2 Best Restaurants in Elterwater and the Langdales, The Lake District

At this 500-year-old pub, restaurant, and inn in the heart of superb walking country, antiques, comfortable chairs, and prints and oil paintings furnish the cozy, beamed public rooms. The hearty traditional British food—from grilled haggis with housemade plum jam to pan-seared sea bass and wild-mushroom stroganoff—is popular with locals, as are the many whiskies and ales, including a specially brewed Britannia Gold beer. The whole family can relax with a bar meal and Cumbrian ale on the terrace while taking in the village green and the rolling scenery beyond. The nine simple guest rooms (eight of which are en suite) are more modern in style, with large, comfy beds.

The National Trust now owns other pubs, but Sticklebarn was the first. With its own water supply and hydroelectric power, the pub's aim is sustainability; the kitchen uses as much produce as possible from the immediate area and makes its own gin and vodka. Most of the menu is traditional pub fare—burgers, macaroni and cheese, and lamb stew, for example—aimed at the Langdale walkers who fill the rustic, wood-beamed dining room. Tables spill out onto the terrace in sunny weather. There's also a wood-fired pizza oven.