The Cottage in the Wood

Now with a Michelin star, this restaurant-with-rooms has confirmed its status as one of the Lake District’s top foodie places – and is set in an enviably tranquil location. Liam and Kath Berney’s 17th-century cottage, its surroundings teeming with wildlife, is tucked into woodland on Whinlatter Pass with views to Skiddaw. After a day’s walking and canapés in the ‘comfortable lounge’, it’s time to move into the candlelit restaurant for Ben Wilkinson’s ‘awesome dinners’. These make creative use of local produce: salt-baked beetroot with sheep’s curd and horseradish, perhaps, or Eden Valley pork with shallot and black truffle. ‘The iced cream cheese with strawberries was delicious,’ one reader relates. Afterwards, you can retire to boutique-style bedrooms with shimmery wallpapers and pale-wood furnishings as well as fresh milk and home-made shortbread. Bigger rooms with the best fell views are ‘light and airy, and very comfortable’ but one had a ‘tiny’ bathroom. Breakfasts feature ‘perfect eggs’ although one reader bewails the ‘lack of fresh orange juice’ at this ‘unique, special place’. (Sara Price, and others)