Even in a thick neoprene wetsuit, the water is bracing. There’s a jarring, icy jolt as a dive beneath the surface of Ullswater, the second largest natural lake in England (after Windermere). Rays of sunlight dance around in the murky water, striking the green algae on the lakebed. Morning mist is still burning off the surface, the sun rising over the long sloping peak of Arthur’s Pike as I swim along the shore. I see a few stand-up paddleboarders out on the water, and an old-fashioned steamer taking tourists on boat cruises around the lake. I’ve had gentler ‘wake-up calls’ in my time, but few as exhilarating.
This is how it goes (if you choose) at Another Place, The Lake. The relaxed 47-bedroom hotel sits on the shores of Ullswater, surrounded by 18 acres of land, in northern England’s Lake District National Park, one of the most beautiful and popular areas of the UK. Originally, it was an eighteenth century country house, then later the Rampsbeck Hotel. Another Place opened here in August 2017, created by the same team behind Watergate Bay Hotel in Cornwall and with a similar ethos. Watergate Bay Hotel combined a cool, comfortable hotel with activities, with a focus on surfing, which is very popular in Cornwall, but also paddleboarding, yoga and more. Although you can very easily kick back and do very little at Another Place, The Lake, the hotel appeals strongly to people who want to get out and actively explore the great outdoors, with wild swimming, rather than surfing, as the main attraction for beginners or more experienced swimmers, alongside kayaking, SUP and hiking. Image credit: ©Sideways
It's a very pleasant to reach the hotel, through English countryside, with farmland, rolling hills, and impressive mountains. A long driveway leads past the Sheep Shed (the main activity center) to the main whitewashed house with dark tiled roof and terraced outside areas that look lake-wards.
Local staff at the reception desk are very friendly and helpful. The hotel interior is a mix of old country house and contemporary décor. There’s a peaceful library by the reception with an ornate fireplace and massive gold-framed mirrors, creamy armchairs, and lines of bookshelves. Corridors through the hotel have colorful chequered carpets, with vivid, edgy, modern portraits of animals on the walls: goats, cows, red squirrels….
We stay in a Lake View Suite, which has plenty of space. There’s a large mirror over the old fireplace, and all the furniture (a tall wooden wardrobe, bedside tables (one including a fridge), a writing table…) feels chunky, solid and ‘old school’. The bed is also large, with a hulking golden yellow headboard. Walls have an abstract autumnal leafy design with greens and browns, the feel of nature brought inside. As well as a TV and tea and coffee facilities, there’s a cool lounging area with a grey sofa, a sunny yellow armchair, and table, all of it geared towards the window. The view, albeit across the car park, is exceptional, looking out to ancient oak trees with hammocks hanging beneath and the hotel’s Glasshouse restaurant (which serves woodfired pizzas), and right across Ullswater to the mountains on the other side of the lake. Image credit: Michael Lazenby
We spend the afternoon in the Swim Club’s 20-metre-long swimming pool, with purple flowers at the front window, which, like the adjacent hot tub, also makes the most of the lake-and-mountain view.
For dinner, we make our way to the informal The Living Space bar, where there are comfy sofas and dining tables, many of the guests accompanied by their dogs. The menu is made up of crowd-pleasing, comforting dishes. My wife opts for a Heritage tomato salad with burrata, basil pesto and artichoke, then a main of basil-crumbed chicken, while I enjoy warming, garlicky Pil Pil king prawns with focaccia to start and a satisfying red lentil tikka masala with basmati rice, coconut raita and poppadoms.
Next morning, we eat breakfast at Rampsbeck, the hotel’s other restaurant, which has the feel of a smart bistro with bright red tea cups, red chairs, and neatly ordered tables. Staff are helpful, delivering tea and coffee soon after we sit. The majority of the breakfast is self-service, with selections of cereals, yoghurts, juices and fruit, as well as pastries and hefty chocolate muffins. An attendant at the kitchen counter helps with hotter offerings, including a choice of eggs, sausages, mushrooms, sausages (and veggie sausages), bacon and more.
We take our young son up to the Kids’ Zone to play for a while, passing near the Endless Pool, which is used by swimmers to practice their technique. Colin Hill, the hotel’s open water swimming guide and coach, who’s swum solo across the English Channel and was the first UK Male Ice swimmer to complete one mile in water under five degrees with no wetsuit, gives lessons here and in the lake.
I have no plans to swim the English Channel or to do a mile in icy water. Instead, I relax with a thorough full body massage with rosewood and ginger oil in a treatment room at the Swim Club, bands like Elbow and Air providing the soundtrack.
Afterwards, I head down to the Sheep Shed, pull on a wetsuit and set off from a little pier to take a kayak out on Ullswater. I pass boat houses along the lake shore, grazing sheep and cows watching from the fields. A paddleboarder cuts across the center of the lake, with his dog perched on the front of the board. I take a gentle pace, paddling across the silvery surface towards the top of the lake and a distinctive pile of rocks at the top of Hallin Fell, relishing the feeling of openness and freedom out on the vast expanse of water, as the sun breaks through the clouds.
In the afternoon, we drive 10 minutes up the road to take a quiet walk through fragrant forests and up to the towering, cascading waterfalls of Aira Force, a National Trust site. Later, we make our way back to the hotel pool, alternating between swims, hot tub soaks, and long pauses to take in the view of Arthur’s Pike. Image credti: ©Anna Blackwell
While The Living Space is a casual dining option with the kind of meals you might find at a British gastropub, Rampsbeck, where we have dinner on our second night, is a more formal experience, and a significant step up in terms of the meals. The dishes are creative and attractive, but also substantial, food to be enjoyed rather than just admired. My wife rates the crispy lamb neck croquette with fennel kimchi, carrot, and soy sauce as the tastiest thing she’s sampled during our Lake District trip, while I happily tuck into satisfying beer-battered monkfish scampi with wild garlic mayonnaise and some crusty sourdough bread. For mains, my wife goes for the beef sirloin with smoked potato, button onions, Shimeji mushrooms, edamame, asparagus, and horseradish, while I choose the baked hake that comes with a delicious salty, zesty, tarragonny broth, creamed mussels, King prawn tortellini, fennel, and wild garlic, the kind of meal I’d happily order again. To finish, we go for the “Lakes Distillery” whisky chocolate cremieux: fine, crisp chocolate casings filled with whisky ice cream, coffee and caramel, an elegant and delicious finish. Accompanied by a lovely French Malbec, which was recommended by the waitress, it all adds up to a memorable evening.
On our final morning, we get kitted out with wetsuits and take a bracing swim in Ullswater, warming up afterwards with a swim in the main pool. Image credit: Michael Lazenby
As someone who loves the great outdoors, this is my type of hotel break: a comfortable, stylish hotel and good food, with plenty of opportunities to relax but also exiting possibilities for getting active and enjoying nature. I’m told the company has plans to expand and open more properties in other parts of the UK with a similar idea. But that’s hopefully another Another Place for another time.
Another Place, Lake District National Park, Ullswater, Watermillock CA11 0LP. Rooms from £240 (approx. $293) per night on a B&B basis. For more information or to book, see https://another.place/ or call +44 1768 486442
