Stopped in here for a couple of pints and a good gammon, egg, pineapple & chips last Sunday after…read moredoing a bit of walking in the area. Friendly service and four ales on handpull. Dangerously comfortable sofas in the front part of the bar, where you could easily doze off in front of the log fire. Pool table in the back and good original toilet features.

Lovely Lakeland pub. Dog friendly. Great fish & chips (weird mushy peas!!!)read more

I could say that the food was divine andfot for the gods and the staff waited on me like a king,…read morebut let's face it, its a pub and you get what you pay for. The food like most Cumbrian pubs was very good, the staff were polite and helpful. I would go back again but with so many places to try out ill probably try somewhere else first. I like variety. One good thing to note about the pub is that in the summer it will get a lot of sun outside

Such a warm and welcoming place! Excellent food, excellent service, excellent beer!!! We plan our…read morevacations around their beer festivals and have returned time and time again. HIGHLY recommend!!!

The drunken duck is a favorite of our friend who has come here for 40 years, starting with golf…read morebuddies, then with family and best of all to celebrate weddings, and great moments. Relax here, the staff is ready to make this luxury even better with whatever you need! Directions to many local hikes or hot coffee on the picnic tables. So much fun to have, there are gardens, strolls, patios and quiet libraries too. This is the most beautiful place I've ever stayed because I can get some rest, unwind and enjoy the great outdoors. Yesterday there was a local marathon- yes!- great runners charged past into the local town of Ambleside. Hikers and dog lovers are here too. National parks close by... what a get-away we are having!!

Such a charming pub and inn right in the middle of the Lakes District. There's a glorious view…read moreoverlooking the mountains right in front of the venue (with picnic tables if you'd like to sit and enjoy it with a pint). Brunch, lunch, dinner, and bar snacks are served at the Drunken Duck, and I'd only really recommend booking for dinner. The beer and cider are mostly local I believe. We did the curry bowl to share (vegetarian and VERY tasty - kind of wish I could get the recipe), scampi, fries, and tartare sauce (those fries are to die for!) and the lamb kofta, hummus, flatbread, and mint yoghurt (great for sharing and noshing). There's plenty of parking on the side of the inn. The inside is decorated beautifully (very insta-worthy), so maybe consider renting out for an event. And yes, you can bring your dog to dinner/drinks.

Best find on holiday ever!!…read more Set in a beautiful little village with a huge village green with loads of parking round and about (although im sure that on a mid summer sunny day parking may be somewhat difficult!). The pub has a bar area and a restaurant area - we only ever went into the bar as you could eat int here and it was really cosy (dogs are also allowed!). The staff were incredibly friendly and chatty (lets face it, Yorkshire, particularly North Yorkshire folk are possibly the most friendly on the planet - i challenge you to disprove this!). The food was INCREDIBLE. Nothing fancy pants, just really good food, VERY big portions (trust me on this, you dont need three courses - choose your weapon of starter or dessert to go alongside your main - we made the mistake one night and 1) couldnt eat it all and 2)pretty much rolled home). We spent an evening in the pub, had a meal and then sat playing card games - we felt incredibly welcome. So welcome that we ended up visiting three times in a week long holiday. You cant really get a better recommendation than that can you??

We were staying in a caravan park just down the road and needed a place to eat in the evening. We…read morecame across this delightful pub within a few minutes of searching. We spent the remainder of our holidays here, every evening. Nestling by a brook full of eels. The pubs dog, Jasper, loved to just stand in the cooling water on the hot evenings that we experienced this July. Sufficient room to sit outside with plenty of tables. Service is second to none. Professional, efficient and, more to the point, friendly. Great selection of real ales, my favourite was the Cromwell. Now to the reason for frequenting this hostelry, the food. A reasonable menu taking into account the position of this pub. A good varied choice of fresh seafood, burgers, curries and steaks. We tried most of them and they all were extremely tasty. All cooked to order. Great mussels in white wine. Behind the bar is a blackboard describing their Naga 'Viper' curry made with, 'officially', the hottest chilli pepper. Underneath is written 'Curries ordered 528, curries eaten 400' LOL. I love hot curries but, even I, would not attempt it. We hope to make a return visit next year. Many thanks to the 'guvner', his wife, the staff (especially the chef and kitchen staff) for making our short holiday break a total delight. See you again.

