The Grasmere Gingerbread Shop

If you’ve never tasted this Lakeland speciality before, you’re in for a treat. The Grasmere Gingerbread Shop is famous for its sweet and spicy cross between a ginger biscuit and a ginger cake. Still made to the original 1854 recipe of Sarah Nelson, it’s crumbly, light and delicious (and very popular).

Other produce can be bought here, such as the shop’s own award-winning butter, ginger-themed bits and pieces, and local food heroes like Kendal Mint Cake. But it’s the gingerbread that draws in the crowds.

Once baked in the tiny Church Cottage (which is now home to the shop) and sold wrapped in parchment on a table outside, it wasn’t long before it became a full-time business with a nationwide reputation. If you’re in Grasmere, make sure you experience this viral Victorian sensation.