L’ENCLUME, CUMBRIA
Best for... impressing the in-laws
On the borders of the Lake District, you’ll find the medieval village of Cartmel; a place with a gastronomic microclimate. At its centre is Simon Rogan’s two Michelin-starred L’enclume; a superlative restaurant and hotel set in a squat stone townhouse. The 16 individually-designed bedrooms are modern yet in-keeping with the building’s spartan medieval history, and all have luxurious long-soak en-suites ladened with bespoke toiletries from Sedburgh.
At dinner, the 20-course menu of light dishes will have you awe-struck at the skill-level in the kitchen; puffed-up oyster crackers disappear on the tongue and evoke seaside nostalgia, and more unusual ingredients such as coal oil and fermented cabbage taste infinitely better than they sound. Rogan’s local farm, Our Farm (ourfarm. simonrogan. co.uk), provides most of the fresh produce for the restaurant, and the clever use of lesser-known foraged ingredients will have you googling under the table. Breakfast at Rogan & Co (roganandco. co.uk), just along the cobbled street, is included with the room – think homemade halloumi with fermented tomato alongside a pig’s head Scotch egg (yes, for breakfast). Lunch and dinner at R&C is a much more casual three-course format, but it’s still smart and creative. On the same stretch, you’ll find Unsworth’s Yard, which is home to the artisan cheese shop Cartmel Cheeses (cartmelcheeses.co.uk), and Unsworth’s Yard Brewery (unsworthsyard.co.uk). You can also visit The Village Shop (cartmelvillageshop.co.uk), where sticky toffee pudding was invented.
How to do it One night at L’enclume starts from £490 per night and includes breakfast and dinner; B&B from £340. Visit lenclume.co.uk for more details. Barney Desmazery