There’s a good reason some of the very best restaurants are in the middle of nowhere; because they have to work harder to get you there. It usually also means that you’re closer to where the food came from (you know, fields ‘n’ that), which tends to mean you’re eating the best of that product much sooner after it became destined for your plate. All good things. And sometimes it’s just nice to drive somewhere far off and not get pissed. Sometimes.
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Birtle
Bird At Birtle
The big, first-floor window at the rear of Andrew Nutter’s Bird At Birtle frames the moors – and this gastropub is an ode of sorts to its impressive, rural location.
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Preston
The Cartford Inn
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.
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Book Now Derbyshire
Fischers Baslow Hall
Fischers Baslow Hall delivers fine Michelin-starred 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.
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Cumbria
The Forest Side
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.
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Clitheroe
Freemasons at Wiswell
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.
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Book Now Cumbria
Henrock
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.
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Book Now Cumbria
L’Enclume
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.
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Aughton
Moor Hall
Mark Birchall, ex-head chef at L’Enclume, is chef-patron of Moor Hall, an outstanding, two Michelin star, five AA Rosette restaurant with rooms.
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Langho
Northcote
Northcote is where chef-patron Nigel Haworth earned his stripes as an instigator of contemporary British fine dining. Today, Michelin star chef and one of BBC2’s Great British Menu winners, Lisa Goodwin-Allen, heads up the kitchen.
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Clitheroe
Parkers Arms
The Parker’s Arms is a homely pub, serving and baking extraordinary, modern European food.
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Book Now Cumbria
Rogan & Co.
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.
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Cumbria
The Samling
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.
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Lydgate
The White Hart at Lydgate
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.
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Burnley
The White Swan at Fence
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.