As temperatures fall and winter draws closer, it’s the perfect time to retreat to somewhere offering a warming coffee, a freshly baked mince pie or an extra special seasonal treat. To help local Cumbrians do that, there are suggestions at hand, from Cumbria’s Living Heritage.
Inspired by one of its members’ eateries – Levens Kitchen, at Levens Hall and Gardens – just winning a Visit England Visitor Attraction Accolade (2021-22) for Quality Food & Drink, heritage group, Cumbria’s Living Heritage, is drawing attention to this and other heritage-focused winter boltholes, open throughout the ‘out of season’ months. Its top picks offer visitors not just a place to escape for a delicious and seasonal bite to eat, but also the opportunity to drink in heritage.
Levens Kitchen (pictured) has become a must-experience place for brunch, serving this up, during the winter months, between 10am and 12 noon each day. Ever-popular eggs benedict nestles on the lunch menu alongside other favourites, such as hot smoked salmon toasted bagel with black pepper cream cheese, delighting diners. At 12 noon, the lunch menu arrives, with dishes served until 3pm including sourdough pizzas, regularly changing fresh salads featuring Levens Gardens produce and a variety of warming soups. Hot chocolates and takeaways are also a favourite of those combining a visit with a walk in nearby Levens Park, spotting the long-established herd of black fallow deer and the rare breed Bagot Goats. Details are at www.levenshall.co.uk
Christmas at Dalemain
From Sunday December 4 to Monday December 19, 2022, Dalemain Mansion in Penrith will be vibrantly turning its Medieval Hall into a venue in which some of the county’s most talked-about Christmas lunches are servedalongside a roaring log fire. The venue, with strong associations to Elizabethan, Lady Anne Clifford, and the Australian ‘replica’ of Dalemain that featured in the original ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’ movie, has become a foodie hub, thanks to its world-renowned Marmalade Festival. Its festive experience takes this further, allowing people to feast on two-courses for £25, or three-courses for £28. The delicious seasonal menu includes choices such as: parsnip and onion soup; locally reared, roast turkey with all the trimmings and Christmas pudding served with brandy sauce. Bookings are via www.dalemain.com
In the footsteps of Beatrix Potter
For afternoon tea with a festive twist, The Gaddum Restaurant at Brockhole on Windermere is the place to indulge in this very British tradition, knowing Beatrix Potter probably did just the same, when her cousin owned this Arts and Craft villa on Windermere’s shores.
With its sumptuous interior and views overlooking the lake, it’s a breathtaking setting for pottering back to the past. For £29.95 per person, including a hot drink and mince pies, afternoon tea guests enjoy a delicate selection of finger sandwiches, with various fillings, such as turkey with stuffing and cranberry, and smoked mackerel pate and chive.
Freshly baked scones served with clotted cream and a mouth-watering offering of pastries, including eggnog choux buns and fig and mascarpone gateaux, complete this very merry feast.
The Gaddum’s Christmas lunch menu meanwhile features the region’s finest produce. With two-courses priced £32.95 and three-courses priced £36.95, there is the opportunity to dine on a decadent menu that includes, Cartmel Valley smoked salmon, venison steak and pan-fried stone bass served with Morecambe Bay shrimp and caviar cream sauce.
If it’s just a cosy respite required, after a day spent exploring the delightful grounds and gardens at Brockhole, the Brockhole Cafe has a delicious seasonal menu with brunches, lunches, cakes or a warming cup of coffee. For more information on Brockhole on Windermere or The Gaddum restaurant, visit www.brockhole.co.uk
Tea with Tom Fool?
Christmas in a castle is a true idyll and, on three weekends in December, Muncaster Castle in Ravenglass, and its magnificent state rooms, will be the setting for a festive afternoon tea, to allow people to live it.
Participants can gain a glimpse of the life of the Pennington family, owners of Muncaster since 1208, and celebrate the traditional festive finery of this historic setting, dining with friends or family, on a selection of sandwiches, seasonal cakes, and fresh scones with cream and jam. They can also ponder the days when jester, Tom Fool, ruled the roost here.
Ensuring a full day of fun, entry to Muncaster’s gardens and Hawk and Owl Centre (from 11am), including a World of Owls display (at 1.30pm), is included in an afternoon tea ticket. So too is entry to the Castle’s public rooms, from 11am to 3pm. The castle is also open to general visitors on weekends until December 18, 2022.
Pre-booking is available for Saturday December 10 and Sunday December 11, Saturday 17 and Sunday 18, and Saturday 22 and Sunday 23, 2022, with tickets priced £35 per adult and £25 per child. To book, visit www.muncaster.co.uk
Walks and warm-ups at Wordsworth Grasmere
Winter walks don’t come more atmospheric than those along the Coffin Route, between Ambleside and Grasmere, along which coffins were once sombrely carried for burial in St Oswald’s Church, Grasmere. If taking this walk, you will find a comfortable seat on which to rest weary limbs at the The Café at Wordsworth Grasmere. It’s the perfect place to reach for that book of Wordsworth’s poetry and be transported back to the time when he lived in Grasmere village and would have witnessed the Coffin Route processions.
Open to all, from Monday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm, and welcoming of dogs, the cafe serves a wide variety of hot and cold drinks, savoury snacks and home-made cakes. For more information about The Café and details on how to explore the home of William Wordsworth, visit www.wordsworth.org.uk
Treats at Tullie
Cumbria’s Living Heritage’s has many cultural attractions and museums, with welcoming cafés and tea rooms. Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery serves aromatic coffee (roasted locally in Carlisle) in its cafe, alongside warming roasts and Cumberland sausages and a variety of freshly baked breads, cakes and tray bakes. This is the perfect pit-stop, between exploration of the gallery’s fascinating exhibitions (open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm), and is open from 9.30am to 4pm.
If the weather is fine, visitors can make the most of the outdoor terrace and sip tea overlooking the beautiful, Jacobean-style courtyard garden. For more information on the café, or any of the new exhibitions at Tullie House, visit www.tulliehouse.co.uk
Brews at Brantwood
For a refreshing brew with a view and perhaps a warm mince pie, The Terrace Coffee House and restaurant, situated in Brantwood’s former coach house, has breathtaking views over Coniston Water.
As the former home of philosopher, John Ruskin, Brantwood itself is open all year, (10.30am to 5pm in November and 10.30am to 4pm, Wednesday to Sunday, in December to March, 2023) providing a full day’s worth of sights, including the historic house, gardens and exhibitions. Also well worth seeing is Ruskin’s extensive geological collection.
Although menus at The Terrace Coffee House change regularly, visitors could sample a hearty breakfast, with smoked bacon, haggis potato scone and Guinness baked beans, or a tasty seasonal bowl of pumpkin pasta. For more information visit www.brantwood.org.uk
Uplifting delights at Blackwell
If all you really want is scenery and the chance to wallow in gorgeous interiors and craftsmanship, however, there is not finer place to head than Blackwell, the Arts and Crafts House in Windermere. With its elegant outdoor terrace, on which you could wrap up under a blanket, the Tea Room offers various menu treats and warming refreshments between 10am and 4pm, from November to March, with local ingredients to the fore. For an extra buzz, add a little fizz to your lunch, by indulging in a range of prosecco, wines and beers.
To find out more about Cumbria’s Living Heritage and each of its members, head to www.cumbriaslivingheritage.co.uk
