The North Lakes Hotel, conveniently located just off the M6 at Penrith, looks out over the Lake District, offering a comfortable staging post for passing travellers, or an ideal place to go for the rather different night out if you are staying locally. The Martindale Restaurant takes its name from the remote valley that snakes into the hills on the south side of Ullswater, where wild deer, ponies and spectacular birds of prey have their homes.

The restaurant makes the most of the robust Cumbrian approach to food, without in any way lacking finesse. Start dinner with the Cumbrian Hors d'Oeuvres selection, an array of salmon, fresh prawns, herring, cured meats, terrines and salads. Starters of fresh crab bisque with garlic mayonnaise, gruyere and croutons, or Thornby Moor goat's cheese stumpies, served with rocket and sweet chilli dipping sauce. Local produce features widely, as evidenced by Cranston's traditional Cumberland sausage served on mash with onion sauce and apple chutney, or pan-fried fillet of Fellside beef with blue Swaledale cheese and wrapped in bacon with a port wine sauce and thick cut chips.

It would be unreasonable not to find some of the famous sticky toffee pudding with hot butterscotch sauce, perhaps with a side order of Thwaite's "smoothie" ice cream made with the assistance of the local ale.

Though this is a modern building the attention to creating some pretty authentic antiquity is impressive and the hunting lodge feel is never far away. I enjoyed the friendliness, the very local feel and certainly the quality of cooking offered by Mike Haddow and his brigade.