Forest Side Hotel

Cumbria, UK

Forest Side has a put-in-a-snowglobe level of gothic prettiness, nestled as it is into a hillside in Grasmere in the Lake District. The village is home to gingerbread shops, William Wordsworth’s Dove Cottage and, of course, its eponymous lake. The Herdwick sheep that greet you as you head up Forest Side’s driveway only add to the scene, setting the tone for a luxury country stay that’s perfectly in keeping with all the best bits of the Lake District, be it the endless yomp possibility on your doorstep, or the Michelin-starred restaurant housed within that’s a culinary ode to the area.

Cumbria’s larder, both foraged and farmed, together with Forest Side’s own kitchen garden (which gives them 60 per cent of what they need) have been raided to provide you with four- or eight-course menus that never skimp on flavour; it’s an abode that fully deserves to sit at the heart of the 17 hectares of rural perfection in which it resides.

Words by Alex Mead.

Doubles from £299, 01539 435250, theforestside.com