Short break: Linthwaite House Hotel, Bowness-on-Windermere

“Have you travelled far?” asked the nice lady on reception at Linthwaite House Hotel. “Oh, around seven minutes,” I replied. I could have walked. We all laughed. A good start.

There is a lot to be said for the mini break around the corner. You get all the benefits that come with a change of scenery and a step out of the daily routine, however short your stay.

There is no public transport hassle, no queuing and if you forget something you can nip back home and grab it.

As well as leaving the household chores behind, the towels are fluffier and someone else makes your bed. Best of all for anyone who does most of the cooking at home is, of course, that you choose breakfast and dinner and someone else makes it for you.

Linthwaite House Hotel. (Image: Linthwaite House Hotel)

The old adage ‘a change is as good as a rest’ was obviously written by someone who had been on a mini break.

I had arrived alone since my partner was still at work, which felt even more decadent. After being shown to my room – large; cream and coffee colours, with lovely views of the garden – I unpacked. It took all of five minutes, another benefit of a short break; made myself a cuppa, sat in a chair and picked up my book. This is unheard of at home. The pre-packed Walker’s shortbread fell short of expectations – some home baked cookies would seem more fitting – so I saved myself for dinner.

My partner arrived having had a slightly more stressful day than me, so I made him a drink. He sat in the other chair. We looked out of the window at the beautifully kept grounds. This is unheard of at home.

Linthwaite House has a certain vibe about it, it’s called escapism. In summer the gardens are lush and full of colour, rhododendrons, acers and other things that grow well here with a backdrop of fir, beech, Scots pine. And yet, it feels exotic. The mild temperature, dampness left by a short shower, the sun returning, and you could be in South Africa or New Zealand.

A bedroom at Linthwaite House Hotel (Image: Linthwaite House Hotel)

Its elevated position above the lake with the far fells in your sightline gives it an other worldliness that is so far removed from the bustle of Bowness down below. They call it a ‘hilltop hideaway’ which it most definitely is. At times I had to remind myself that I wasn’t abroad, and home was just down the road.

With time to enjoy the large, luxury bathroom, soon it was time for dinner. We began with drinks in the lounge. This is where the hotel’s South African ownership by Leeu Collection is indulged in the most.

Company founder Analjit Singh is of Indian heritage but began a love affair with South Africa when he first visited for the football World Cup in 2010. An international entrepreneur, his vision for hospitality is framed in architecture, landscape and design and filled with art, food and wine. It is all at Linthwaite House from sculpture in the garden that surprises, to paintings and eclectic pieces inside that make you smile.

The first part of the lounge with its open fire, textured walls, comfy sofa and wooden side tables has the feel of a private home before eyes are drawn to the conservatory and the views beyond. Here the furniture moves to the light with blue leather sofas, amber seats with their backs upholstered in African style fabrics.

The lounge at Linthwaite House Hotel (Image: Linthwaite House Hotel)

Sitting here, an Oriental Flavour cocktail of Opihr gin, Lillet rosé and elderflower cordial seemed like the ideal blend of spice route and English garden with a dash of French fizz to get us started.

I had eaten at Linthwaite House a few times before, all memorable for very different reasons. The least said about the fish dish that came with half the ingredients missing and resembling something that might be served in an old folks’ home the better. The executive chef at the time was drafted in from Italy. They should have pulled from the talent already here, but it was in the early days of the Leeu Collection having bought and renovated the hotel, so we can forgive them.

A subsequent visit would have not needed to be much better to be a significant improvement but, being a special dinner to mark the 20th anniversary of L’Enclume with Simon Rogan himself in the kitchen, the level was stratospherically higher.

This latest visit promised to be exciting. With the hotel restaurant now under the wing of the Rogan group and established as Henrock five years ago, the arrival of a new chef had us full of anticipation.

Ham Hock and Truffle Cauliflower Cheese from the daytime menu (Image: Linthwaite House Hotel)

The dining room has changed little since the renovation was completed, at least in my memory. With rich gold seating, dark wood tables and splashes of bright blue, it is smart and sophisticated without being stuffy, with the emphasis on comfort. Large bay windows overlook the grounds.

Leigh was our principal waitress, ably abetted by colleagues, all of whom had that signature Rogan style of friendly approachability without ever being over familiar; charming chat timed to perfection before they move on. (Nicola Tickle at Heft is brilliant at it too.) I also love the almost imperceptible way Rogan staff swoop in to relieve colleagues of any dishes while they chat at table, genius.

