BRILLIANT sunlight flickered against a blue, cloudless sky. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for my 10km hike around Derwentwater, the third largest lake in the Lake District.
Trundling along the grassy trail with a flask of coffee in hand, every direction I turned in offered impressive sights of sweeping mountaintops and the motionless body of water below.
The views are simply spectacular and should have been reward enough for my valiant hiking efforts.
But I was already thinking about the pint waiting for me back at the newly refurbished Royal Oak.
Slap bang in the middle of Keswick, this pub with rooms re-opened only a few months ago following a £1million facelift by its owner, Thwaites. And what a good job they’ve done.
Downstairs, the bar area is full of cosy nooks with huge armchairs to relax in, while the dining area is awash with indoor plants and countryside- inspired touches that make it feel more like a home than a pub.
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Add a roaring fireplace and dog-friendly bedrooms to the mix and you’ve got a proper ramblers’ paradise.
I was staying in one of the upper-floor bedrooms, where the piping-hot showers are a soothing antidote to aching muscles after tackling the surrounding hilly landscape.
Each of the 18 rooms reflects a similar ambience to the main pub, with rustic wooden headboards backing plump beds and autumnal coloured curtains that give the space a woodland feel.
Modern bathrooms feature fancy toiletries from Lake District company Bath House, while flat-screen smart TVs make it all too easy to enjoy a lazy lie-in.
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Make sure you don’t sleep too late, though, as you wouldn’t want to miss out on breakfast.
The kitchen dishes up cracking homemade grub, most of which is sourced locally. Think loaded fry-ups with fat, juicy sausages and pub classics like fish and chips with mushy peas.
I kept things simple at dinner with a 10oz rib-eye steak which came with a roasted vine tomato, mushroom, rocket and chunky chips that were very moreish – all washed down with a bottle of red.
If the food and decor aren’t enough of a selling point, then the location of the Royal Oak sure will be.
At the centre of a charming high street, the pub is within walking distance of quaint wine shops, boutique clothing stores and excellent bakeries, including the newly opened Snack Shack.
I’ve never seen more sausage rolls stacked in a window before! That was all the persuading I needed to buy one. A great idea – the pastry was buttery and flakey and the caramelised onion filling was a delicious touch.
If you’re visiting on a Saturday, take a wander to Keswick market, where you’ll find stalls selling all sorts of local food, products – and more flat caps than you’d see in an old folks’ home.
If you prefer to carry on rambling, I’d recommend making the journey to Cat Bells fell.
But only if you’re up for a challenge, as the summit is equivalent in height to ten Big Bens stacked on top of one another. I reckon I was about seven high when I decided to give up.
People in the Lakes are made of sturdier stuff than I – it’s probably those sausage rolls.