Of the people, places and things that turned fifty in 2024 – Kate Moss, the Rubik’s Cube, Chloe Sevigny – perhaps none is more surprising than the county of Cumbria. Created in 1974 from the amalgamation of Westmorland and Cumberland – like the sausage – this makes it England’s youngest (even Greater London is older).
Cumbria might not mean much to those who haven’t been, or to those who’ve been without even realising. Words like The Lake District, Windermere and Tebay Service Station (the best in the country) have a lot more resonance. Anyway: it’s that part of the world. And it’s best-in-class for three things: walks, walls (Hadrian’s) and food. On this last point – indulge me – I wish to dwell a bit.
There are no fewer than 13 Michelin stars scattered across Cumbria’s top restaurants. Driving through the green landscape on a crisp Autumn morning with Hrishikesh Desai, a Great British Menu finalist and chef patron at one such establishment, Cedar Tree – I asked about Cumbria’s recipe for culinary success. (It's not all sausages.) The answer is simple: lots of rain. Amid optimal conditions for growing beans, root vegetables and the sort, Desai’s Michelin-star cuisine builds on the homegrown (most of his ingredients come from the garden at Farlam Hall, the four-star Relais & Chateaux hotel that houses his restaurant. Once a stately home, Farlam was purchased a few years ago by a Canadian couple fond of the Lake District, who kept the structure and decor of the building intact, making food the star.
Desai’s cooking is seriously inventive. At a recent event with Taittinger, he created a dish which he christened a Tournedos Rossini, a structural marvel involving a thick slab of tenderloin, poached truffles in Madeira sauce and a small tartlet of wild mushrooms on top of a Brioche crouton. He pairs turbot with truffle emulsions and lobster with garden carrots. His pièce de resistance is a tandoori beef wellington. The whole thing works beautifully.
Equally inventive is Simon Rogan, the chef patron at Cumbrian institution L’Enclume, in Grange-Over-Sands. L’Enclume will serve you seaweed custard, smoked pike perch roe and boltardy beetroot with hogweed (the tasting menu starts at £250). A different kind of originality is found at another Relais & Chateaux property, The Gilpin Hotel and Lake House (awarded two Michelin keys this year), where Desai was chef patron before heading to Farlam. Relais & Chateaux are themselves celebrating an anniversary – an impressive 70 years since the consortium turned eight hotels along the Route du Bonheur between Paris and Nice into a global luxury hotel brand.
The Gilpin’s flagship Michelin star restaurant, SOURCE, takes a modern, quasi-Germanic approach to fine dining under current chef, Ollie Bridgwater – previously at Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck. There’s no fat duck on the menu here, but you’ll find all other classics: lobster, pigeon, wild mushroom, venison. Unlike the menu at L’Enclume, these are not words that shock the senses – but what gets brought to your table looks nothing like what you might expect, enveloped in aromats and recast as architectural miniatures. These are simple ingredients, intelligently handled – emulsions, reductions, no doubt suctions too – and paired with wines from France, Italy and beyond.
The cadre is classic and handsomely austere. The warmth and cosiness comes, instead, from the people – Cumbrians are a lovely bunch. And, of course, from the fireplace, where you’ll no doubt spend much of your time if you travel here during winter. Don’t let the cold put you off, though: now is one of the most spectacular times to visit, with cheaper rates and snow-covered lakes that will make you feel you’ve entered Narnia. Autumn is stunning too – the landscape a dramatic shade of orange with falling leaves and stark sunsets, beamed powerfully into the crisp air. A spot of rain is always a risk worth taking, but if you wish to err on the side of caution, May is driest month. A bank holiday escape, perhaps; or two...
Farlam Hall
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Where is it?
The nearest town is Brampton, two miles south of Hadrian’s Wall. Farlam sits on the edge of a hamlet called Kirkhouse (the vibe? a church sits upon a hilltop overlooking lamb pastures). Nearby walks include the Northern Pennines and of course Hadrian’s Wall path. Bring Wellington boots.
Style
The words “grey”, “beige” and “simple” have gained negative connotations these past years, but Farlam shows us how to do them well. The hotel stays true to its heritage as a former stately home, with handsome antique furnishings, well-proportioned bedrooms and a general absence of clutter. Trinkets, stripes, and lamps so dim you have to feel for your phone torch to get around have not yet turned this place into the new Instagram darling. That’s a good thing, although a bit less overhead lighting might do this place no harm. Bathroom tiles follow tartan patterns: a very nice touch for a property in the shadow of Scotland (Farlam is located half an hour from Gretna Green).
