While the stunning landscapes are undeniable, the food is the star of the show at Forest Side.

Pretty much all of my childhood summer holidays involved caravan trips to perpetually damp locations across the UK. Sometimes, my sister and I didn’t even make it into the caravan, relegated to the two-man tent my dad pitched under the caravan awning. Glamping it wasn’t. I think the last time I visited the Lake District was at some point in the early 80s when we drove our caravan from Glasgow to Fallbarrow Park in Windermere. I remember the park had a games room where you could hang out without your parents and eat crisps under strip lighting. We thought it was the height of luxury. Now, 40 years later, I’m back with my mum to stay at Forest Side in Grasmere, and this time the luxury is definitely not just misplaced childhood perception!

Nestled in the heart of the Lake District, Forest Side hotel and restaurant casts an impressive shadow over the impossibly romantic landscapes of Grasmere, a sort of fairy castle for grown-ups. Its situation is perfect for peaceful country walks (four-legged friends are also welcome at the hotel), but is also ideal for soaking up some of the area’s more cultural aspects. The hotel is just a stone’s throw from Dove Cottage, the home of Wordsworth, where there’s a dedicated museum, and is also less than 30 minutes’ drive from the spectacular Blackwell, one of the UK’s most well-preserved examples of arts and crafts architecture, designed by Mackay Hugh Baillie Scott. A trip to both is highly recommended if you really want to tap into what makes this region so special.

MICHELIN MAGIC

As cultured as my mum and I are, realistically we are mainly concerned with food (and drink I might add...) and on that score Forest Side rates highly. From the ‘We’ve got a new batch of homemade rhubarb gin ready, if you’re interested?’ when we sneak into the bar after an afternoon of vulturing, to the pre-dinner Douglas fir negronis and the Lebanese chardonnay we enjoy with our meal, the drinks do not disappoint. Presided over by head chef Paul Leonard, the food at Forest Side raises the stakes even higher and is wholly deserving of its Michelin star. The whole experience feels rooted in the Lakes. The dining room leans heavily into the landscape, with beautiful wooden tables sculpted from windblown trees, and terraniums filled with glass-blown mushrooms, while the eight-course tasting menu makes the most of Cumbrian produce, some of it grown in the hotel’s kitchen garden and some foraged in the local environs. Each course sings with cleverly orchestrated flavour and texture but among my favourites is a beautiful duck-filled agnolotti with warm onion salad, enormously plump scallops with roast chicken and new season morels, and perfectly poached cod with a delightfully rich Solway brown shrimp sauce. No crisps, no strip lighting, just bonafide luxury worth celebrating. Sometimes it really is much more fun being a grown-up!