A walk through the hills to a great pub: the Kirkstile Inn, Lake District

The Kirkstile Inn was first documented in 1549. Then a farm, it was sold by St Bees Priory of West Cumbria after the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Today it's a pub with beamed ceilings and old fireplaces popular with locals and tourists stopping in for a meal after the walk and a pint from its own brewery.

The Inn The appeal is impressive, given that the village in which it is located, Loweswater, named after the nearby lake, is home to only a few hundred people. Away from the tourist honeypots, the western side of the Lake District is an altogether more peaceful place. spacefinder-type="model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement" class="dcr-eiqqge">

Generally speaking parking lots are not known to be good vantage points, but the view from the Kirkstile Inn is beautiful. Behind the pub - an endearing complex of white farm buildings with turmeric-coloured doors - looms the majestic Mellbreak Falls. At 512 meters, its profile almost entirely visible, Mellbreak is an elegant miniature mountain. It is not connected to any other hill; Mellbreak is alone, basking in splendid seclusion.

I left with my parents one of these days that begins with overcast skies...