Which room?
There are 12 bedrooms in the main house as well as six luxury stable suites in a converted coach house, which looks out onto the vegetable garden. For panoramic views of the grounds, high ceilings and tall windows, choose Room 10.
Food & Drink
Cedar Tree is on from Thursday through to Sunday. On Friday and Saturday is a chef’s table, which Desai launched last month, seating just ten covers every Friday and Saturday. It costs £300 a head for the tasting menu, including champagne on arrival and paired wines.
From Monday to Wednedsay, Michelin-level concoctions make way for heartier options on the Bistro Enkle menu, which is just the ticket after a long day’s walk. We’re talking brasserie classics, with the odd gastronomical twist. The hotel also serves breakfast and lunch.
Facilities
In keeping with its traditional locale, this is not the sort of place with a health club or spa (see The Gilpin, below). What it lacks in steam rooms, though, it makes up for in the garden department. The grounds are stupendously well kept, with a man-made stream and a fountain and bridges creating a fairytale-like trail.
Bathrooms come with baths and showers and the bedrooms have desks for those inclined to remote working.
Best for?
Food. I can’t decide if Desai is an artist or an alchemist, but if you do get a chance to go, please report back to me.
How to get there
If you’re driving, you can find Farlam Hall Hotel 12.5 miles south-east of Carlisle on the A689 Brampton to Alston road.
Carlisle Station is 12 miles away and served by Avanti West Coast Trains from London Euston. Over 20 trains run per day from London Euston to Carlisle, with trip durations of 3.5 to 4 hours.
Newcastle International Airport has many commercial flights from major cities throughout the UK and Europe. The airport is 45-50 minutes away, and a taxi or car service can be arranged to take guests directly to Farlam Hall.
Details
Rooms start at £275 for bed and breakfast, and from £290 in high season (summer).
Children must be nine or older to dine at Cedar Tree, but all ages are welcome at Bistro Enkel and for Sunday lunch.
The Gilpin
Where is it?
The Gilpin is nestled within the hills close to Windermere, in the heart of the Lake District. It is a wild, rugged landscape of ferns and ancient trees. Walks here are breathtaking (both metaphorically and literally – hills can be steep). For intermediary walkers like me, the best is no doubt Orrest Head, said to be the trail that made Alfred Wainwright fall in love with the area.
Style
The main Edwardian hotel is exquisitely decorated in warm, ochre-adjacent tones and handsome, chequered carpets: it manages to feel both cosy and luxurious. For more tranquility, though, you’d be hard pressed to find better than the Lake House, just down the driveway. Enveloped in woodland, it’s a choice location for weddings, with six bedrooms and stunning lakeside views.
Which room
There are 36 rooms in the main hotel, across the main house and the nearby cabins, perfect for those seeking a luxurious escape à deux. The cabins are especially popular with honeymooners.
Food & Drink
Besides the extraordinary concoctions found at Michelin-star SOURCE, The Gilpin offers a fun alternative in the adjacent restaurant, Gilpin Spice – inspired by the country’s former spice trade. (Whitehaven, on the northwestern coast was the second-largest port in the UK in the 18th century and a key stop in the spice trade with Africa and the Caribbean). The food is equally delicious and inventive: I was offered something approximating a spherical version of a popadom filled with a subtly spiced lemongrass sauce and a root of watercress, before tucking into a delicious red prawn curry.
Facilities
The aforementioned cabins are actually spa cabins, and come with their own annexe including a massage table, a steam room and a sauna. Each has a hot tub on the terrace, too, with views on the hills rolling downwards to Windermere.
Best for?
Wellness. The spa treatments here are world-beating, offering deep tissue massages and aroma therapy. A perfect choice for those seeking to leave their stress behind.
How to get there
Windermere Station is 3 miles away and served by Avanti West Coast Trains from London Euston. There are 10 to 12 trains a day, the fastest of which take just over three hours. Most require a stop and change at Oxenholme Lake District station.
Details
Double rooms from £260 in low season; and from £345 in high. Breakfast included.
Children must be at least seven to stay at the hotel.
