A Lakeside Retreat | Losing Time at Another Place, Lake District
I will wholeheartedly admit that there is not much that I like more than waking up, rolling out of bed and saying ‘good morning’ to the hills from my bedroom window. Knowing that I can escape into them right from my front door, with little more than lacing up a pair of boots and throwing a flask of hot coffee into my rucksack. Or knowing I can enjoy them from a cosy window on a rainy day, over a cup of tea and a good book. Knowing they are there, watching me, waiting for me - there is not a much better thought; which is why thinking back to the few days I spent at Another Place, The Lake, situated on Ullswater in the Lake District, really has become a kind of dazed and timeless dream.
Words by Athena Mellor
Photography by Athena Mellor & David Harvey
Looking out onto Ullswater
Like many of us, I am constricted to living in a city due to work, but escapades into the British hills and valleys are frequent and always much-needed. When I came across Another Place, The Lake online, I was eager to check it out and enjoy the Lake District hills with a little bit of luxury. Another Place is a new boutique hotel situated in a fine natural setting; on the shores of beautiful and tranquil Ullswater, just ten minutes from the M6 and another ten minutes until you can be hiking a hillside with Lakeland views before you, the tension of those days at the office being brushed away with every stomp of your hiking boots.
I found Ullswater to be one of the most serene parts of the Lake District I had visited; a far cry from bustling Windermere or Ambleside with their hoards of tourists in the summer months. Though you can whiz into lovely Keswick (the closest town, with shops, cafes, restaurants and a Booth's supermarket) in less than thirty minutes, Ullswater itself is a quiet hub of lovely trails, isolated fells and secluded lakeside beaches. You can easily spend two or three days exploring just this area, with the newly developed Ullswater Way offering twenty miles of walking trails onto glorious farmland, fells and moors; and the nine mile length of Ullswater itself ready to be discovered by water. This is a place where time is lost, with an unperturbed tranquility that inspired some of Wordsworth's most famous words;
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
(The first verse of Daffodils by William Wordsworth,
first published in 1807 and inspired by Ullswater.)
Timeless Style
It was sense of timelessness that first struck me about the hotel, a contented delirium that my boyfriend and myself fell quickly into upon arrival. We are normally those go-getting 100-mile-an-hour kind of people who must do and see everything no matter how short a trip and how tired and in need of relaxation we are. But here? Something else happened. We found we could get lost here. We so easily forgot what time, day, month it was after only a few hours of arriving. We found ourselves absorbed into the slow pace of Lakeland life; consumed by nature’s calmness. We didn’t want to leave it behind.
That sense of timelessness has a lot to do with the interior style of Another Place, which is designed to bring the outdoors inside and complement the stunning natural surroundings of the hotel - in this case, the lake. Remnants of the original Georgian building remain and are naturally blended with modern details that have been carefully chosen to reflect the lake and fells that you can see from almost every window in the hotel. From the sheepskin rugs in the Living Space that bring cosiness and remind you of the many sheep that laden the Lakeland hills; to the collection of Wainwright’s in the library to inspire your next hill-walk; to the selection of wellies waiting at the front door so you can go a-wandering around the beautiful gardens even on a rainy day.
The Library
Fine Dining
The Living Space is the area in which you will find yourself planning your day hike over cups of coffee and OS maps, or relaxing on the sofas in the late afternoon with cocktails and nibbles. The Living Space serves food all day, with pub classics done exceptionally well like freshly caught Fish & Chips and Shepherd’s Pie from local farms, as well as salads, sandwiches and kid's' plates. The area is relaxed, bright and airy, with full-length windows that look out tauntingly onto the fells.
If you’re looking for a more formal dinner, the Rampsbeck Restaurant (aptly named after the original Rampsbeck hotel) serves delicious three course dinners for a reasonably-priced £40. The soft-marine coloured walls and marble floor of the restaurant complement the locally-sourced seasonal dinner menu, that will leave you feeling cheerily satisfied and rosy-cheeked; either from a day spent outside or from the wine consumed with your meal.
Breakfast is also served in the Rampsbeck, as morning sun streams through the windows and the irresistible scent of sweet waffles and freshly brewed coffee fills the dining area from 7.30am.
Herdwick Lamb served for dinner at the Rampsbeck
Breakfast at the Rampsbeck
Views of the fells while planning adventures into them in the Living Space
Dinner in the Living Space is casual, cosy, and delicious
Active Relaxation
With all that deliciously tempting food - and those even more tempting views from your bedroom window - you can’t spend a weekend at Another Place without enjoying the natural surroundings, whether on land or water. Another Place represents the ideal of Active Relaxation, offering Kayaking, Stand-up Paddleboarding and Sailing lessons or rental directly from the hotel. You can also borrow wetsuits for open-water swimming, or head out cycling, trail-running or hiking into the beautiful hills around Ullswater.
When you return, head to Swim Club where you can float in the warm infinity pool, enjoy fell-views in the Canadian hot tub, relax in the sauna and unwind in the spa with a range of massages and beauty treatments to choose from. It was such a treat to have a little bit of luxury to return to after a day spent out rambling on the fells, unwinding at the end of the day with a massage, bubble bath, and a king-size bed.
Try Kayaking at Another Place
Stand-up Paddleboards to hire on beautoful Ullswater in the early morning light
Relaxing in the Canadian hot-tub on a rainy day
Warmth & Wholesomeness
The reason I love the UK’s wild spaces is for their sense of timelessness and ruggedness; they are a place I can lose myself in my mind, all-consumed by just the here and now. Combining that with the splendour and slow pace of Another Place made for an irresistibly idyllic stay, and one that we didn’t want to leave behind.
Indeed, there is a wonderful cosiness about Another Place; reflected in the warmth of the staff and the small size of the hotel which meant fellow guests became familiar faces, their dogs became friends (yes, the hotel is also dog-friendly!), and those lakeside and hillside views brought a wholesomeness to our days. Even when it rained it didn’t bother us; as we watched raindrops dripping down the glass from the hot-tub outside, wrapped in robes with hot chocolate on the sofa, eating Tunnocks, and watching the looming storm clouds over the distant fells.
Views of the fells from our balcony; High Street in the distance
Our stay at Another Place left us completely contented; two bright-eyed hill-walkers in the most perfect of settings. Another Place has, indeed, become another place in my mind that I will escape to when I am craving the metaphorical warmth of Lakeland; my eyes bright with just the thought of it, like the rich yellow daffodils of Wordsworth’s Ullswater.
Thank you so much to Another Place for a wonderful stay on Ullswater, and the whole staff team for being so friendly and accomodating. We hope to return very soon, and we are sure that your own stay here will be as tranquil, relaxing and comfortable as ours.
Another Place hotel has 40 rooms in the original Georgian building, and a new modern wing with a number of family suites and dog-friendly rooms.
Doubles (B&B) are priced from £160 and family suites from £270.
Escape to the Lake offer: Stay for two nights, mid-week (Sunday to Thursday), at Another Place, The Lake including breakfast and dinner at The Living Space and Rampsbeck Restaurant. From £169 (winter) to £199 (summer) per room, per night.
Book your stay at Another Place here: another.place
Follow the hotel on Instagram here: instagram.com/anotherplacehotels
Check out our Lake District guide for inspiration for your stay.
Another Place, The Lake
Watermillock
Ullswater, Lake District
CA11 0LP
Tel: 01768 486442