Unless you live in Brampton or Carlisle, Farlam Hall seems impossibly remote. But since this long-established country house hotel changed hands in 2019, millions of pounds have been spent to create a must-visit destination. Its 19 rooms and suites are crisp, comfortable and beautifully lit, and its staff would grace any London five-star — but neither will dazzle you as much as Hrishikesh Desai’s cooking. Up here, on the edge of the Pennines, where every passing winter storm seems to fell a tree, he is doing wonderful things with English ingredients and the subtle and well-judged use of spice. Never mind the Cumbrian wind — dinner here is a breath of fresh, invigorating air.
Overall score 8/10
Main photo: the sensational restaurant at scenic Farlam Hall is not to be missed
This article contains affiliate links, which may earn us revenue
Rooms and suites
Score 8/10
For a project as ambitious as this, Farlam’s colour scheme — predominantly pale blues and greys — is a little underpowered. But that’s a minor niggle. There’s no doubting the atmosphere of calm elegance they create. Nor the spaciousness of the superior and deluxe rooms, as well as its suites. Room 1 is the pick of the main house accommodation: palatial, with a high-ceiling and flooded with natural light, whose super-king sleigh bed is the perfect place for a lie-in (breakfast is served till 10.30am so there’s plenty of time). If you are bringing friends, however, the self-contained Coach House has its own kitchen and will sleep up to six. It has its own dining room too: all set for a memorable private celebration.
Food and drink
Score 9/10
Less than a year after Hrishikesh Desai, the chef-patron, joined the project, Farlam Hall has its first Michelin star. And no wonder. His fusion of Indian methods and familiar English dishes — beetroot, cod loin, beef wellington — is all the more exciting for being so subtle. His “Beetroots” is the standout dish: three different varieties of the humble root, girdled by a toasted coconut bavarois and a beetrooty variant of rasam soup from Kerala. It starts earthy, turns fiery and finishes with bright flashes of flavour from the coconut and a touch of apple chutney. Clearly, beetroot has been waiting its whole life to be served like this. Now it has, you will struggle to enjoy it any other way. Do note that children are welcome to stay overnight, and to sit down to Sunday lunch and afternoon tea, but they are not allowed to eat in the restaurant at dinner until they are nine years old.
Advertisement
• Best hotels in Yorkshire
• Best castle hotels in the UK
What else is there?
Score n/a
Desai is planning to add treatment and relaxation rooms to the hotel, but for the time being Farlam Hall is all about relaxing into a deep sense of quiet and enjoying the fruits of his team’s hard work. That starts with afternoon tea. The range of teas includes Farlam’s own blend, and they are served with the pastry chef’s latest creations. In partnership with the Hawkridge distillery, the hotel has also concocted a raspberry and cardamom gin, made with berries from its kitchen garden. Be sure, in between times, to put your feet up in the lounge, where towering windows shed light on a stately 19th-century clock that was made by Robert Stephenson. For several years in the 19th century, the locomotive he designed with his father, George — the Rocket — stood in Farlam Hall’s garden.
Where is it?
Score 8/10
Don’t scoff at the location, just outside the former mining village of Hallbankgate. Yes, you are 40 minutes’ drive from Caldbeck at the northern edge of the Lake District, but one of the most fascinating stretches of Hadrian’s wall is only seven miles away — where the fort at Birdoswald, teetering over the Irthing valley, sheltered 5th-century potentates long after the Romans left. It’s not the only north Cumbrian treat nearby. Head west for seabirds and a beach-loving herd of cows at Bowness-on-Solway. Head south for wooded riverside walks at Armathwaite — and if you go east into Northumberland you can visit the most windswept and atmospheric Roman fort of all, at Housesteads. Fishing, cycling and golf are all on offer nearby as well.
Price B&B doubles from £274
Restaurant three-course à la carte dinner menu £90
Family-friendly N
Dog-friendly Y
Accessible N
• Most beautiful places to visit in England
• Best walking holidays in the UK
Advertisement
Sign up for the Times Travel Newsletter here.