This place is awesome! If you are looking for an authentic British pub with alot of character and…read moregood ale you gotta come here.

Going camping in the Lake District eh! Sounds very scenic and a wonderful way to spend a weekend…read more.. that is unless you have to work! With a lack of phone and therefore 3G connection at our campsite I ventured on-line before leaving London to try and find somewhere to plug in and upload. I came across the Red Lion - whom it appeared was not only the drop off point for our campsite, but also provide a free Wifi service for those in desperate need to connect to civilisation! Walking into the pub I was greater by the owner, whom after asking him if he had a power socket, suggested instantly that I must be the London Lass that needed to use the Wifi! I was impressed that he remembered me as I'd called quite a few days before. The Red Lion itself feels very rural and rough around the edges, but the staff are extremely friendly, the food isn't half bad (although not gourmet, definitely much better than a camp stove offering), and surprisingly they have a fantastic selection of beers. I would highly recommend the Dizzy Blond if it's on and the Liefmans was also a refreshing choice. But what surprised me the most is they had drinks that I hadn't even heard of in craft bars within London. This included a passion fruit Regardless Cider. Spending quite a few hours away from the campsite at the Red Lion, I also got to know the staff quite well, they were very approachable and very friendly. If you're in the area, do give this place a go, they have a little beer garden out of the back for summer days, and car/bike packing for those not walking.

Wow, I can't believe it's been three years since the last review of this place. Hopefully that…read moremeans it's being kept a secret...in which case I'm going to be found majorly guilty of breaking the silence. On the recommendation of a friend who lives about half an hour from Ulverston, we reserved a table for four here and wandered down from Virginia House Hotel (http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/virginia-house-hotel-ulverston) where we were staying. From the outside it looks just like your typical whitewashed country pub. Though I'd hardly call Ulverston town centre bonefide 'countryside', the place still had an immediate charming effect on us as we approached. Once inside you're met with a pub-sized 'shrine' to the town's most famous son. Photos, screen shots, figures and memorabilia from Laurel & Hardy's history on the screen are everywhere. It gets the set-up just right - managing not to look like an obsessive fan's homage to Stan, but just enough to pay tribute to his fame. The sizeable bar has at least six handpulls on at any time. Most are from the local area but their range stretches further afield aswell. What was great was having the option of getting a tray of three thirds in case you couldn't choose between them. The menu is pretty comprehensive and we saw the portion sizes were, well, sizeable, so opted for mains and desserts. I had the 10oz sirloin steak cooked medium rare and it was incredibly juicy. The stars on the plate were the onion rings though, beer-batter crispiness - sheer heaven. Lots of chunky chips and coleslaw with salad (you could opt for potatoes and veg instead) and then it was on to the puddings. Ice cream flavours that we'd never heard of before. Coupled with sticky toffee pudding I had 'Thunder and Lightning' flavour. I'll keep what it was like a secret so you have to try it yourself ;) Lovely, friendly staff, great ales and immense food. It certainly wasn't 'Another Fine Mess.'

The Stan Laurel Inn is a good all-round local pub. Paul and Trudi have had it for two years…read more The food is scrumptious. On Friday I had a big piece of fish in crispy beer-batter, with chips which I could tell were home cut, and extremely tasty mushey peas. That was the special for a fiver. They get their ingredients from the best greengrocer and butcher in town. Given the name there is a fair bit of Laurel and Hardy memorabilia in the bars. The pub is Thwaite's, but always has six real ales including from the nearby Ulverston Brewery. They also do bed and breakfast for £30 p.p. per night.

We loved Mason's Arms for the quaint building and gorgeous views. There is a spot inside next to…read morethe real fireplace that is a cozy sanctuary on a cool rainy day in the Lake District. The service was friendly and attentive. The food was just ok for us. The fish and chips batter did not stick to the fish. The mushroom soup was a puree with mild flavor. The hummus and pita was really good and had lots of garlic flavor. The fudge for sale at the bar was a real miss as it tasted more like a grainy carmel than fudge.

