If You Go: Lake District

Anyone who has asked for travel advice from me, is familiar with my "recommendations" e-mails that I usually write after all of our big trips outlining exactly where we stayed, ate, and played on a vacation.  As part of my blog, I will write similar detailed notes so that I can share links and recommendations with future visitors.  This will have more administrivia and less fun context:

Hotel

• Pennington Hotel:  We stayed in the Junior Suite at the Pennington Hotel.  The hotel was lovely - the room was very nice, it was dog-friendly for Alfie, and the breakfast was made-to-order deliciousness. Here is the kicker: the hotel was on the coast about an hour away from the lakes.  It was a beautiful spot, but if we go back - we'll aim to stay at one of the lake towns like Windermere or Ambleside.  Pennington Hotel Price: ~$175 a night

Restaurants 

• Stiles - Ambleside: We had lunch at a lovely cafe in Ambleside called Stiles. It was VERY dog friendly, including towels to wipe your dogs paws, treats from the servers, and bowls of water.  The human food was delicious too  - we shared a platter with kebabs, pulled pork, and chicken tenders.  Best part: it was the fastest service we have ever had in England.  Win! Highly recommend 
• Ratty Arms Tavern - Ravenglass: If you decide to stay at the Pennington Hotel, there are only three restaurants in the town.  In good news - this tavern was great.  Standard, tasty pub food and cheap ciders to be had.  We were there the night of the Wales-England rugby match and it was a great environment with lots of people enjoying the game. 
• Picnic - Note: We took a picnic for our afternoon at Wray Castles.  Picnics are a "thing" in the Lake District and across England.  So stop at Marks & Spencer before you go up to the Lakes District as there are lots of spots to stop and have lunch by a lake or a landmark.  

Things to Do 

• Wray Castle: Wray Castle is right on Lake Windermere.  It is a "new" castle built in the late 1800's, so if you're a super British history buff, this is not for you.  It is beautiful and has a great view of the lake.  It also has a ferry dock to take you to other lake towns.  We missed the ferry by a few minutes, so we ended up not using it - but wish we had!  If you have kids, the castle's interior is very kid-oriented with a section on Peter Rabbit's adventure and a dress up area.  It's owned by National Trust, so if you're a member it's free to park and explore 
• Muncaster Castle: If you stay in Ravenglass, this castle is only about a 5 minute drive and highly recommended.  It has beautiful grounds overlooking green farmlands and the mountains.  Extensive gardens and walking paths loop around the property.  They have an owl and hawk center.  We saw the half hour owl show and really enjoyed it.  I had no idea that owls were so tame-able.  Admission is $15 per person, but it's worth it if you are out that way
• Windermere: This is a cute town right on the lake - this would be a good town to start your journey.  The ferry hub is right in the center of town and in the summer, you can also rent a paddleboat or canoe.  In addition, it has lots of boutique shops and ice cream stops.  It also has a large green park overlooking the lake.  We'll be looking to stay in Windermere on our next trip to the lake district 
• Ambleside: Similar to Windermere, this is a very cute town right on the lake.  We had lunch and stopped into a few of the shops.  I did some shopping damage at a cute boutique called Rush - it carried several of my favorite British designers (and introduced me to a few new ones!)
• Coniston: This is a very small town on the third largest lake in the Lake District.  It is the blue-est lake either of us had ever seen.  We spent a half hour taking photos and walking around the path.  There is also a boat rental for canoes, kayaks, etc.  We could not partake because of the cool weather + Alfie, but would like to go back at some point.  For us, it would be better to get into the water here because it seems smaller and less congested than Windermere which had more powerboats, ferries, and other large watercraft. 

Things We Wished We Had Done: We had some limitations in terms of time, weather and having Alfie with us.  If we had been there in summer - we would have done the following: (1) Taken a ferry trip around Lake Windermere; (2) Rented kayaks on Lake Coniston; (3) Visited Beatrice Potter's Home; and (4) Stayed in a Lakeside hotel.  In good news, this was an easy trip and I am confident we will return!