The Cottage in the Wood

‘We were not disappointed.’ Beside Whinlatter Pass, Kath and Liam Berney extend the ‘warmest welcome’ to guests at their ‘idyllic’ restaurant-with-rooms. Take drinks on the terrace in warmer weather – the whitewashed 17th-century coaching inn has ‘stunning views’ towards Skiddaw – or retire to the sitting room, where a wood-burner, books and games await on rainy days. The ‘clean, well-appointed’ smaller Cottage bedrooms occupy the oldest part of the house, dating from 1654; the ‘luxurious, generously proportioned’ Garden Room has a private patio. ‘The living area was divided by a wood-burning stove, creating separate cosy seating areas.’ Eat well in the award-winning conservatory-style dining room, where chef Chris Archer ‘cooks with flair’, using ‘lots of local produce: Herdwick hogget, brill from Whitehaven, the famous Waberthwaite sausage’.Each dish is paired with a complementing wine. (Try the vegetarian tasting menu, a tempting alternative.) Breakfast, with scrambled duck eggs and ‘crispy’ bacon, is ‘great’. Walking and cycling trails from the door; a drying room for when you return. (HB, JP, Stephanie Thompson and Keith Sutton)