The Drunken Duck has all the hallmarks of a classic Lakeland inn – stone walls, crackling fires and just eleven rooms – but the kitchen is what stands out. The menu shifts with the seasons, yet comforting favourites like cider-braised rabbit pudding or braised steak with caramelised shallots and thyme mash remain reason enough to take the scenic route home.

If the period details, wallpapers and fringed cushions across its 23 individually styled rooms aren’t enough to convince you to book a night or two at Rothay Manor Hotel, perhaps Rowan, the hotel’s award-winning restaurant, will. Expect seasonal dishes made with local produce, best enjoyed after a day wandering the Lakes.

As one of the smallest and shallowest lakes in the national park, Rydal Water is the perfect place for a refreshing, cold dip. It lies between the villages of Ambleside and Grasmere, tucked beneath the foothills of Loughrigg, Rydal Mount and Heron Pike. Spend the day walking the lakeside loop, visiting the former homes and viewpoint seat of poet William Wordsworth, and peeking into the man-made Rydal Cave.

Forget white-tablecloth theatrics. At Lake Road Kitchen, James Cross lets the ingredients do the talking, drawing on a career spent at Noma, Per Se and La Pergola to create tasting menus that are quietly brilliant rather than showy. You might even find yourself inspecting every hedgerow on tomorrow's walk, wondering what he would've done with it.