Another Place, Ullswater: The Perfect Lake District Getaway

The sister hotel to Cornwall’s Watergate Bay is the perfect place to blow away the cobwebs on an outdoorsy weekend break.

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Review: Another Place, Ullswater, Lake District

STAY

It’s no mean feat travelling from London to the Lake District, especially with a one-year-old in tow. But arriving at this rambling Georgian country house, set amid 18-hectares of land on the northern shore of Ullswater, makes the long journey worth it – calm, peaceful and offering the most spectacular views across the water and Barton Fell beyond, it surely has the best spot in the entire region. Its name, suddenly, makes total sense. It couldn’t feel farther away from the tourist hordes of Windermere.

The hotel is housed within an original Georgian building, where period details like the huge wood-panelled fireplaces have been kept, and there’s a new contemporary wing, thanks to a £3.5m renovation project ahead of its opening in 2017. It has three dining spaces, a spa and 47 bedrooms, ranging from standard doubles to family suites, while a further renovation in 2022 added six shepherd’s huts (which have their own patios and fire pits), a treehouse suite and a greenhouse dining space, bringing guests even closer to the outdoors. Many of the rooms are dog-friendly, too.

We were lucky enough to be staying in the treehouse, which is elevated amid mature oak, ash and yew trees and accessed via a wooden walkway; comprising two double bedrooms and a bathroom, a log burner and living area, it also has a large outdoor deck with freestanding bath where you can literally soak in the views. 

The interior style is very much reminiscent of the beach lofts at its sister hotel, Cornwall’s famous Watergate Bay hotel, with broadleaf timber flooring, oversize rattan lampshades hanging from the oak rafters and natural textures filling the space and echoing the landscape. 

EAT

You’re spoilt for choice when it comes to food at Another Place. The Living Space is ideal for a more casual dining experience, with burgers and other posh pub-style grub on offer, while the Glasshouse (from Thursday to Monday) is the place to head to for a wood-fired pizza (in between meal times it’s home to yoga and Pilates classes).

Rampsbeck offers more gastronomic fare, with head chef Shaun Dixon whipping up treats such as slow cooked pork cheek with beetroot purée, pickled beetroot and watercress emulsion and roast rump of lamb, crushed Jersey Royals, broccoli purée and rosemary sauce. The hotel has a keen eye on their carbon footprint, too, sourcing as much as they can and 100 percent of the meat they serve is supplied by local farmers and butchers. Fish and seafood are sourced sustainably from waters managed by quotas to support fish populations. 

After dinner, retreat to the library, which is decorated with a myriad of lamps and mirrors and makes a cosy spot in which to chat over a nightcap and board game.

Save plenty of room for breakfast, though, where you’ll find a gut-busting buffet as well as a menu of á la carte offerings.

Outside of the hotel, Askham Hall hotel is a 15 drive away and is home to Allium, a Michelin-starred restaurant where head chef Richard Swale serves up impressive Cumbrian-inspired dishes with locally sourced ingredients.

DO

To fully make the most of its location, each day the hotel lists on a chalkboard in reception a number of activities taking place at the Sheep Shed water sports centre. These range from paddleboarding to magical star-gazing nighttime wild swimming.

I enjoyed an unforgettable blue-sky afternoon out on the lake learning to kayak, stopping often to trail my hands in the cool water, close my eyes and enjoy the blissful peace and quiet (a rarity, as a mum of a toddler!).

There are opportunities to go cycling, horse-riding and hiking, too, with many fantastic trails right from the front door. We drove 10 minutes up the road to Aira Force Waterfall, one of the Lake District’s most impressive, which thunders down a ravine in one, great 65-foot (19.8m) leap. Or to really test yourself, head 45 minutes west and take on Scafell Pike, England’s tallest mountain, which towers 3,209 feet high. 

Afterwards, relax and unwind with a few sedate laps in the hotel’s 20m indoor glass-walled pool, which offers wonderful views, and book a treatment in the spa. There’s also an outdoor hot tub to soak away those aches and pains.

Blessed with wonderful weather during our stay, one of our favourite pastimes was simply to take a blanket from our room down to the beautiful wildflower meadow beyond the formal gardens and while away a peaceful hour amid nature, before ambling down to the shingle beach and skimming stones across the clear water.

THE FINAL WORD

Another Place is perfect for an outdoorsy break that mixes hiking and watersports, with a roster of daily activities and excursions to make sure you’re fully immersed in the beautiful landscape. But it’s also a luxurious retreat where you can kick back and relax after your exertions, with a gorgeous spa, top notch restaurants and, of course, that view. 

In addition, the hotel is committed to using its business as a force for good, both environmentally and socially, and is on the journey to become B Corp certified – balancing profit with people and planet. So you can feel good about your travel choices, too!

BOOK

Double rooms cost from £250 a night (B&B). To book, visit another.place/the-lake. 

Mode of transport used for the trip: Car. Carbon footprint: 0.201 t