Charlotte Pike

Where to stay

My base for the visit was Gate House in Coniston, which is part of the Coppermines Cottages portfolio of properties.

Gate House is a traditional Lakeland house at the foot of the Coppermine quarries in Coniston. It was purchased by current owners Jane and Simon in 2015 and extensively renovated to create a wonderfully luxurious base within walking distance of the centre of Coniston, yet feeling pleasantly away from the hustle and bustle.

Gate House sleeps eight guests across three double and one twin bedroom, and all have their own luxurious bathroom, each fitted with top quality fittings, fluffy Egyptian cotton towels and lovely local toiletries made by the Soap Co in Keswick who make a really lovely range of products and run the business employing local staff and providing meaningful employment for individuals with learning difficulties. Supporting local business in the Lakes runs through the fabric of this cottage.

The refurbishment of Gate House was extensive, and the majority of the work was undertaken by local craftspeople using locally sourced materials, including slate and wood.

Gate House is equipped with a huge, newly fitted kitchen and high quality appliances, including a Rangemaster electric range cooker, Emma Bridgewater china, Le Creuset pans and plenty of useful pieces of kit, meaning guests can cook and dine well during their stay. There is a large table in the kitchen, and even if you don’t want to cook, there is plenty of space to relax and enjoy the house. Indeed, guests are able to use the Coppermines tablet in one of the sitting rooms to order a takeaway to the door. 

There are three sitting rooms at Gate House, all of which have a wood burner and a television, and plenty of books, maps, games and DVDs for a wet day. All are very nicely furnished, with lovely quality furniture and fittings, and plenty of seating and space to relax. You’ll be warm and comfortable whatever the weather with underfloor heating throughout, and a wonderful boot room with boot warmer to set you up for a day in the great outdoors.

There is a paved garden out the back, looking over the beck which runs down from Coniston Old Man, with outside seating to enjoy in the summer, whilst listening to the water tumbling past and the church bells ringing.

What I particularly enjoyed about staying at Gate House was the attention to detail in every area. This is a truly immaculately refurbished cottage, whose owners have put so much thought and care into every detail. From prosecco and local Hawkshead preserves on arrival, to the wonderfully well equipped kitchen, this is a very special place to stay indeed.

Where to eat

There is always somewhere new to visit on each trip to the Lake District, and there really is something for everyone, from fine dining to delicious pub food after a long day in the outdoors.

For something really interesting and special, Lake Kitchen in Ambleside is really memorable, offering a menu of small plates made from ‘hyper local’ ingredients, many of which have been foraged locally.

For a more relaxed evening, the Drunken Duck Inn is extremely pleasant, and I really recommend the bar for a cosy drink by the fire after a day walking. It’s one of my favourite spots in the Lakes.

In Coniston, there is a new artisan bakery and a couple of pubs, cafes, restaurants and a small shop.

For food shopping, most towns have a small convenience shop, but I always like to visit Booths in Windermere to do a larger shop, as they have a really lovely range of great quality produce, and lots of products from independent producers in the Lakes and across the North. It is also worth knowing that Tesco and Asda do home delivery, which can be a very useful time saving exercise when self-catering, especially after a long drive.

Things to do

There are endless adventures to be had in the Lake District and you’ll find countless walks, bike rides and many other things to do each day.

Based in Coniston on this trip, the town offers a small but pleasant collection of independent shops, cafes and restaurants, plus the interesting Ruskin Museum, which was just a few steps from our cottage. Coniston Water is also within walking distance, offering boat trips and boat hire, which is very pleasant.

Old Man of Coniston is one of the most famous walks in the Lakes, and that can be done from Coniston. It is one of the high fells in the Lakes, but a comparatively easy climb, with a really interesting ascent and decent through disused copper mines and working quarries. The ridge walk at the summit is worth the climb, revealing views across Morcombe Bay, and out to sea past Sellafield on Cumbria’s west coast.

