The best restaurants… in the middle of nowhere

This historic coaching house serves adventurous British pub food in poetic configurations. The cooking at The Cartford Inn is by mushroom forager and head chef Chris Bury whose CV includes the Fat Duck and Claridges.

Fischers Baslow Hall delivers fine dining with local foraged aspects in homely, romantic surrounds. Using the fruits of the region when everyone else was importing from abroad, Fischers stuck to its guns and now does it arguably better than anyone else in Derbyshire.

Michelin-starred restaurant and hotel The Forest Side, owned by Lakes hotelier Andrew Wildsmith, is built on the foundations of the cooking of former L’Enclume forager, Kevin Tickle.

Cooking goes from strength to strength at the Freemasons at Wiswell in Lancashire’s Ribble Valley. Roaring fires, cast-iron fireplaces and pictures of fantastically proportioned livestock lend a cosy vibe to the renovated cottages which make up what’s been described as the original gastropub.

Opened in 2019, Henrock is part of Simon Rogan’s family of fine dining restaurants – set within Linthwaite House Hotel in the fells above Windermere. Here you’ll find seasonal ingredients, inspired by flavours and techniques discovered on the team’s travels around the world.

L’Enclume is Simon Rogan’s three Michelin-starred restaurant located in the Lake District village of Cartmel, which is widely regarded as one of the UK’s leading dining destinations. The restaurant is situated in a former 13th-century blacksmith’s workshop.

Mark Birchall, ex-head chef at L’Enclume, is chef-patron of Moor Hall, an outstanding, three Michelin star, five AA Rosette restaurant with rooms.

Great British Menu winner Lisa Goodwin-Allen was at the helm at Northcote for a long time, until she announced her departure in March 2025. Simon Ulph has now taken over as head chef. He worked alongside Lisa and has extensive experience in several Michelin star establishments so a smooth transition is predicted.

The Parker’s Arms is a homely pub, serving and baking extraordinary, modern European food.

Situated in an atmospheric 14th-century building beside the pretty River Eea in Cartmel, Rogan & Co is the home of Simon Rogan’s Michelin-starred neighbourhood restaurant.

The Samling is a delightful lodge and fine-dining restaurant oozing exclusivity. A favourite of Hollywood celebs (like Tom Cruise), it’s easy to see why this charming collection of restored farm cottages is thriving.

The White Hart at Lydgate is a rustic dining pub with an excellent reputation and wine list. Located 700 feet above sea level, where Saddleworth Moor starts, the restaurant is in an impressive former coaching house, and it’s a place for all: there’s a restaurant and brasserie with two AA rosettes, a pub, function areas and a boutique hotel.

Some folk in the village still refer to The White Swan at Fence as The Mucky Duck and you can still order a pint of Timothy Taylor’s at its very pubby bar. But over recent years The Swan has established itself as a destination fine-dining spot thanks to young chef Tom Parker from up the road in Burnley.