Growing up, my wife travelled to the Lake District with her family every October half-term. They came for the hiking, but there was one hotel she always wanted to stay in. As you drive into Ambleside, Langdale Chase sits graceful and imperial, as close to a palace as you’ll find on Lake Windermere’s shores.
It’s the kind of pad built for a princess. Indeed, while my wife Katherine was dreaming of what might be, another Catherine (spelt the “wrong way” apparently) was holing up there for her hols. The Middletons have been regular guests at Langdale for years, while both Prince Philip and King Charles III have also visited.
The house also appeared in Hitchcock’s The Paradine Case, starring Gregory Peck, and the BBC drama Across the Lake, starring Anthony Hopkins.
Even writer Arthur Ransome was known to enjoy drinks on the terrace no doubt while taking inspiration for his seminal work, Swallows and Amazons.
The hotel’s simple tagline, decaled on the side of its Land Rover Defender, says it all: ‘The Lake District. The hotel.’ It’s a concise yet fittingly accurate motto.
If its Victorian Gothic facade wasn’t impressive enough, its grand hall certainly is. On arrival, a welcome glass of crémant is brought to you while you drink in the environs. (And yes, this is a room impressive enough to warrant wheeling out the word ‘environs’.)
Mark Hedley
Mark Hedley
A fire crackles in the centre, lightlight pours through the original two-storey stained-glass windows, casting colour across the largest tapestries you’ll see this side of Bayeux. Technically ‘canvas reliefs’, they’re patterned by the Tynecastle Tapestry designs dating back to 1891 – pastoral scenes almost as beautiful as the actual views outside. Juliet balconies overlook soft furnishings, the room framed by warm wood panelling.
It was the original entertaining space for what was built to host.
In the 1890s, Manchester businessman Mr Howarth bought the site to build a ‘modest retreat’, but died before any foundations were laid. His widow, Edna, decided to build something more fitting of his memory – a grand home to entertain friends and family.
Edna lived there for 20 years, hosting garden parties and tennis and croquet tournaments.
By the 1930s, it had passed hands and became a country house hotel – with its convivial spirit remaining ever since.
Naturally, food and drink are a big part of the stay. The huge terrace is ideal for sundowners overlooking the lake – the sun setting directly opposite the jetty. The six acres of surrounding gardens and terraces were originally designed by renowned landscape architect Thomas Hayton Mawson – the giant swing bench the only sign it’s not still something out of a Victorian novel.
Inside, the dining room makes the most of its location with double-aspect views across the lake.
Every meal we had here was first-rate. I’m still thinking about their signature black treacle and oat soda bread, served warm alongside lightly whipped, salted Cumbrian butter.
The real standout was afternoon tea.
I usually roll my eyes at this Downton-esque throwback primarily upheld to fleece American tourists. But at Langdale, it is truly something special – with every element considered. Executive chef Michael Cole has built the menu around the aforementioned Swallows and Amazons.
Naturally there are sandwiches to start – including pemmican beef with horseradish and red onion – alongside more ambitious savouries: lobster roll with sriracha hollandaise, potted shrimps on toasted homemade crumpet, and our family’s favourite, a cheddar doughnut with cheese custard and truffle.
The sweeter side brings gooseberry choux, rice pudding and jam, and ‘Titty’s marmalade tea loaf’, as well as the obligatory scones with strawberry preserve and clotted cream. They were, incidentally, the best I’ve ever had.
Just as much thought has gone into what the food is served on. Fiona May Ceramics produces hand-thrown crockery inspired by the ripples and colours of the Lakeland landscape with a brace of swallows included for good measure, while Eden Valley-based Croglin supplies bespoke wooden boards engraved with sailing motifs.
The whole thing feels charming, considered and unmistakably rooted in Cumbria.
Speaking of which, you can’t visit the Lakes without a boat trip, and none are as fine as Langdale Chase’s.
The vintage motorboat Albatros was built in 1928 in Berlin for a sea captain as his own private motor yacht, which he used mainly on the River Elbe and surrounding waterways. It’s worked its way across Europe over the years including enjoying a painstaking renovation by a Dutch shipyard. Since 2024, it has been moored in Langdale Chase’s beautiful boat house. (You can actually stay in the bedroom directly above the boathouse – complete with a William Holland copper bath overlooking the lake.)
We chugged down the lake, sipping champagne and taking in some of England’s finest views.
Of course, returning to Langdale is never a chore – especially when you pull up to the jetty in a cruiser as stylish as this.
When it’s time to turn in, you’re in for a treat. Literally – there’s a treat station in the hallway where you can grab a Tunnock’s tea cake or a bag of Haribo – just in case you need some extra energy to make it up the last flight of stairs.
Our bedroom on the top floor had the kind of views that make you consider selling up and moving to Cumbria full time.
The bedrooms are pure class – even the doors are as thick as a bank safe ensuring privacy and quiet. They’re a treasure of textures: toe-curlingly plush carpet, a deep basket-weave sofa and chunky wool beanbags. Even the wallpaper looks woven. It all adds up to a very homely place you don’t want to leave.It’s difficult to do justice to a location as beautiful as Windermere. Langdale Chase manages it.
Just ask Katherine. She’s decided our daughter needs to get married here. I can now see why her parents never brought her.
Mark Hedley
See more at langdalechase.co.uk
