Pub with rooms in Clifton, Cumbria
Curator's notes:
Rooms from
12 doubles: £100
Good to know
Dog-friendly
Dogs are welcome in the bar and overnight in all the bedrooms, and
dog packs are provided at £10 per stay.
Outdoor
adventures
Situated between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales, there's
plenty of fabulous walking to explore in these parts.
Askham Hall
Take a stroll through the beautiful gardens with views of the River Lowther, enjoy something delicious in the Kitchen Garden Café, or splash out with dinner at the Michelin-starred Allium restaurant. This unique venue is perfect for weddings and there's a Health Barn too.
Accessed via ancient stone stairs and in keeping with the contemporary, smart feel in the bar and dining rooms, the twelve refurbished rooms have a fresh, modern look.
Being a 17th-century farmhouse, some rooms are on the cosy side, but all are beautifully furnished in elegant country-house style. Expect paintings and antiques from the Lowther family's personal collection at Askham Hall, quality wool carpets and rich fabrics, crisp Egyptian cotton on hand-made beds, and very comfortable slate-floored ensuite bathrooms with powers showers or roll-top baths and fluffy bathrobes. Room 5 has a roll-top bath tucked away in an alcove - perfect for relaxing with a glass of bubbly.
With the pub supplied by all sorts of goodies from the estate, including organic meats, game birds and fruit and vegetables from the walled kitchen gardens at Askham Hall, it's no surprise that the menu focuses on sustainability, simplicity and taste.
The menu makes full use of seasonal, delicious and local produce - and what isn't reared or grown on the estate is sourced from local artisan suppliers and farmers within 20 miles of the pub. Expect superb 30-day aged Shorthorn beef, Rough Fell lamb, rare breed pork sausages or delicious game dishes on the monthly menus and daily chalkboard specials - Askham Hall garden salad, quinoa and pickled beetroot; Shorthorn beef, horseradish fondant potato, pickled mushroom, beef and bone marrow jus.
Behind the bar, there's three cask ales on handpump that include regular beers from Cumbrian micro-breweries. Wines are sourced from Frank Stainton, Kendal's famed wine merchant, with a focus on independent and small-scale producers. The list runs to over 70 and includes some half bottles and magnums, 17 by the glass, and some outstanding French options from the owner's own cellar.
