20th February 2020

WE make no apologies for repeating this, our perfect pancake recipe, which was widely appreciated last year. Patience is the secret to the perfect pancake recipe. But why do we eat pancakes anyway on Shrove Tuesday?  In Christian tradition, the 40 days before Easter  known as Lent mark the time that Jesus spent fasting in […]

7th February 2020

We are cool; it’s official. Well, to be honest, it’s been pretty chilly rather than cool over the last few weeks, but we’re rather pleased to see that Cumbria has made the annual Cool List. This is a judgment by the revered National Geographic magazine who’ve selected the 20 must-see destinations you should have on […]

26th January 2020

Here’s a list of the best books to start a debate in  book clubs and reading groups. The dramatic and romantic landscape of the Lakes has always inspired writers as well as artists, and we would be keen to hear what are YOUR favourites. We’ve welcomed several authors to stay with us here at Elterwater […]

6th January 2020

  The most famous outline of all the Lakeland fells will be lit up spectacularly to celebrate a rescue anniversary this spring.   The Langdale Pikes – Harrison Stickle, Pike o’ Stickle and Loft Crag – will be lit over the mountain summits by hundreds of torches to mark 50 years of the Langdale Ambleside […]

30th September 2019

Conkers, the symbol of autumn, and a great game for generations of children (and the not so young). But what else can you do with the fruits of the horse chestnut tree? There’s plenty of them around this autumn, and right now they’re just starting to fall. It’s fun to collect them, to take the […]

11th September 2019

This is not an age-related offer, but…… We know that life can get a bit more challenging as you get older. We know that the young at heart, of all ages, love coming to stay here at the hostel. They love our home cooking with a glass of wine or good local ale available, and [...]

11th September 2019

Twenty three before tea? Well, we were certainly fortified by a hostel breakfast before we set off on this challenge, inspired by Paul Tierney’s record-breaking run around all the Wainwrights. Place Elterwater at the middle of the map, take a photo, and there are 23 Wainwright tops in the rectangle. And when some fellrunners on […]

4th September 2019

A pint or two after a long day in the hills: what could be more satisfying. There are some great pubs in the Lake District and we’ve chosen our favourite five “locals” to share with you. OUR nearest is the Britannia, virtually stumbling distance away from our front gate. A traditional Lakeland inn, it’s at the [...]

26th August 2019

This week we welcomed to our ensuite room at the hostel the winners of our prize draw at this year’s Ambleside Sports, Tony and Betty Bowman. As they arrived, we suggested that we would like a snap for the blog and Tony said, if he had known, he would have brought his running kit. We thought [...]

15th July 2019

We’re looking forward to Ambleside Sports next week,  the best family day out in the Lakes, when we will see young fell runners competing for the Elterwater Independent Hostel trophies. We stepped in last year with prizes for the new “under-nines” category in the hugely popular Guides races, and we saw some fantastic performances from [...]