The Inn at Whitewell

It was the TV series The Trip starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon that made The Inn at Whitewell a celebrity in its own right. The setting, an area of outstanding natural beauty, is still as bucolic as it was in the show. And the food from long-serving head chef Jamie Cadman is still more than worth the car journey.

There’s a very inviting bar which welcomes walkers and their dogs for drinks, lunch or dinner. The restaurant is more formal (no pets in here, thanks). Classically English in décor, it looks out over the River Hodder where trout and grayling are caught by fly fishers.

The fish pie is a winner – with poached haddock flaked into a deliciously creamy sauce and huge prawns, topped with mashed potato, finished under the grill with meltingly good cheddar cheese. The cheese pie’s not far behind, topped with champ potatoes and served with tender stem broccoli and hand cut chips.

For a lighter choice, seared salmon has potato gnocchi with rich tomato sauce and roast peppers on the side, perfect with a white wine sourced from on-site wine shop Bowland Forest Vintners.

Highlights from the sweet menu could include a raspberry crème brûlée, lemon meringue pie with a fruit coulis, banana cheesecake mousse and white chocolate sauce, or a rich dark chocolate and orange torte. A cup of strong arabica coffee is a fine finish.

The Inn at Whitewell is a little more than a ‘restaurant with rooms’. It’s a luxury hotel with numerous spacious bedrooms and suites, some with stand-out features such as a real fire by the bed and a key hole bath from 1888.