My wife and I visited the Lake District and stayed at Storrs Gate House the evenings of July 13-15, 2007.
What can one say about this place? It's lovely and charming, and the hosts, Vince and Shirley Byrne, are accommodating and as pleasant as can be. The place is well deserving of its awards. (See the inn's web site (www.storrsgatehouse.co.uk) for the impressive list of commendations.)
The rooms are absolutely beautiful. Shirley and her "mum" needlepoint and their expert work is hung throughout the house--in the lovely dining room (a bright room with large windows through which one can see the local birds feeding), in the bedrooms, and in the common room.
Speaking of the common room, wireless network access is available in it--a great boon to Americans trying to access e-mail and get some news from the US.
Vince is an excellent waitperson, attendant to all needs. The breakfast served daily is varied and delicious. The "full English breakfast" is available, but also available are cold cereal, and excellent croissants, muffins, and fruit.
On occasion, the Byrnes will also serve supper for those desiring it. We were interested in having supper there since the breakfasts were so good, but the Byrnes were taking a few nights off from that task when we there. This wasn't a problem as Windermere has excellent restaurants. (Specifically, Nissi is quite good, but the best supper we had in Bowness-on-Windermere--and perhaps in all of England in our two-week trip--was at Jackson's.)
One story: Vince made arrangements for us to go on a tour of the Lake District for Sunday, July 15. (Done through SuperTours--www.lakes-supertours.com. Highly recommended--being with our guide, Roger, for the day was one of the highlights of our entire trip.) During the call, he was apparently asked who was to be picked up. His response: "Friends from America." This is representative of the experience at Storrs Gate House: People arrive as guests, but leave as friends.






Value




