The Royal Oak Keswick

The place to stay in Keswick, this welcoming and historic coaching inn has kept up with the times with updated guest rooms and a downstairs bar and restaurant that serves good, locally sourced food and local ales. The rooms are crisp, smart and modern, with big comfy beds, heavy curtains and colourful throws, plus wifi and flatscreen TVs, tea and coffee (with fresh milk), and a tray for your boots after a muddy mountain hike. There’s also a welcome tray with lots of local treats, and well-appointed bathrooms with rainfall showers.

Downstairs, the bar area is relaxed and comfortable, with plenty of local beers, and the restaurant serves a menu that combines classic pub food with more refined dishes. It’s worth knowing, also, that Keswick enjoys a reputation for being one of the most dog-friendly towns in Britain and it’s clear from the moment you arrive here that they truly love dogs, with water bowls on one side of the porch and a bag of towels on the other. Dogs can also enjoy a special ‘Sausage Breakfast’ to set them up for the day before taking on one of numerous walks from the town up into the surrounding fells.

Keswick has long been the bustling hub of the Lakes, and The Royal Oak was once a much larger hotel and an important start/ end point for many coaching routes.  The staff will be happy to direct you to a nearby gift shop which was once part of the hotel dining room and still has a suite of stunning stained glass windows dedicated to famous local residents such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey.  There are also numerous walks from the town up into the surrounding fells.