What's the vibe?
Ah, the Lake District. Home of Beatrix Potter, the Derwent Pencil Museum and perhaps the greatest concentration of massage chairs this side of a suburban shopping centre. Most of them live at The Gilpin Hotel & Lake House, a five AA Red Star, Relais & Châteaux property spread across 21 acres of garden, moor and woodland, with a Michelin-starred restaurant, a lake house, a spa and a handful of tranquil, Scandi-style spa suites.
The Gilpin has been family-run since 1987, and it shows. It's cosy and convivial, like staying in the lodgings of a wealthy aunt who has emerged from a very lucrative divorce. Rooms in the main house are snug and homely, while in contrast the spa suites are modern, glass-panelled and light-filled – blurring the lines between indoors and out. Each comes with its own sauna, steam room, infrared bed and (of course) a massage chair, with bathrooms kitted out with Pure Lakes products. A mile down the road sits the Lake House, with six bedrooms across 100 private acres, its own tarn, and a pool.
A cosy spa suite featuring private plunge pool
Although it's not on Lake Windermere, it's just a five-minute drive away – and the views are equally swoonsome. Rust-hued fells, drystone walls softened by ferns and grasses, and a supporting cast of animals including llamas, alpacas and pigs. Among them are Salt and Pepper, who the groundsman assures me are here to stay. Apparently Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs don't make good chipolatas.
The food and drink
The food at The Gilpin is arguably the main event, and it comes from two on-site restaurants – Source, the Michelin-starred flagship, and Gilpin Spice, its more casual pan-Asian sibling. When I visited the former, it put on a modern British, tightly seasonal tasting menu, spliced with Japanese flavours. The kitchen has since crowned a new head chef, Kevin Scanlan – with pedigree at The Ledbury, he's sure to take the kitchen by storm. You can choose between five or ten courses (the former is a steal at just £140), and it's worth going the whole hog – just be sure to wear an elasticated waistband.
The dining room at SOURCE
A fish dish with characteristic Japanese-inflected flavours
The ikejime chalkstream trout with fennel, wakame and lovage was one of the best things I ate, with agnolotti of coastal cheddar and black truffle close behind. Let the sommelier Remy McCaffery sort the wine – he steered us to a Danbury Ridge chardonnay from Essex, which was excellent. Gilpin Spice is a lot less tweezers and foam – the place to fuel up after a long day hiking the hills. The Goan tiger prawns with crisp curry leaves, ox cheek slow-cooked into a rendang, and spicy fried cauliflower are all winners. Be sure to load up on sushi too – the off-menu torched toro nigiri is worth requesting.
What to do
You're in the Lakes, so roam the country that gave Wordsworth, Wainwright and Arthur Ransome their best material. The AllTrails app is a great place to get started if you lack the nerve to navigate with a physical map, with plenty of routes available from quick one-hour loops to full-day excursions. No rural amble is complete without a country pub, an ale and a packet of Scampi Fries, so make sure to stop by one of the many delightful local watering holes. The Hole in t’ Wall, The Albert (get there at 8pm for Monday bingo) and the Brown Horse Inn were my top three. The last of these even keeps a blackboard advising patrons on how best to hide from their wives while at the pub. Cheers, boys!
Classic bedrooms from £395 per night, Lake House bedrooms from £430 per night and Spa Suites from £1,250 per night; thegilpin.co.uk
