Lake District’s renaissance

There was a time, around the 1950s and 1960s, when British holiday accommodation was a bit of a nightmare. You stayed in draughty boarding houses where you ate a grim breakfast in silence with other diners. For the less moneyed, there was little choice but for b&b’s run by fierce, tyrannical landladies who locked you out during the day, whether there was sun, snow or torrential rain.

Thankfully, those days are long gone. England’s Lake District is just one of the many popular tourism areas with accommodation that is now completely unrecognisable from those dark days. Hotels, b&b’s and inns with rooms are being revamped, and the twee, old fashioned guesthouses being replaced or refurbished with top quality, contemporary boutique places to stay that are attracting a younger visitor to them.

One of the new accommodation options is a luxury bed & breakfast opening several weeks ago on the edge of the Lake District at the foot of the Howgill fells. The Malabar offers six indulgent bedrooms including three suites in a renovated 18th century barn just two miles from the historic market town of Sedbergh. Designed with a nod to India and the Orient, The Malabar features an eclectic mix of furnishings and artefacts; from an original tea roller and planter’s chairs to antique furniture discovered in Bombay markets.

In addition, a popular Grasmere hotel that suffered extensive flood damage to its ground floor almost seven months ago at the hands of Storm Desmond, reopened in July. The Daffodil Hotel & Spa has undergone a full refurbishment to its ground floor to include a new lobby area and a newly designed copper bar with modern glass enclosed seating area. Guests have a choice of dining areas, from the contemporary first floor dining room or large lounge area to the picturesque terrace overlooking the lake.

British food used to be the envy of absolutely no-one

In addition, Another Place, launched in 2015, has secured planning consent locally for the first hotel in its collection. Rampsbeck, which is situated in the Lake District National Park, will close in September 2016 for an exciting build project and will re-open as a fresh new hotel in spring 2017. Twenty additional rooms including 12 family suites will be built, as well as Swim Club - encompassing a 20-metre indoor swimming pool and treatment rooms. Set beside Ullswater and in 18 acres of secluded, unspoilt parkland, Rampsbeck was built in the 1750s as a gentleman’s residence and has been a renowned country house hotel for over half a century. Harrison Pitt Architects from Lancaster has worked on the project with the team at Another Place.

British food – especially outside the capital – used to be the envy of absolutely no-one, but that is most certainly no longer the case. Sassy gastropub The Punch Bowl Inn and Restaurant at Crosthwaite underlines this in the Lake District, with one of its chefs from the local town of Kendal being named the UK’s Young Chef of the Year 2016 by The Craft Guild of Chefs, the leading Chef’s Association in the UK. The competition is considered the UK’s Oscars of the chef world.

Naturally shy sous chef Arthur Quin, 20, has pushed himself out of his comfort zone to promote the Punch Bowl at numerous events in Cumbria by carrying out chef demonstrations in front of huge crowds at county shows and food festivals.

Other funky holiday accommodation options in the region include The Love Shack, a modern eco-cabin boasting panoramic views of Lake Windermere. This unique, architect-designed woodland hideaway was lovingly built with both eco-consciousness and comfort in mind.

The Cottage in the Wood at Braithwaite describes itself as a boutique restaurant with rooms, and certainly the rooms are as bright and contemporary as the food is outstanding.