Potter around in the Lakes

Sunny walks, spa treatments and fine food help banish childhood memories for Jane Bradley

When I was about six, I was dragged up what seemed at the time to be the world’s highest mountain. It was called Cat Bells and to my tiny legs, it was as gargantuan a task as climbing Everest. But my cunning parents had a ploy. Cat Bells was the home of Mrs Tiggy Winkle, they told me, we would find her house at the top. So off we climbed. At the summit, my mum peered at the base of a tree where what I now know to be a discarded doily from someone’s picnic (it was the 1980s, all the best picnickers brought doilies) had blown into a hollow between the roots.

“Oh dear,” she said, somewhat theatrically. “Mrs Tiggy Winkle must be out. What a shame. Look, she’s left her washing hanging out to dry.”

I wasn’t 100 per cent convinced, even aged six. I was reminded of this scarring childhood memory recently when I set off to meet a friend for a weekend in Borrowdale – Beatrix Potter country and the site of this memorable mountain excursion.

First up on our trip was the Honister slate mine, the only remaining working slate mine in England. The land was bought by local entrepreneur Mark Weir in 2000 and underwent a 15-year transformation from largely derelict facility (it closed in 1989) to working mine and visitor attraction. After Mark died in a helicopter crash close to the mine a few years ago, his wife, Jan and brother, Joe, took over operations.

Now, in addition to generating slate which has clad buildings including Buckingham Palace and the Bank of England, it offers tours and even a Via Ferrata – a metal climbing ladder for intrepid adventurers – but we opted for an entertaining tour of the mine itself, led by Roly, a slate mine enthusiast who was an old friend of Mark Weir’s.

We returned to our lodgings, the Leathes Head Hotel, for a spectacular dinner in the newly renovated restaurant. The food – a creative fivecourse tasting menu which included some tender chops of hogget – was wonderful but it was the views from the restaurant, stretching out over a terrace and into the surrounding fields and the sunset behind the hills, which made the experience.

However, the talented chef behind the dinner menus is clearly given mornings off as the breakfasts weren’t quite up to the same standard.

The bedroom was comfortable with stunning views across the valley and the bathroom beautifully decorated.

The option of a packed lunch to take on our walk the next day was a convenient touch for hikers.

However, beware – all of the Leathes Head Hotel’s headline prices come without the 20 per cent VAT charge, taking the cost of a packed lunch up to £10.20 and the price of a G&T in the pleasant bar (£6.95 on the menu for a Lakes Distillery gin and Northumbrian tonic) to £8.35.

Enjoying a rare spring weekend of sunshine, we parked up at the Lodore Hotel a couple of miles down the road towards Keswick and availed ourselves of a day’s free parking by taking our morning coffee on their terrace (visitors who spend more than £10 are given a code) before setting off on a picturesque stroll around Derwent Water.

Although the original inspiration for Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons is widely believed to be Coniston Water, 26 miles away, Derwent Water was the site for the filming of the most recent incarnation of the classic book. Continuing the literary theme, around three miles round the track from Lodore, we found ourselves in the grounds of the Lingholme Estate, where Beatrix Potter spent her holidays over a tenyear period. With a charming walled garden, tearoom and gift shop, it was

Clockwise from main: the outside of Leathes Head Hotel; the entrance; one of the bedrooms

a pleasant place to grab a flat white, before continuing along the main path to Nichol End, where we caught the passenger boat which circles the lake in both directions to return to the car at Lodore.

After all this exertion, we headed to the nearby Oxley’s at Underscar day spa, nestled in a hamlet just outside Keswick, where we enjoyed a dip in the quiet pool, relaxation time in the steam room and sauna and a muchneeded massage from therapist Vicky to soothe our aching limbs.

We decided to give Cat Bells a miss on this occasion – there was too much else to do, plus I wasn’t sure if I could cope with the disappointment of missing Mrs Tiggy Winkle for a second time – but having been back to Borrowdale once now, I’ll undoubtedly return again. ■

We had a spectacular dinner in the Leathes Head Hotel

Double rooms at the Leathes Head Hotel (www.leatheshead.co.uk) start at £155. A half-day “spa experience delux” package at the Oxley’s at Underscar spa (www.oxleyshealthspa.co.uk) costs £59, including one half-hour treatment and a hot drink and cake in the bistro. Boat tickets around Derwent Water on the Keswick Launch range from £10.75 a day for a hop-on, hop-off service, while single

fares start at £2.30.