We’ve stayed in many, many different types of places over the
decades: from campsites to B&Bs; five-star hotels to hostels and everything
in between. They all have their qualities and often their charm is inherent in
their quirky nature and unique characteristics. So to find a place with a
mixture from two ends of the spectrum is unusual, for me personally, deeply
unsettling and in this case disappointing...

At first glance – or even after a few stays here, all is
well at the Alston House Hotel (AHH). The food is fabulous, prepared personally
by owner Michael with 30 years experience. The produce is mostly
locally-sourced and/or produced, unpretentious in nature and attractively
presented and priced. Michael’s wife Carole is an ever-present friendly smiling
face, always eager to help and very hospitable.

We decided to return to the AHH after an enjoyable one
nights stay some time ago. Knowing AHH to be a reputable, decent, dog-friendly
hotel in a quiet town with lots of walking opportunities, it seemed the ideal
get-away for a short break over New Year. Just the luxury we deserved to
recharge the batteries before returning to work and study.

We couldn’t fault the food. Lovely menu, beautifully cooked
and seasoned (although perhaps too heavy on the garlic for some palates). The coffee in particular a welcome speciality. Local ales and good selection of wine available at the bar. Breakfast was also a delight with everything cooked to order and very appetising (no kippers offered though – that was a disappointment). This is the main C2C cycle route, so many passing walkers and cyclists make a stop here. Its the perfect location. Unspoilt in many ways.

We thought it was strange that the TV didn’t work in the room, but we weren’t there to watch TV anyway - there are more than enough beautiful walks nearby - as you can see from the photos - my favourite was the South Tyneside Railway, now restored and running steam trains during the summer. We forgot to mention the TV issue to
Carole. However, upon check-out another guest mentioned this problem too, so I’m not sure whether this was a hotel-wide issue (?) Also worth a mention - the radiators go off during the day and at night. We were fully aware that there
were ‘additional heaters available if required’ (according to the guest information folder) and that actually the weather was unseasonably warm outside. However, I think in the depths of an English Lakeland Winter, it is reasonable to expect to have the heating on for most, if not ALL of the day and night (or am I being greedy?). Fortunately, our bed had the benefit of an electric underblanket,which was a God-send during the night – especially for Dizzy (but don't tell anyone)!!!

This was our fourth and final evening here and we thoroughly enjoyed New Years Eve dinner – served to the usual high expectations. It was a quiet, civilised evening with the company in the restaurant being mainly older adults, some of whom had obviously made an effort to dress formally in black-tie. The candles on each table were burning, the log fire was ambient and
the Christmas music was low. Everything seemed perfect.

Strange then, the sudden and dramatic metamorphosis that occurred after ten o’clock - just when we were congratulating ourselves on finding such a wonderful, relaxing place to spend celebrating seeing-in 2012.

This apparently four-star, classy, family-run hotel, with food of Bib Gourmand
standard and outstanding customer service, within half an hour, became a
setting of a teenage rave. A disco had been set-up and I was expecting some
loud music, but not on this scale! I did get slightly concerned when I saw the
Christmas decorations getting removed for what Carole said were “safety
reasons”. But within a few minutes, I saw what was reminiscent of the Youth
Club run at Woodnesborough Working Mens’ Club, every Wednesday night during my
schooldays - which involved paying an entrance fee and smuggling in a bottle of
cheap cider rather than paying the bar prices. Indeed, this materialised into
reality as I witnessed scantily-clad youngsters, queuing-up at the AHH
reception to pay £5 and have their hand stamped to enter the hotel’s disco.
Sadly for the owners, there were far fewer new guests that those leaving – and
I know what kind of customers I would have preferred to have stay! Many of
those leaving had (like us) enjoyed a lovely relaxing meal and would have
happily preferred to stay and spend additional money at the bar on champagne (even
though, like the white wine, someone had forgotten to put it into the fridge)
had the adult atmosphere been allowed to continue. Instead of that however,
most left to go to the more ‘grown-up’ atmosphere in the Cumberland Inn over
the road (also serving fabulous, honest food) where you could actually hold a
conversation without having to scream into each others ear over the thud, thud,
thud of whatever unrecognisable rubbish the ‘DJ’ was playing. Whilst on the
subject of the DJ – make no mistake he was useless. The best DJs, like any
presenters are always the most receptive to their audience. At one point he
actually said ‘well, it seems most people are leaving rather than dancing’ at
which the obvious remark came back “because all your music is crap”. Instead of
changing his choice of ‘music’ (and I use that word in its loosest sense), he
continued until it was nearly one o’clock (by which time we had escaped
upstairs) before I heard a Michael Jackson song (‘Dangerous’) which was the
first one with any identifiable lyrics! Oh dear, I must be getting old. But
surely this isn’t what others wanted either? The place was virtually deserted
by midnight with hardly anyone ordering at the bar.

