Mr & Mrs Smith

Pack a pair of boots, pull them on at the front door, nip through the little bit of woodland at the back of the hotel and climb the stone stile. Now wander over the gently sloping fields for views that stretch out in all directions. You'll have to talk to each other - there's no one else. This is like country walks should be.

Room 9 was a delightful upstairs room in the cottage. The beds are to die for and the bath was big enough for both of us! The hotel staff were very friendly and even offered to chill our own bottle of champagne, despite us feeling guilty for bringing it! Nearby Kirkby Longsdale is definitely worth a visit with its compact town layout and narrow streets, full of tea shops, etc...

Nearby Kirkby Lonsdale, just 5 minutes away from Hipping Hall, is a very upmarket little town, with an impressive range of independent shops. Alongside the tiny boutiques selling lingerie and jewellery there's the brilliant Church Mouse Cheeses, which also sells a wide range of other non-cheesy local delicacies, perfect for picnics (or, in our case, for heading on to a self-catering cottage in the Lake District). Plus there's a good butcher just next door.

We ate lunch in the Sun Inn in Kirkby Lonsdale. The meal was superb. The restuarant was well decorated and we whiled away a great couple of hours sampling the local beers! For outdoor equipment and discount clothing, pop to Gaynors in Ambleside to pick up some bargins. Ambleside is about 45 minutes drive from Hipping Hall, but is well worth a visit. Take the scenic route as opposed to the motorway – the views are spectular as you drive through the hills and alongside lake Windermere. Try the tasting at the hotel – it was really superb. The sommelier came up with some great wine recommedations. Take a walk up to the Ingleton waterfalls. The walk takes about two hours to complete and it's relatively easy going. The views are super.

We stayed Thursday and Friday and seemed to drop in on a bright spot in the middle of terrible weather conditions. Thursday saw a toss-up between the Old Man of Coniston and the falls at Ingleton. Obviously myself and my good lady wife decided to take on the Old Man – until we had breakfast, after that it was a quick lie down and then off to the gentler Ingleton falls. We had to pay, – think it was about £15 to park on the car park and do the walk (however if you do the walk in reverse and go throuigh the village first then I think it's free!). The weather held and, due to the amount that had been coming down from the skies over recent days, the waterfalls were tremendous: you could feel the power of them just walking along the footpaths. Two and a half hours later we had finished and headed off for a well deserved lunch in Kirby Lonsdale. There is a small café off the main street down one of the alleys (forgot the name) but it's always nice and reasonable so we rested our weary bodies over soup and sandwiches and contemplated how far up the Old Man we would have been by then!

Hipping Hall was perfect we could not fault it apart from the rain! The tasting menu was delicious we cannot wait to go back to try the main menu. They have the mix of style, comfort and service worked out.

Not strictly speaking a near-the-hotel recommendation, but a nice touch from the hotel itself. As a vegetarian is it very rare I have a range of options when eating out with meat-eaters. I emailed Hipping Hall prior to our arrival stating that I was a vegetarian and also did not eat mushrooms. On arrival, the hotel had noted this and designed a menu specifically for me for our evening meal. A very nice touch!