A lovely pub, out in what seems like the middle of nowhere, with a cozy bar area downstairs (and a…read morenice hot fire!) and delicious meals served upstairs. Friendly service, there seems to be a pub cat that wanders around, and you can buy local fudge from the bar. My husband and I shared the Three Little Piggies - black pudding and sausage rolls, a pork and leek scotch egg, a whole bunch of honey roasted chipolatas (which are sausages, I just learned that), served with bread, cheese pate, and apricot jam. A big portion for two, so of course we shared it with the others. Everything was great - you could build lovely little bites by putting the sausages in bits of bread and topping with some of the spreads. It's rustic Northern food, but really comforting and delicious. For our mains, my husband and I shared the stew pot of the day (rabbit), and one of the specials - lamb with lentil dahl on the side. All the meat was really tender and succulent, the lamb in particular had great flavor, the variety of accouterments alongside added texture and depth to the dish. The meal was hearty and homey, just how you want English pub food to be. Finished with a lush sticky toffee pudding, very rich. "Very treacley," apparently, as someone said, and I thought it was lovely with ice cream. Four of us split it, which was enough for us as the main courses are quite filling. A great place to stop for a meal in the Lakes, looks like they had lots of patio seating for warmer months when the weather is better - we'll have to return!

This is the highest five-star rating I can possibly give, and it's strictly for the restaurant…read moremenu. The food is just out of this world. As starters go, the salt and pepper calamari and beef carpaccio are PERFECT. Fisherman's platter is large and well prepared, and certainly worth a go to get your meal started. The duck breast is perfectly cooked, and prepared in a complex blend of cauliflower puree, spinach leaves, potato, jus and spices that requires careful eating to ensure that you get a bit of everything in every bite. Thank god it's a menu constant - I'll be going back just for that dish. This weekend's beef special was, well...special. Again using a butternut puree together with a blend of the typical beef-required accoutrement, just roasted and spiced to a mouth-watering breath stealer. Ok, this is getting a bit intense. Let me calm down a little bit before we get to the deserts... The pub burger was just OK - nothing otherworldly - and the onion rings are a complete miss. The "aged" cheddar on the burger is unidentifiable to the taste buds, the bun was sloppy and easily fell apart while eating, and though the beef was quite good and cooked just right, the spice was boring and kind of just like you'd expect a pub burger to be. After everything else, this was a shame - should have been much more interesting and elevated as well as being meaty. Wine selection was decent, and plenty of the basics on tap and behind the bar. Avoid the restaurant side of the place and just sit in the open-seated pub to ensure that you don't get a side of unwanted pretension along with your steak (and save the 12.5% service for an extra wine, of course!). Now, the desert... The rumours are true, and the sticky toffee pudding is undeniably the best desert on the menu. The pool of sugary syrup that covers the bottom finger of the bowl is plenty to have every bit swimming in the stuff, and the cake is the right kind of wet-spongy to make you lose your head. Baked Alaska - interest and complete. But wow, waaaaay too much sugar by desert number two to palate that last 1/4 of that. Just to be clear, had I eaten the sticky toffee last and got to the last quarter with the same amount of sugar in me, I would have made the effort and finished off the sticky toffee...not the case for the Baked Alaska, however. Disappointed that the ice cream throughout the desert wasn't better - it certainly didn't match the quality of the rest of the restaurant - but if that's the major error on the desert menu, I'll still go back there 10 times out of 10. This place, by itself, will bring me back to the Lake District time and time again. I've not had such wonderful food on vacation in my entire life....oh, to be those lucky locals who get to eat here every evening... Hats off to the chef and his team.

The Swan at Newby Bridge sits on the edge of the river Leven which runs out of the foot of Lake…read moreWindermere. On a hot day it's the perfect place to laze with a drink. I must admit that my round came in at twelve quid for 4 drinks, 2 of them cokes for the children. I could easily been tempted by the gorgeous looking scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, being consumed at the next table, but L decided that it was too hot for that.The Swan is also a hotel, with a nice looking dining room.