There were a few places during our UK trip, in which we did not allot enough time to visit. One of my biggest regrets is that we did not plan more time in the Lake District. Lake Windermere was beautiful and the small town adjacent to the lake was absolutely picturesque. It reminded me of an upscale version of the fictional town of Cabot Cove from Murder She Wrote.
Unfortunately, we didn't even have the time to stop in the town for a quick browse. We drove through it and instead of worrying about snapping pictures, I just enjoyed the view. I will be back!
We did park for about fifteen minutes at Lake Windermere. We caught a few competitors crossing the finish line of a 10.5 mile open water swim across the lake. They looked cold and exhausted!
The drive to our hotel took us into a lush valley. We saw tons of sheep!
The cutest picture of the drive.
Curious lamb
Deep in the valley, surrounded by nothing but farmland and mountains, we finally found our home for the night, the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel.
We were given a room on second floor in a quiet corner overlooking the side garden. A great view.
This hotel room was one of my favorites of the trip. It had a long hall with a big bathroom on one level. The bedroom was located a few steps down into a lower level, making it a separate space. It was very spacious and filled with natural light.
The bed was incredibly comfortable with a giant, fluffy blanket. I love when hotels provide a throw blanket. I always use an extra blanket at home and it's something that I often miss in hotel rooms.
The bathroom had a heated towel rack and heated floors. Even though the weather was fairly nice during our visit, the New Dungeon Ghyll is the type of hotel that would be perfect on a cold, snowy day. Every aspect of the hotel was warm and cozy.
As we were in the middle of nowhere, our dining options were pretty much limited to the offerings at the hotel. We had two choices for dinner, we could eat in the pub or in a proper dining room. We decided to have the Sunday Roast dinner in the pub.
Our view from our table in the pub.
This brings us to one of the funniest moments of the entire trip. When I was filling out the written survey for the hotel, I mentioned that the "Sunday roast beef was fatty". Dan got a good laugh out of it, because we had eaten lamb. It was covered by so much gravy, that I didn't even know what I was eating. That being said, I don't like "Fatty Beef".
Overall, our meal was really delicious. I especially enjoyed the warm raspberry tart with custard for dessert.
In the evening, we went into the lounge to access the hotel's free-wifi. The lounge was filled with great reading spots and even had a bookcase of loaner books, although it was mostly filled with cheesy romance novels.
The next morning, we woke up early and walked around the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel property before breakfast. The landscape was such a vibrant green that none of these pictures quite capture it. It reminded me of Hawaii.
Breakfast was included in our stay and served in the main dining room. We had eggs on toast, yummy English-style bacon and delicious locally made yogurt.
Our stay at the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel was one of the highlights of our vacation. I highly recommend visiting the Lake District and spending a few nights at this hotel located off-the-beaten-path. Visit their official website for current rates and more information.