The Drunken Duck Inn

The Drunken Duck Inn is a country pub in the heart of the Lake District but out of the way of the tourist hordes. Its website doesn’t give much away, but if you know, you know.

Not that it could be described as an undiscovered gem. It has a place in the Michelin Guide, plaudits from the broadsheets and, most importantly, a thumbs up from Confidential Guides.

Don’t go expecting a posh pub lunch. It’s more than that. A la carte lunch dishes include delicacies like Sicilian-style clams with lemon and mint or rabbit tacos with salsa verde.

Dinner time is a grander affair with a three-course set menu where diners can choose from options like wood pigeon, gem lettuce, pickles and spicy pumpkin seed sauce, or venison loin with polenta, purple sprouting broccoli, chard and wild garlic.

Despite the impressive food, the atmosphere is relaxed and pub-like with very locally-brewed beer coming from the attached Barngates Brewery.

There are also lovely rooms to stay over, some with patios and views over the Lakeland fells, Definitely worth a trip.