Cuckoo Brow Inn

Upgraded to the main Guide, this jolly country inn, between Lake Windermere and Beatrix Potter’s Hill Top home, welcomes walkers, dogs and children with smiles, robust food and toasty log-burners. ‘This Lakeland gem is bursting with character and rustic charm,’ reports one family. ‘From the moment we arrived we were met with warm and friendly owners.’ The long bar-dining area, with central log-burner (useful for drying boots), has cheery scrubbed tables and spindle-back chairs, and there’s a snug/games room in the adjoining former stables. Meals are ‘cooked to perfection and extremely tasty’ with ‘a good choice of fish, meat and vegetarian dishes’ that includes pub classics and more inventive options: venison cheeseburger, perhaps, or king prawn and chorizo linguine. ‘Spotlessly clean’ bedrooms, in the main pub and an extension above the old stables, have a simple, unfussy style. Family rooms come with bunk beds. Spacious bathrooms, most with baths as well as showers, have ‘plenty of hot water with good pressure’. ‘Freshly cooked’ breakfast will set you up for a day’s walking. ‘We shall definitely be returning.’ (Mark Johnson)