Ravenstone Lodge weekend break, Bassenthwaite Ravenstone Lodge is a small hotel in the northern Lake District on the shores of Bassenthwaite Lake, some five miles north of Keswick. Nestling at the foot of the mighty Skiddaw mountain range, this was once a Victorian coach house and occupies five acres of unspoilt countryside. It’s a three-star hotel with an AA Rosette …
Wentbridge House Hotel
Wentbridge House Hotel Where the A1 meets the M62, you pass through a part of Yorkshire known best for mining and industry. It would be easy to look at Ferrybridge power station and the spaghetti of motorway intersections and dismiss this area as one being without charm. In fact, that assumption couldn’t be more wrong. Within the area bounded by …
Lakeside Hotel & Spa, Windermere
Lakeside Hotel & Spa, Windermere Windermere is known for its tourist hustle and bustle in the towns of Windermere, Bowness and Ambleside. However, Britain’s largest natural lake is tranquil at its southern end, yet only twenty minutes from the M6. The scenery may be less dramatic than that of the mountainous north, but it remains breathtaking. On this southern shore, …
Swinton Park memories
Swinton Park memories North Yorkshire is quintessentially English. The heather-clad moors and rolling farmland are full of hedgerows, woods, and picture-book villages. Swinton Park is a jewel in this landscape, a mile from Masham in Wensleydale. The first sight when entering through the gatehouse is astonishing. Swinton Park is a magnificent castle. With ivy-clad turrets and castellations, it’s the centrepiece …
Food and Folk at the Old Bakery in Lincoln
Food and Folk at the Old Bakery in Lincoln The Old Bakery is a restaurant with rooms in the heart of Lincoln. The original bakery dates back to 1837, but it was derelict for nearly forty years until a restoration in 1994. Since 2004, Ivano and Tracey de Serio own it in partnership with Tracey’s parents, Alan and Lyn Ritson. …
A weekend at the Haweswater Hotel, Lake District
A weekend at the Haweswater Hotel, Lake District We arrived at the Haweswater Hotel on a Friday evening for a weekend break. It’s an easy drive north from Yorkshire. Haweswater is about as secluded as England gets yet it’s still readily accessible from the M6. It’s an ideal location for romantic getaways or outdoor pursuits. There were autumnal colours, the …
Fugu – the taste of fear
One Friday evening in a snowy New York winter came my date with death. There were six of us dining on Fugu in a Japanese restaurant that night, men and women, all single and without dependents. None of us were Japanese.