Nearby is Langdale, which also offers some of the great vistas and walks in the Lakes. Harrison Stickle and Stickle Tarn is a favourite, starting off from the National Trust car park at Dungeon Ghyll.

Grizedale Forest is on the other side of Coniston Water from the town, and is an interesting place to explore with its sculpture park and outdoor activities including green laning and mountain biking, plus more gentle walks along the shore for those keen for a more gentle activity. 

Ambleside is the nearest larger town, which offers plenty of shops, cafes and restaurants.

How to book

My stay at Gate House was as a guest of Coppermines. Coppermines run an office in Coniston town centre, and offer a range of lovely properties in which to stay and are very much on hand should you need them. I was very happy with the booking process. Gate House has recently been awarded a Highly Commended Award in the 2017 Cumbria Tourist Awards, in the Self-Catering Category.

Gate House can be booked online, and costs from around £1150 for a week in the winter, to around £2500 for a week in the summer holidays. Christmas week is around £2300.

Where to stay in London is something I regularly consider. I am very pleased to bring you a selection of suggestions from recent visits which I hope may inspire future trips.

Marble Arch

If shopping in London is your forte, or indeed, just staying in the heart of London, then the Hyatt Regency The Churchill is a superbly located spot on Portman Square, just a few steps back from Oxford Street. This is a large hotel, with extremely comfortable, modern and stylish bedrooms and bathrooms. I stayed recently on a Thursday night and the hotel seemed very busy with international tourists staying. I found a wonderfully convenient place to stay in central London.

Check in was quick and I was left to find my own room, up on the third floor, looking out over Portman Square. It was a very comfortable room with a good bathroom. My first port of call was the Churchill Bar for a cocktail. I say outside and enjoyed a Blenheim fizz cocktail. This is a very nice, atmospheric bar, offering great drinks, bar food and friendly, charming service.

I moved back into the hotel to the The Montagu restaurant for my dinner. There is, as one would imagine, a strong British theme running through this hotel as the name suggests, and The Montagu takes this to heart, serving dishes inspired by Churchill’s Kent home, Chartwell, with the menu offering seasonal British dishes, with some ingredients sourced from Chartwell’s gardens on the menu and cocktail list.

I started off with a vegetarian starter, warm textures of broccoli and courgette. In all honesty, I couldn’t picture what I’d end up with, but it was a delicious courgette mousse with roasted broccoli and romanesco and a parmesan crisp. It was very light and deeply rich in savoury flavour. I then tried a steak, an unoriginal choice, but I was keen to try the flavours of the Josper grill on which the steak was grilled, which was really wonderful. I finished with a chocolate wall, a layered chocolate and banana pudding, again, inspired by Chartwell. In all honesty, I don’t think the name did justice to this delicious creation. I am not the greatest chocolate lover, but I really did enjoy this more than I have enjoyed a pudding for some time.

Expect to pay around £270 per night, and £40 for dinner per head, plus drinks. 

Hyde Park Bolthole

Roseate House is a small, newly refurbished hotel close to Hyde Park and Paddington station. Sat in an elegant white townhouse, it’s a very short walk from the business of Paddington, but feels like a calm retreat in central London.  Staff here really go out of their way to offer great service, and after a very warm welcome, I was shown up to my room, which was very pleasant – smart, clean and comfortable – with a four poster bed, small sitting room and good bathroom, equipped with Penhaligon toiletries.

Downstairs, there is a very chic bar and small restaurant. Bar staff are very experienced and enthusiastic, taking great care over their cocktail making and keen to tell the stories behind the cocktails they make. There’s a huge selection of whiskies available, too.

At ate dinner in the bar, which was cosy and informal. Other guests seemed to be travelling on business and staff were keen to chat. My meal was very good, with the Dorset crab cakes and garlic aioli to start the highlight, followed by a nicely cooked steak and homemade chips. It was all freshly cooked, and carefully prepared. Unsure of which cocktail to choose, the head bartender made me a 50/50 Martini, having listened to my preferences, which was really lovely, and finished with an aromatic sage leaf. It was as savoury, aromatic and refreshing as I had hoped.