If the owners really cared about their paying, staying
guests, then they would perhaps have been more responsive to their needs. We
obviously did not want to be surrounded by teenagers getting increasingly
drunk. As guests of the hotel, we were there for the main reason that we share
the owners’ philosophy in appreciating good food, in a stylish, relaxed
atmosphere in pleasant, quiet surroundings. None of these things are in line
with what occurred here on New Years Eve. I am truly bewildered. If the owners
felt that they needed to provide a place for the teenage children to get
together with their friends for a rave/disco, then hire the village hall which
is specially designed for such a purpose. Needless to say, many of the
youngsters did not want to attend the perceived ‘pretentious’ hotel setting,
preferring instead to hang around outside without paying the £5 entrance fee,
mixing with the smokers who had.

Two bottles of decent champagne alone would have easily
covered the relatively trivial amount raised through this thoughtless event. I
can’t understand hoteliers not wanting to keep their own customers happy first
– and increase the potential recommendations for profitable business. After
all, profits are definitely NOT to be found with drunk teenagers – especially
with all the cleaning-up required the following morning (yuk).

One last point. On Boxing Day there was a tragic car
accident where a young man was killed in the town – apparently after drinking
at AHH as well as other pubs. I have yet to read the full report, but
apparently he was drunk and deliberately drove his car into a house at a
junction. Of course, no-one can blame anyone for this horrific action, but the
local landlords do have some responsibility. It is no surprise or secret that
there is a huge teenage binge-drinking problem, combined with a drug problem in
this isolated area of the Lakes. High unemployment and little for young people
to do has had a polarising impact on local communities where more than half the
properties are holiday homes owned by wealthy ‘outsiders’. I would hope that
professional business people and conscientious parents would want to take any
opportunity they can to support their young people in a town like Alston and
provide a safe, responsible environment for them to socialise in – especially
when celebrating the New Year. What the AHH promoted did not fall into this
category and if anything only proved to further alienate the different groups
of locals and visitors.

My recommendations for the AHH for next year? Do what many
of the best hotels and restaurants do – charge extra for a set menu for dinner (easier
for Michael in the kitchen) guests can book in advance or turn up on the day
(and pay a premium). Formal dress only. Hire a professional musician – a
harpist or a pianist perhaps. Close the doors firmly at 11pm and let your
guests (and you and your family) enjoy a peaceful, grown-up and happy New Year
celebration, profitable and memorable for all the right reasons.

I must've passed the Yorkshire Sculpture Park a million times on the motorway, on my way to or from somewhere or other... So while we had a few hours to spare in (awful) Wakefield the other day (necessary to collect the new BMW), we decided to stop in and have a walk round with the dog we had visiting (I hoped it would tire her out on the way back - but no such luck - she's inexhaustible)!



The park is alot less formal than I anticipated. Not many proper paths - just footpaths through fields. I was glad to have my proper walking boots.



Every so often you come across weird and wonderful sculptures like these. It's a bit spooky to be honest. Especially approaching dusk when there's no too many people around.



The Henry Moore is the highlight of course. The surrounding landscape and quietly munching sheep certainly add to the contemplative mood of the scupltures. Well worth a visit - especially as the famous Three Acres isn't very far away for a delicious lunch...

Funny how it's always those places that you live nearest to, that you somehow never seem to get round to visiting. We've known about Ravensthorpe Reservoir since we moved here over seven years ago - but for some reason J's been all over the country with his fly-fishing rod, but never managed to go 5 miles down the road! Anyway - we found the time to stop by yesterday - and even though we weren't there at the crack of dawn (as many were apparently) we didn't come back empty handed (although it wasn't the 11 lb wopper that someone pulled out last week - and it didn't get a fly either (long story)).



