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The Cavendish Arms

UK England North West England Cumbria Cartmel

01539 536 240 Cavendish Street, Cartmel, Cumbria LA11 6QA

10 Guest Rooms
Classic Coaching Inn

This ancient coaching inn pub in the picture-postcard village of Cartmel is the perfect base for the southern Lakes

When it comes to finding the perfect English village, Cartmel is pretty hard to beat, with tiny, winding streets, an ancient village centre and picture-postcard cottages. But there is more to the village than that. In addition to the stunning Priory, there’s a famous racecourse, the Michelin-starred L’Enclume restaurant, and most importantly The Cavendish Arms, tucked away down a quiet street a stone’s throw from the village centre.

The Cavendish is the perfect Lakeland hideaway and also an ideal base for exploring the Southern Lakes – a 450-year-old coaching inn that oozes history from every exposed oak beam. It has a range of rooms to suit most budgets, and each room is modern, fresh and stylish, from the quirky Cavendish Loft to its spacious 'superior' doubles and more affordable 'classic' and 'small' doubles. Attention to detail matters at The Cavendish and it shows: all the rooms have good wifi, flatscreen Freeview TVs, tea- and coffee-making facilities and immaculate ensuite bathrooms with posh toiletries. In the restaurant, they pride themselves on offering a contemporary selection of seasonal English dishes – think twice-baked cheese soufflé followed by local lamb, fish and seafood from the nearby coast, and of course Cartmel’s famous local delicacy, Sticky Toffee Pudding. They also serve sandwiches at lunchtime and a choice of roasts on Sunday, and the wine list goes far beyond what you normally expect in a pub, with plenty available by the glass.

Finally, do explore the village while you're here: it's home to some great indy shops and delis, and at the heart of the village the historic priory is arguably Cumbria's most beautiful medieval church. A couple of long-distance footpaths pass nearby – the 33-mile Cistercian Way and the longer Furness Way – and of course you're just a short drive from Windermere and the honeypot sights of the Lake District to the north, while the wide-open expanse of Morecambe Bay beckons to the south.