Luxury Lakes hotel left me in heroic mood

It had all been going so well too – a spontaneous leisure drive taking in the Ruskin Museum and the fairly crammed bustle of sunny Ambleside. However our bewildered concern soon morphs into delight as it turns out to be £5 to enjoy a fairly speedy and charming crossing and we have a quirky anecdote to delight our fellow guests as we hit dry land again and set course for The Wild Boar Inn.

We have succeeded in the face of unexpected adversity as it turns out to be a pleasant shortcut and I’m soon drawing comparisons between myself and local legend Sir Richard de Gilpin who bravely fought and killed a particularly ferocious wild boar – providing the inspiration for the hotel’s name.

I’m sure he would approve of the boar’s head wall mount aswell as the warm welcome, roaring log fires and seasonal food and drink from the inn’s Grill & Smokehouse open kitchen of course.

However, Gilpin might not have approved of my less than manly squeals of delight at our individually styled luxury suite with its spacious bedroom with balcony, freestanding bath and classic furnishings.

I’m soon channeling his earthy roguishness once more though as we explore the 70 acres of private woodland that adjoins the hotel with it's woodland paths. Dragonflies the size of birds bob past as we pause to take in a tarn at our farpoint.

And I’m delighted the fantasy can continue at our evening meal as I tuck into a zingy and juicy wild boar and apple scotch egg with piccalilli to start – but perhaps with a hint more decorum than our 13th Century hero. The menu is packed with the best of British food focused around fresh local produce with some unique dishes incorporating the flavours from the onsite Smokehouse. My grilled fillet of gilt head bream is a light and superbly balanced follow-up. Much like the origins of its name the boar is a real hero of the lakes. In a similar vein to me of course. For more visit englishlakes.co.uk