Bryher and I walked all the way around the hundred acres of clear blue water and another halfway round to meet the fisherman. It was so peaceful - and the sun was lovely and warm, especially on the south bank where the dam is. It was great to escape the blasted dissertation for a day or two at last. This place is full of interesting original Victorian machinery and architecture. And the village is only a short walk away...(where maybe we'll live one day)


She is a mischievous little tinker - into everything and full of energy and particularly enjoyed running through all the muddy paths under the trees of the wood on the far side...


Lots of people were out in boats - but J never has any luck on boats so he stayed on the bank while I surreptitiously tried sketching them (not easy with an energetic little dog beside you)...



Nearby the well-worn Chequers pub was unfortunately closed (again)so it was back to our local for a quick pint. Needless to say Bryher needed a bath as soon as she got home - which she didn't particularly like - but it was worth it for all the mad running about the house that inevitably follows any doggie-bath... Why do they all do that I wonder???

If my group of Beteckers are reading this again - a big THANK YOU for your lovely card and comments. I miss you too!!! Hope all the interviews and stuff are going well. Sorry I accidentally deleted your comments - so you'll have to send me some new ones to add to this post:)

Here are some pictures from last weekend and our visit to my home county - yes - I'm an ESSEX GIRL at heart;)

We were there to see 'ol' blue eyes' on tour
(and please don't go telling me he's dead - coz I've seen him - full size, in colour and walking on the stage):)

The Cliffs Pavillion - at Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex - a brilliant venue - especially on a wonderful sunny day like we had on Saturday.



Looking out onto the big, blue Thames estuary with a cold glass of white wine? Yep - very 'us' ;)



Unfortunately, the first performance was cancelled due to a technical hitch - but I managed to run to the box office (when all the oldies were reaching for their walking sticks) and got the last few tickets for the evening performance. Luckily we were there early as the stupid man had written 8.15pm on the tickets when actually it was an 8pm start. It was an excellent show - and I'm not even a particular lover of Sinatra-stuff (J is of course - born in the wrong decade)- but his story was really well told and the technology they use was amazing - he really came alive - so much so, that the dancers on stage we actually a bit of a distraction to watching him sing! fantastic choreograpy....



So, anyway, we had an unexpected afternoon walk along the seafront - along the pier (the longest in the world you know - 1.33 miles) - we took the train back as the wind was blowing a hoooley!
After a wonderful lunch (plus two bottles of wine) at the
Fisherman's Wharf restaurant we ended up at Leigh-on-Sea (which is slightly more upmarket that the amusement-park, candyflossy "saaffend"...



We found a good and friendly fishmonger cooperative (Mmmmm.. wild sea bass: mental note to stop there before we headed home) and stopped for a drink at the seafront bars. Shame that we would have to miss the reservation at the Boatyard restaurant (voted the best fish restaurant in the area) - but actually it didn't look that brilliant a place after all. And the reviews aren't very good. The woman at the reception was not at all friendly:( somaybe it was just aswell we weren't eating there. Its a bit of a Michelin food desert round here:(



Little did we know (and much to J's excitement) the international annual airshow was on and during Saturday there was lots of rehearsing in the skies above the cliffs and the seafront was beginning to fill up with all kinds of RAF and Army lads on roadshow-type lorries with banners. Shame the weather closed in on Sunday - but that's England for you (it was a bank holiday after all):)








Does he think he's in Crete or something? This is the Thames - not the Med' you know!!







Nice hat Dad;)