So, service and surroundings ticked. Time for food. We were having new head chef Marm McCabe’s one-week-old tasting menu. More on how it was developed later, but, with a glass of La Del Terreno Ninja de Las Ulvas, proceedings opened with Fermented squash, leek top XO, Ragstone and truffle custard. The mere mention of squash can trigger a yawn, but this was in a little tart and had texture and a deep savouriness.

With Courgette Takoyaki topped with furikake – my partner had the duck leg version and loved it – we had left South Africa and were heading east.

Roasted Pumpkin (Image: Linthwaite House Hotel)

Next Brassica shoots, koji hollandaise, pickled magnolia and pumpkin seed was as pretty as it sounds, and clever too, smoky greens tamed by the subtle saltiness of koji and the pickle. Skill at elevating straightforward ingredients like purple sprouting broccoli with sophisticated flavour enhancement was already becoming clear.

The next dish was one of favourites: a comforting bowl of chewy grains with good bite, foraged nettles, pungent Ticklemore goat’s cheese, pepper dulse and an acidic hit from pickled cucumber. A mini milk loaf sprinkled with seaweed powder sat alongside.

Pepper dulse is sometimes called the ‘truffle of the sea’ reflecting its rarefied flavour more than anything since it isn’t as eye wateringly expensive as the fungi. It grows on rocks and is jam packed with nutrients and chefs love it for its mustard-garlic hit.

It beckoned in the fish course, Houghton Springs trout – said to be the must sustainable in the UK – cooked skin-side down over fire, with creamy, smoked whey, turnip and lemon verbena.

My pescatarian version of the tasting menu brought the treat of dry aged Cornish monkfish next, a favourite fish of mine and taken to another level with its rich honey spiced glaze. What got me especially excited, however, was the Jerusalem artichoke, a much-underused vegetable in my view. People are probably put off by not knowing how to cook it, and Mark offered three options: roasted, pureed and crisps.

The meat-eater was delighted with his venison, celeriac and mountain pepper leaf, another superfood, Mark wasn’t just feeding us, he was adding years to us too.

Five courses in and I was feeling pretty satisfied with both the food – not least the substantial bread that came with the monkfish – and the £95 per head menu’s value for money.

Pre-dessert was chrysanthemum sorbet and beeswax cream topped with chewy bee pollen, an ingredient I recently acquired a taste for after buying a jar at Levens Kitchen (though it’s not cheap). It, too, is very good for you. I was beginning to feel nutritionally nurtured.

The bar and conservatory at Linthwaite House Hotel (Image: Linthwaite House Hotel)

All good chefs want to leave you with something memorable and Mark achieved that with a dessert that had ‘signature dish’ written all over it. He is rightly proud of Blackened beetroot, woodruff ice cream and candied pinecones encased in shards of meringue. It represents endeavour, more of a culinary assignment. Beetroot is cooked at 60C for six weeks – yes, really – to achieve a rich, earthy sweetness while a few days after our meal I bumped into him as he was setting off to forage more baby pinecones.

For something so small they pack a flavour punch, so definitely worth the effort and emphasizes dedication to his craft.

We finished with mixed berry jellies with rose geranium, shiso candied parsnip and flowering currant madeleine but they barely registered as we continued to interrogate that dessert, a special end to a memorable meal.

The next morning, after a good night’s sleep and a walk around the grounds to the tarn where parent ducks were corralling their offspring, we returned for breakfast.

The bar at Linthwaite House Hotel (Image: Linthwaite House Hotel)

Gerald van der Walt is the hotel’s resident head chef and at that time was alone in the kitchen. The breakfast menu is a masterpiece, apparently modest but on close examination offers everything you could want to start your day: fruit several ways, pastries, yoghurt with a choice of toppings and cereal; an eight ingredient Linthwaite Full English, ham and eggs, smashed avocado on toast, eggs fried, poached, scrambled or boiled, locally smoked salmon, porridge or pancakes. After the previous evening’s dinner, I opted for fresh pink grapefruit following by porridge with whisky-soaked raisins, my partner for the works.

We had been at Linthwaite House for less than 20 hours yet felt all the benefits that come with being fed, watered and thoroughly spoiled. You can do more of course: arrive in time for lunch selected from Gerald’s all-day dining menu or book a room with a hot tub on your own private terrace.

Room with a view of the garden at Linthwaite House Hotel (Image: Linthwaite House Hotel)