The Lion and the Lamb

Gastropub with accommodation. We went here for a late lunch after all other eateries were found to be closed – strange for a village full of them and billed as the hub for tourists to the Western Lakes – Gosforth is always busy, is actually inside the Lake District National Park, and we were there in late summer. Nice décor – “ultra-mod”, with a large bar area and cubicles for privacy open to the pool table in the middle. Usual pub food, with generous portions, but nothing special as regards taste or being appetising. No parking nearby. OK for food if there is nowhere to go! We’ve seen worse.

The room was clean however bed was very uncomfortable as were the pillows. Room very small with a small door handle to use for hanging. No window except for a small Velux that is impossible to open. Pub below full of loud men appearing to be shouting at one and other so loud it’s as though they were in my room. Walls are paper thin can hear those adjacent to me having sexual relations and those to the side snoring. Very loud dance music being played into the early hours preventing a restful sleep. This would not be as bad if this were a weekend, however it is not and I was on a business trip. Tip - It is not the fault of the hotel, however situated next to it is a burned down shop. This must have occurred recently, however this means that there is not shop close by so take things you might have considered purchasing whilst there :)

The good points: The staff are friendly and helpful and you can see they want to do a good job. The rooms are clean, well decorated and have plenty of power points. Things that could be better: Comfier beds and pillows. Somewhere in the shower rooms to store toiletries rather than on the floor. More storage for clothes. No breakfast - just a voucher for the shop. It would be better to knock some money off the price and just say they don't provide breakfast. Things that aren't good: The food - pretty much everything is deep fried and forget it if you are veggie or just want something wholesome and healthy. One of the menu items is called Tits 'N' ****. Really? I find that pretty offensive. Noise levels - from outside with traffic and from the pub across the road, ending late at night and starting again from 4am. And from inside the hotel, again starting from early in the morning - from around 4/4.30am. And I could hear the person in the next room snoring!!! For an odd night it's ok, but I think it would be a struggle if staying frequently or for a few nights. To be honest my score would be 2 if it wasn't for the cleanliness of the rooms and friendliness of the staff, whihc can mkae up for a lot. It feels like a drinkers' pub that has rooms upstairs rather than a hotel.

Stopped for dinner. Wish we hadn’t. Food was terrible and overpriced. Chips cooked in oil well past its best. Infact, the vast majority of the food was greasy and looked like it had seen nothing but the deep fat fryer. I could go on about the sticky floors etc but I’ll just leave it as AVOID.

States there’s parking but it’s actually down the road. States there’s breakfast but it’s a voucher for budgens down the road. To be fair there is a cafe area but it was closed when we were there so got a bottle of water and fruit. Then had to go find breakfast. Also the walls were thin so heard everything including people getting up at 4am. Dogs were barking but guess you expect that with a dog friendly place. The bed was apparently a double but felt smaller.

Great friendly pub with good atmosphere. Can imagine it getting lively on a night. We just stayed for food, was lovely and the portion sizes were HUGE. Ended up taking some home in a box. Prices are extremely reasonable for the area. Friendly staff too. Forgot to take pics of the food because we were too hungry. Oh also the chips for the fish and chips were like proper chippy chips - yum.