'It's all about making do' says DH - That's camping! the difficulty is in the packing (something He, of course, doesn't get involved with..) i.e. how do you pack the minimum amount of stuff for the maximum amount of comfort (or rather perhaps the minimum amount of inconvenience)??!! ? The trick is to think in sections of the day/night: e.g. the air-bed is a must for getting a decent night's sleep (as are my ear plugs - I'm a very light sleeper)! Tea bags and a kettle (that means (at the very minimum) a small gas canister, a lighter and a pint of milk for breakfast (!). The list goes on... and your car boot very soon fills up; with stuff that you never imagined you would need - but find yourself thinking 'but I can't possibly do without THAT' (e.g. iPod and speakers, (and maybe a bear ...))!!!
We stayed for the first time at the excellent South Penquite camp site which is probably the most unusual of all the campsites we've stayed at all over the world. Briefly - they are a working Organic (officially registered) livestock farm, near to the site of Brown Willy - no really that really is the name of the highest hill in Cornwall, and home to a number of ancient sites of standing stones and stone circles nearby to the legendary Athurian Tintagel. The farmer, Dominic Fairman (very dashing) and his large family are obviously not in it for the money -the camp site is not even half used and then declared 'fully booked' on the sign outside (!) Situated on a glorious southwest facing hill overlooking the unspoilt scenery of Bodmin Moor - you couldn't hope for a better location. No caravans or campers allowed - which also adds to the sense of 'making do': no serious campers here - only proper tents and hikers allowed. On the lower field is the 'Yurts' - the ready-made teepees with integral stoves and camp-beds (the added luxury comes at a price!) The facillities here were OK - nothing special. The showers are solar-powered (so best to get there at the end of the day rather than in the (luke warm, very busy) mornings). No tiles, only (apparently) recycled yoghurt pots as an interior plastic covering to the wooden buldings - maybe more of a gimmick than a worthwhile investment (?). Funnily enough, the new shower block doesn't include a loo block and the although it's lovely to have a large shower cubicle all to yourself (even if it is a coldish dribble of water on offer), it's rather frustrating to have to walk more than 50 feet away to the loo block to find the 3 (cold only) sinks to brush your teeth at (!). The only warm water available is at the washing-up sinks outside the shower-block (strange). Overall - rather an ill-thought-out arrangement - but hey, maybe stage 2 of their investment will include fitting sinks and loos in each cubicle too (!??)
What made up for this (let's be honest, nothing more than...) inconvenience was the excellent location, and general ambience of the place, which was summed-up by the drifting smell of evening smoke from everyone's old-fashioned camp fires (£4 for logs from the farmhouse): something you are rarely allowed on regular camp sites in the UK. Also the daily visits from the groups of ducks and geese and turkeys which went on 'hoovering-up' sessions round the whole campsite, in search of remnants from each group's BBQ. Not sure whether J would have been happy with this lot on top of MY car....
But the quiet sunsets were something very special....

Importantly, there are two pubs nearby (i.e. within biking distance) (nothing fancy you understand, this is a bit of a food-desert as far as restaurant guides are concerned, unless you're self-sufficient): The Blisland Inn and the Old Inn at St Breward - both good in their own way: the Blisland better for friendly service and proper beer - it's not often you see a bar like this any more - low old beams full of old beer mats and glasses, where the locals still have their own designated pewter beer jugs (and the sign behind the bar advertises snuff available at £2) - whereas the Old Inn is a bit more commercialised and situated very high above sea level with marvellous views of the surrounding area and specialises in proper pub grub with a good value carvery on offer on Sundays. Maybe we were slightly biased towards the Old Inn, as we reached it after a long, hot and sun-burnt 25 mile bike-ride (via Bodmin) along the last bit of the Camel Trial that we needed to cover from a previous trip. It was a real effort to climb - in 'top-top' gear (I admit to having to get off and walk a few yards) up the final big hill to the top of St Breward - but well-worth it. The views were amazing! And everyone we met said hello on the way - it was a bit strange at first - but that's the way of these Cornish people. We were glad that the local shop was open too.
Maybe we shouldn't have stopped at Bodmin for quite so long - but J had to see the Lewis sadly lose the F1 at the Weavers Inn . (We were glad to see it's now got new mangement since our last visit and has had a re-furb). Bored, I escaped for a while to have a walk around and visited the Thomas a Becket chapel at nearby St Petroc's church where the gargoyles mark the ancient water spring that once serviced the whole of Bodmin until quite recently. I had a chance there to say a prayer for my poor guilt-ridden Catholic soul and also to have a nice conversation with a local old lady who was busy collecting blackberries from the graveyard hedgerows. She was very enthusiastic in telling me how she had felt so guilty about taking the blackberries to make into useful and delicious jams and pies, so much so, that last week she had taken two made-up jam-jars round to the Old Rectory nextdoor to give to the vicar. Predictably, he had thanked her for her trouble and assured her that she should help herself to as many berries as necessary (and apparently hastily took the jams, mumbling something about the forthcoming Harvest Festival). By the time I had returned to the Weavers the skies had turned cloudy, Lewis had finished 5th, and it was time to set off on the long journey home to South Penquite via Tressaret and the old quarry.

