B. Moore Farmers Ltd
High Jervaulx Farm
Masham
HG4 4PG
Tel: 01677 460337
Open daily 10am-6pm
Ripley Ice Cream is lovely. Not only is it the best, the height of ice cream you get in a cone seems gravity defying!!!
You get a choice of two freshly blended flavours a day (or you can have half and half - which is the best) and they taste amazing. They often have some really nice fruity frozen yoghurt flavours. The people who own the place are brilliant and there is nothing more satisfying on a sunny day that mooching around Ripley castle courtyard with a cone in hand.
Ripley North Yorkshire
maps.google.co.uk/maps?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&tab=wl&q=
www.travelpublishing.co.uk/CountryLivingNorthEast/CentralYorkshire/CNE29560.htm
On a hot summer's day on the coast of a small town in Kent, your ice cream fantasy (well, one of them) can be fulfilled!
Rio's Ice Cream operates from an ice cream van. And she works at the seafront outside the Hotel Imperial.
Not only does Rio serve up the best ice cream, she is friendly, courteous and patient (I often take my clients with learning disabilities to see her).
The view can be outstanding. Look across the Channel to France; watch the locals fish for mackerel from the rocks; take a walk up the Prince's Parade promenade; or sit in your car in the nearby car park and watch the walkers, cyclists, roller bladers, and dog walkers go by while you enjoy a double coned ice cream for £1 - not bad for Kent!
Hythe is just west of Folkestone on the A259.
Langage Farm have their own herd of Jersey cows, which they milk to make all sorts of yummy dairy things, but most especially the best ice cream ever!
They've got about 20 flavours, including cointreau and chocolate, ginger and apple and blackberry crumble.
www.langagefarm.com
You can visit the farm in Smithaleigh, PL7 5AY, just off the A38 or for a more scenic ice cream opportunity they have a van on the road that circles the Hoe in Plymouth itself.
Fantastic 50s formica fantasy - a real classic ice cream parlour and a national treasure. Oh, and the ice cream is fantastic! If you can't make it to Broadstairs, apparently they sell it in Harrods...
Up in the main cluster of shops across from the Victorian promenade - you can't miss it!
Seventeen acres of subtropical gardens constructed over a century ago on a formerly bleak, windswept island. It’s like a Douanier Rousseau painting, with species from 80 countries, from Brazil to Burma. Beyond the garden and on neighbouring islands are some of the best unspoilt beaches in Britain. You could be in the Canaries or somewhere really exotic (until you put your foot in the water).
It may be tiny, but this Shetland island has a population of thousands - birds, that is. Species include 45,000 guillemots, 7000 pairs of gannets and fulmars, kittiwakes and puffins galore. Visit in early summer when the puffins hatch out of their burrows in such numbers that you have to be careful not to step on them.
Travel across from the larger island of Bressay in an inflatable boat.
A small island just off the coast of Barrow-in-Furness, the small island of Piel still has the remains of medieval fortifications that once protected the harbour. Admittedly, Piel is small, but it does offer a few items of interest - the remains of a red stone castle, which is fun to climb on and walk through; a nice stroll along the shore among the sea grasses and the shore birds; and a visit to the King of Piel, who runs the pub.We had a great time, in a low-key, understated kind of way.
A few boat rides from Barrow-in-Furness:
website.lineone.net/~carolscarr/
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