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Cedar Manor Hotel and Restaurant is situated in the heart of the Lake District in mature walled gardens dominated by a 200-year-old cedar tree. The country house was built in 1854 as a private retreat; today it provides comfortable accommodation, and tasty food in an AA Rosette restaurant.

Spend time enjoying beautiful scenery, spotting red squirrels, taking walks to Lake Windermere, or having a drink while relaxing on sofas in the lounge or bar. When you're hungry head to the cosy restaurant and feast on dishes from a seasonal á la carte menu that reflects the use of fresh local produce.

An evening meal could start with ham hock terrine, homemade chutney, and toasted brioche or green pea risotto, soft poached egg and white truffle oil, followed by wild sea bass; beef fillet accompanied by fondant potato, buttered curly kale, baby carrots, and onion marmalade, or perhaps a game suet pudding before the final surrender to a dessert of nutmeg custard tart with a stem ginger beignet and fig and honey jam.

Linthwaite House is located in the heart of England's beautiful Lake District, with a sublime hilltop setting overlooking Lake Windermere and the surrounding fells. The 2 rosette award-winning restaurant serves "modern British" food and is under the stewardship of Andy Nicholson, one of the new generation of talented young British chefs. Their cuisine features the best fresh, local produce - ample portions immaculately presented, with a fine selection of wines.

Throughout the day a selection of freshly made sandwiches and beverages are served. Afternoon tea is served between 3.30 and 5.00 p.m. At lunchtime guests can choose from their light Terrace Menu. In the evening they have a daily changing table d'hôte menu, comprising of four courses, for £50, tax and service included. This makes it difficult to include an Av Cost per Head, as it can vary widely, far less than £45 during the day, and, including wine, certainly more in the evening.

If you can't manage a full dinner they are very flexible and can offer a variation of courses from simply coffee and petits fours to canapés and a choice of one of the first courses, plus a choice of dessert or simply canapés and a choice of main courses.

Dishes on their thoroughly tempting and creative menu could commence with red mullet, chargrilled aubergine, roquette with Provence dressing; duck rillette with foie gras, puy lentil and truffle cream; goat's cheese ravioli in tomato sauce with basil oil or Caesar salad.

However, that was just to soften up your appetite, as those could be followed by turbot with creamed leeks, girolle mushrooms and chive sauce; Goosnargh duck breast, savoy cabbage, black pudding and noisette potatoes or seared escalope of salmon with chardonnay butter sauce.

And few can resist their delicious sounding desserts like caramel pannacotta; glazed lemon tart; chocolate fondant with vanilla ice-cream or mulled figs with amaretti biscuit ice-cream.

As dusk descends on Windermere's splendid environs, the convivial atmosphere at The Oakthorpe Hotel's Lamplighter Bar and Restaurant in High Street picks up pace with guests gathering for an evening of bonhomie after a day well spent. Friendly staff fosters the party spirit in an 'olde world' ambience as the well-loved aromas of traditional British food waft in to whet the appetite.

A menu that showcases local produce, especially fresh fish delivered daily from Fleetwood, offers patrons time tested culinary delights such as smoked salmon, potted shrimps, battered haddock with tartare sauce, whole Dover sole, grilled local trout and rope mussels in a wine, cream and garlic sauce. They can also choose from homemade duck liver pâté with granary bread, tortellini filled with ricotta cheese, fillet steak in a special whisky and red wine sauce and roasted rack of Cumbrian lamb with mint gravy. If spicy fare beckons, there's choice of korma, Madras and vindaloo with prawn, chicken, beef or mushroom. Unwind at leisure with a glass of Chablis or Pinot Noir, or a pint of real ale.

There are 20 acres of gardens, moors and woodland that surround this lovely hotel and it is ideally situated for someone looking for a comfortable base from which to spend time in the Lakes, confident that the inner man will be cosseted and cherished. Their restaurant holds three AA rosettes and numerous other awards which prove their competence admirably. Under head chef Russel Plowman, the cuisine is modern English with an emphasis on the finest ingredients.

A ballotine of organic salmon with horseradish and potato mousse and beetroot salad makes an interesting starting. The roasted sirloin of Cumbrian native beef bordelaise and red wine shallots to follow is excellent and the pistachio crème brûlée with vanilla ice cream is immensely appealing. The drinks list features more than 200 wines from thirteen countries with some remarkable house wines that offer great value. Owned and run by the Cunliffe family since 1987, this romantic Lakeland retreat has some luxurious accommodation if you should wish to stay.

The Samling, a jewel in the Tom Maxfield crown of companies, was built in 1780 by a Mr Edward Thorneycroft and now offers discreet comfort to the cognoscenti. With remarkable views over the surrounding Lake District this is a place where hospitality reigns supreme. The dining room, if anything, is understated but offers ample space for seven tables.

Two menus are of interest to this review, the gourmand and the dinner. The former attracts unstinted admiration and could consist of a salad of Iberico ham, pan-fried, line-caught sea bass with a tomato and red pepper bouillon and saffron potatoes. For pudding the poached figs with spicy caramel crust, yoghurt cream and spiced trails seems to strike the right note.

The slightly humbler dinner menu has the benefit of offering a wider choice, some of which are included in the gourmand menu, so presumably a question of size, and a starter could be roasted breast of quail and oven-dried grapes with sautéed wild mushrooms, followed by chargilled loin of veal with a caramelised sweetbread and woodland herb risotto.

The interestingly named redesigned tiramisu might possibly get the runaround in favour of the ginger cream with lychee sorbet and a poached nectarine.

The wine list is almost as breathtaking as the views, with seven quality house wines by the glass for £5-£6 each, and there is no doubting its global scope. Watch out for the "Something Different" section which yields some interesting scoops. The award of a Michelin Star in 2005 confirms what the cognoscenti have known for some time about The Samling.