How to Vacation Like an English Lord

In the beautiful Cumbrian countryside, you can spend the day admiring the wild flowers and bubbling streams or chatting with the friendly locals.

Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007
Leck Hall, England

Read more about the English countryside in International Living Postcards--your daily escape

Forget the Cotswolds, Cornwall, or anywhere else in England’s south. Although it rains more up here in the far northwest, it’s prettier, less crowded, and has better food.

My family rents an old stone cottage on the estate of Leck Hall, on the border of Lancashire and Cumbria. The winding driveway with parklands on either side shows the Hall in all its glory, including the coat of arms flag, which flies proudly to show the resident lord (also our landlord) is at home.

There are delightful walks around our cottage--just hop over the ancient styles on the dry-stone walls to get into the next field. In springtime, the bluebells and daffodils are in full bloom and you pass baby lambs and calves. Tiny ancient hamlets appear out of nowhere and bubbling streams play under nettle-filled banks. The locals, with their refined English accents, are always ready for a chat.

Nearby Kirkby Lonsdale is a quiet, perfect village with cobble-stoned streets. Its cafés, pubs, and specialty shops include the Lunesdale Bakery, which has superb bread and cakes and has been open since 1812, and a great cheese shop, Churchmouse Cheeses.

Visiting historic homes is common in the English countryside. You can see how the other half lives in both the past and present. Holker Hall is a neo-Elizabethan house with stunning gardens. You may catch a glimpse of Lord and Lady Cavendish promenading their hounds. The café is excellent, too, but be aware that the hall, along with many historic houses, is closed over winter, and is not open every day even in the summer.

When it starts to pour rain, we think food. Going supermarket shopping is the weekly task I loathe the most at home, but Booths supermarket makes it a treat. Booths is a chain exclusive to the northwest, and much of its produce is locally sourced, including meats, poultry, fish, vegetables, ice cream, yogurt, chocolate, biscuits, and crackers. There are 140 cheeses and 40 of those are local. Booths concentrates on organic, fair trade, bad fats, and food miles (meaning the distance between the production of the food and consumption is monitored).

One memorable evening involved the Cumberland sausage, which is rich and meaty with a hint of spices, a salad with delicious local tomatoes, and a ubiquitous English spud mash. The sun was weakly shining, the rabbits ran around, and the pheasants rustled in the bushes. We sat outside in the garden until the rain started again.

Emily Lawrence Gazal
For International Living

P.S. The house we rent in Leck Hall can be rented for seven nights for £395 ($815) in the low season or £628 ($1,296) in the high season. We rented in the shoulder season of May, which was £463 ($955). The house is advertised on the website Cottage Direct.

For more accommodations of the same style, check The Cottage Guide, where you get to liase with property owners. It has only a small number of properties, but good prices. Or try Holiday Cottages (specific to the areas in and around Lancashire). For Lake District cottages, try The Lakeland Cottage Company--but be aware that these are generally more expensive.

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