Breakfast the next morning was taken in the dining room. There is a good selection of fruit, yoghurt and cooked dishes. Filter coffee is offered as standard, with an extra charge of £4.50 for espresso-based coffee. I needed a quick turnaround, and staff were very obliging, friendly and efficient.

Roseate House is a lovely, personal and convenient place to stay in central London. I wouldn’t hesitate to return.

One night stay is around £160, with dinner around £40 per head, plus drinks.

Italian luxury in Kensington

Baglioni is a small, Italian owned hotel at Park Gate, Kensington, part of a small chain of Italian hotels and resorts. Baglioni Hotel in London feels intimate and luxurious – an opulent mix of marble and dark wood. My welcome was warm and I was shown up to my room with the offer of a cocktail. 

Rooms are generously sized with plenty of storage, and dark, atmospheric lighting. There was plenty of seating to work and relax, and the coffee table laid out with a wonderful selection of biscuits, fruit and a bottle of frizzante on ice. The bathroom was the real highlight – a stylish black marble bathroom with a huge bath and wonderful Sicilian toiletries from Ortigia.

The service at Baglioni was particularly charming, with most staff I encountered from Italy. Food is a strong focus at Baglioni, and the Italian heritage features heavily on the menu. The Brunello Bar & Restaurant is open to non-residents too, and is run by well-known chefs Alberto Rossetti and Raffaele Lauriola. The menu offers a lovely selection of fresh pasta dishes, and a mix of familiar and less familiar Italian dishes, such as chicken breast with caponata, lamb with crispy polenta and braised cod with fresh tomatoes, clams and taggiasche olives.

Breakfast at Baglioni was very good and wonderfully presented, with excellent, strong coffee, and delicious yoghurts and fresh berries and a nice selection of cooked dishes to order to suit a wide range of tastes. Staff were very charming and friendly, too.

Baglioni is a very discreet, yet luxurious hotel in a wonderfully convenient location, with the park entrance right opposite, and a short walk, drive or bus journey down to the designer shops in Knightsbridge, the Royal Albert Hall and Kensington High Street all on the doorstep. I’d recommend it for a small, intimate feeling hotel, offering good food and personal, charming service.

A one night stay is around £300, and expect to pay £40 for dinner per head, plus drinks.

East London Super Yacht

Sunborn London is a yacht hotel on Royal Victoria Dock in East London. Accommodation here is good value, and an unusual experience. I could see many guests relishing in the opportunity to spend the night on a super yacht. Sunborn is a fully functioning luxury yacht, which is permanently docked and run as a hotel and restaurant. Cabins are large and well equipped, with smaller en suite bathrooms with showers only, not dissimilar to a cruise ship. Rooms are equipped with tablets from which one can order room service or check the weather amongst other functions. They’re comfortably furnished, with plenty of space and an outdoor balcony area looking out across the dock. 

The Sundown Bar is open at the back of the yacht until midnight, and positioned at the back of the ship to make the most of the sunset.

The Lands End restaurant is open for lunch and dinner, again with the best views on board out the back of the yacht. If offers a set menu or a la carte each day, with a small selection of popular dishes, including a Silent Pool gin cured salmon, rack of lamb with fondant potato, slow cooked pork belly with English mustard and apple and Herefordshire sirloin steaks. The wine list is good, and the sommelier was extremely helpful, allowing us to taste the reds before ordering.

Sunborn’s bars and restaurant are open to non-residents, too, offering a most unusual place to stay in the East. It is a particularly convenient place to stay near London City Airport, the Excel Centre and the o2. It is a short walk from the DLR, stations east of Canning Town, meaning it’s easy to get to on public transport or by car, but it may be a shade too far out for those wanting to enjoy the benefits of central London.

One night’s accommodation is around £110, and dinner is £25-40 per head, plus drinks.

 

I stayed at all hotels as a guest.