We found some lovely places to buy good quality local food along the way. The best was St Kew Farm shop at St Maybyn, which stocks the famous Blue Mango bakery products - the best organic bread in the UK (OK, maybe I've said that before, but the hot food here is fantastic). The fresh veg selection is also amazing and I didn't find it difficult to quickly spend £30 before our return home on everything from runner beans to fresh coffee (and the chilli chocolate was very tempting too).
The only disappointing aspect of the trip was the fishing. Coarse fisherman probably would be quite happy here, but J's fly fishing was spoilt by the lack of maintenance of the beats and the hot weather. Fish were few and far between and even the ones we saw were tiddlers. I've emailed Angling 2000 with some feeback as we had to pay them to fish these beats in advance. Luckily, I'd brought my sketch-pad and pencils to while-away the many hours in the sunshine while J struggled with trying (unsuccessful) different flies...but later he did manage some success when his kite got into the air a few times over the campsite (much to wonderment of the other campers)...
What I like about this place is everything is very understated...the footpaths and villages are barely signposted and even the excellent nearby East Rose cottage (fishing lakes) have no real clue as their true purpose. The moor ponies at the side of the road (and even the occasional cow) add to the atmosphere to make this place a really desolate but mysterious place. Very peaceful and relaxing. Next time we will try the nearby Temple Fishery which apparently (we found out too late) is the best place to catch yourself a decent brown trout...Although 'next time' now will probably be in the Springtime I guess.......

This time it's Summer -and - as I'm now officially a "proper" (i.e. full time) student (albeit not for much longer)and we are both students celebrating the end of another academic achievement - it was to be my first experience in a Youth Hostel . Now I realise what I've missed out on!!!

It's kind of a nice comfortable balance between camping and staying in a B&B - there's a great atmosphere when everyone's mucking-in to clear the tables after breakfast or drop off the sheets at the laundry in the morning. It was.. different!

We stayed at Esthwaite Hall, a listed Regency mansion on the edge of Esthwaite water (obviously) about 0.5 miles outside Hawkshead (near Ambleside).

This (above) is the view of Hawkshead Youth Hostel - surrounded by trees on the edge of Esthwaite Water....

Like all YHA places - it was in need of some investment - but was clean and well-equipped and the staff were absolutely brilliant! It was just near enough to be convenient - but far enough away to be very very quiet. To the rear of the grounds was the very well- maintained Grizedale Forest (National Trust) with loads of cycle tracks and stuff (including the Go Ape! swinging from the trees thing.. No, me neither)

I met lots of interesting people - there was the French group, a few (brave) couples with very young babies some families and the Society of Change Ringers (!) from the University of Durham! On their annual tour of the Lakes (do they know they're born)?

We went for a very long walk to Howe Tarn, just outside Hawkshead (North West). This is also very well maintained and we walked for miles (about 12 altogether) to get there, but it was well worth it for the view from the top of the fell. And then, just as we stopped to take it all in, the cloud broke and the sun shone through! Wonderful!

We ate at the Kings Arms and the Sun Inn at Hawkshead - both very good (and cheap) pub grub (The Kings Arms was better, I think and excellent service too). There were a few other good places to choose from - we wished we had more time!

Nearby we spotted a good (but bloody expensive) camp site called the Croft - just on the edge of the village - so hopefully we'll be back soon. Not least because there's Trout fly fishing at Esthwaite to keep J occupied for hours...

below is the view from the front of the Yh - looking out over the Water.


This was taken in the evening after a very hot day's walking!

Above is the very well-maintained trail around Howe Tarn, near to Hawkshead. We were glad we persevered - we nearly didn't see it! It was well worth the effort!

More views of the Tarn...

Below the full view of the Youth Hostel. Wonderful building and great friendly staff. Brilliant breakfasts too!

....and it's friendly nearby cows - who must be fed-up of all the passing drunkards staggering back from the Hawkshead pubs...

Wonderful weather, glorious scenery, relaxing company - a really fantastic weekend ;)