Enjoy a taste of country life
Elegant, welcoming and just a few miles over the border, Farlam Hall provides a quintessentially English experience
FARLAM Hall – the name conjures up images of country house elegance, beautiful grounds and fine dining.
After a two-and-a-half hour drive from Ayrshire, we arrived there by way of a tree-lined driveway and parked outside a beautiful ivy-covered building.
Although only a few miles from the Scottish border, the hotel in Brampton, Cumbria, looked quintessentially English and all my preconceptions seemed entirely correct.
As a 30-something couple with no kids, my fiance Alex and I have eclectic taste in travel. We’re as much at home in a rustic cottage in the Lake District as we are in an all-inclusive hotel in Tenerife.
But Farlam Hall was our first taste of an English country hotel and the owners made us feel at home straight away.
We’d brought along our collie Lilly, as the hotel is happy for dogs to accompany their owners, and they were relaxed about her boisterousness.
Although welcome in the rooms and lounges, dogs are not allowed in the dining room. They must be left in the car during meal times – something we were worried about as we visited during a period of very hot summer weather.
On arrival, we rolled down all the windows in the car and spent the rest of the afternoon making sure Lilly got plenty of walking and water.
We then dressed for dinner as stays at the hotel include a five-course meal and the website calls for smart dress. However, staff informed us this wasn’t strictly enforced and with the hot weather they were happy for guests to wear whatever was comfortable.
Before dinner, we were encouraged to have a drink on the outside terrace where we served tasty canapes. Lilly was allowed to sit with us on the terrace until we were called in for dinner at 8pm.
Due to the position of the hotel, the car park had been in shade for hours and the car was reasonably cool having had all the windows down since our arrival. We felt entirely comfortable leaving Lilly in the car while we had our meal. The food was beautiful, including some lovely fish and guinea fowl. After the starter and main course, we were served a cheese board that included ewe cheese, before dessert. Tea and coffee was served in the lounge with chocolates and we were able to bring Lilly from the car to join us for this before heading up to our room. Our room was a larger twin bedroom, which had two small double beds in it and a sitting area. There were two flatscreen TVs and free wi-fi. The rooms were lovely and included touches such as locally sourced bathroom products. On the first morning I had breakfast in the dining room while Lilly and Alex stayed upstairs. The jams were homemade and I opted for a continental breakfast including yoghurt, fruit and cereal. However, I was tempted by the cooked options which included a full English fry-up, and lighter options such as smoked salmon and eggs. I was informed that continental breakfasts could be served in our room – which we opted for on the second day. The hotel is in a perfect location for exploring the historical sites around Hadrian’s Wall and we ventured out to have a look on our first morning. The staff helpfully provided us with a map and directions of where each point of interest is located. We were able to find one of the best preserved sections of wall and spent some time exploring. Overall, we loved our first proper trip to Cumbria. It’s easy to whizz through on your way south but definitely worth stopping. Farlam Hall is in the perfect location to allow you to take in everything the area has to offer.