You see, we had longed to drive a shortish way, and find another part of the country as lovely as the Thirsk area where we could drift about, meandering in glorious British countryside , and then eat, and drink – a little of course. Ho hum. But where?
We had paid a fleeting visit some while ago to Cumbria, and found Ullswater, a glacial lake, which is part of the Lake District National Park, and then onto the village of Glenridding which is situated at the southern end of the lake. We learned that each year on Easter Monday, a duck race is organised by the local mountain rescue team to fundraise. It had all sounded as quirky as Thirsk… so we booked for three nights from Christmas Eve at the newly renovated The Ullswater Inn, nestling beneath the fells, with stunning views of Ullswater.
We duly arrived to a warm welcome at the Inn, which had been decorated for Christmas just as had The Golden Fleece in Thirsk. The Ullswater Inn is dog friendly, people friendly, with, we discovered wonderful food, and a totally relaxed atmosphere. How could Santa possibly miss slipping down their chimney?
The bedroom was, I kid you not, a suite, and we slept like logs, then up on Christmas Day, and a bit of a saunter in the fresh air with stunning views all around.
We had opened our presents before breakfast. Well, OK, I admit it, we brought them with us as, of course, I tricked you, we are just a bit too old to believe in Santa. We ordered champagne with our Christmas Day meal ( our choices, turkey and slow roast venison) and chatted, relaxed, sipped, trotted into the bar for more chat, then slept like logs – again.
Turkey
Slow Roast Venison
On Boxing Day we took a trip on one of the ‘Ullswater Steamers’ of which there are five operating from the pier at Glenridding. Interestingly, the company was founded to provide a transport link for goods from Glenridding to Penrith via Pooley Bridge. Oh yes, there is also the Helvellyn Triathlon held at Jenkins’ Field by the shores of Ullswater which must be interesting to watch, but meandering round the glorious lake, and the foothills of the fells were quite enough exercise for us, thank you very much.
It certainly enabled us to tuck in again once we returned to The Ullswater Inn. As we ate we promised ourselves we would return for a weekend in the Spring to be a bit more energetic, and of course, to eat, and sip. Oh yes, indeedy.
Did we enjoy it? I should cocoa we did. Every single minute: lovely Inn, lovely people, lovely countryside, lovely boat trip. We returned to Thirsk refreshed, and all set up for 2025. To find out more about The Inn Collection Group which was formed in 2013, and some more of their amazing Inns : https://www.inncollectiongroup.com/ullswater-inn