Patterdale has always been one of our favourite Lake
District haunts, so we were pleased to be having an overnight stop there.
Arriving in the dry and having time to call into the White Lion for a drink,
before finding our Bed and Breakfast, made for a good start. In the pub we
chatted to a couple who were walking the C to C the other way round i.e. east
to west. They were camping, so carrying all their gear, including a wine box –
we were all very impressed by this, especially the wine box, but we guess it
would count as a holiday essential.
The Coast to Coast Packhorse, who had organised our
accommodation, had secured us a real gem (literally) by booking us into The Old
Water View Inn. This B and B has much to recommend it, and we can start the
list of its charms by telling you that it was where Alfred Wainwright himself
used to stay when in the area. Something more important to us though, was that we were
directed outside the main house to a room in a converted barn called L’al Gem.
We had our own front door and effectively the whole downstairs of this
building. What’s more, there to greet us on the bed, was a rather special bear.
His role was to welcome us and make us feel at home. He was wearing
an incredibly smart and warm Old Water View knitted jumper, and we have to admit we were a little envious
of it, wondering if they might be for sale, but we think they only came
complete with wearer, and anyway, we think we would have needed a much smaller
size.
Our new friend, Alf, gave us a guided tour of our
accommodation. Once we had been shown the outside drying room and the lovely
view of the river from our front door, we got the fully history of our room,
which was a very romantic story. As it’s all in the picture, we’ll let you read it for
ourselves, if you have a big enough screen …
The Old Water View Inn caters for your every need in a very
pleasing way, so once there you don’t need to go out again, which makes for a
very relaxing stay. At least you
don’t need to go out, unless your minder’s boots have started to come apart and
need replacing. It really is a lot simpler if you go au naturel like us with
our hooves and paws, but we knew our minder’s feet aren’t as strong and sturdy,
so she really did need new boots.
We walked into Glenridding for these, and we struck gold by
going to the Catstycam store. What a pleasant, helpful and knowledgeable chap
we found there. Our minder had the best boot recommendation and fitting service
she has ever had. While she hadn’t planned to buy new boots, if you have to buy
them, you might as well have the right ones, and this she got (she did
subsequently get her money back for the duff ones, which were hardly worn).
Back at the Old Water View Inn, we gathered for pre dinner
drinks (trying the inn’s own keg bitter and lager) in a cosy lounge. The menu was very
appetising and provided us with some nice alternatives to the usual pub grub.
Various dishes were tried and enjoyed, and we can certainly recommend the
Morroccan chick pea pate, the chicken and asparagus and a large sticky toffee
pudding for sharing, washed down with a Fair Trade red wine, bought by the
bottle.
It was an evening to remember, and if, sorry, when, we
return to Patterdale we know where we’ll be staying.
Lots of love, Wooly, Gio, George and Yorkie xxx
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