A beautiful boutique hotel in the Lake District has just been named one of the top three in the UK – and it’s easy to see why.
Gilpin Hotel & Lake House, near Windermere, is one of only two properties in the north of the country to make the top 10 in the prestigious list.
The stunning hotel and spa has just 39 rooms, including its staggering spa suites, which are build on top of a natural pond with their own stone-built hot tubs on the decking.
It’s also home to two renowned restaurants – Michelin-star SOURCE, which has Ollie Bridgwater as executive chef, and Gilpin Spice.
And now the Gilpin Hotel & Lake House has landed itself in third place in the Top 50 Boutique Hotels. Quite the accolade.
ADVERTISEMENT
It’s climbed nine places since last year, and was beaten only by The Newt in Somerset and Lime Wood in Lyndhurst.
The team at the Gilpin says its new ranking in the list is down its ongoing renovations and improvements, which have included a new Spa Space at Gilpin Hotel, a Vertical Farm, more Spa Suites and the appointment of two new chefs.
ADVERTISEMENT
Hot Tub At the Lake House. Credit: Denise CreelyThe Gilpin Lake House. Credit: Ben Barden Photography Ltd. 2009
The hotel is operated by Barney and Zoë Cunliffe, who worked alongside Barney’s parents John and Christine until their deaths in 2020 and 2022 respectively.
The Top 50 Boutique Hotels is curated by and voted on by leading industry experts, hoteliers, travel writers and influencers.
Barney and Zoë said: “We are so very proud to be in this year’s list, and chuffed to bits to be so highly placed.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We’ve worked together as a family and team for 35 years to create Gilpin, and it has always been our aim to create a luxurious sanctuary – one that is filled with love and laughter, without any pretentiousness.
“We want our guests to feel at home here, to feel loved, and we hope that that is what our guests feel.
“It’s with great sadness that we can’t celebrate this award with Mum and Dad, but we know that they would be absolutely delighted. As always, we would like to say a massive thank you to Team Gilpin, who all work so hard and with incredible passion. Thank you.”
SOURCE restaurant at the Gilpin Hotel. Credit: Supplied
Gilpin Hotel & Lake House executive chef Ollie said: “Being named in a list like this gives credence to everything we have been trying to achieve at SOURCE at Gilpin Hotel over the past year, with the restaurant offering an extra dimension to the wider Gilpin experience.
“People come to Gilpin to get away from everything and when they visit SOURCE they’re looking for a sense of occasion as well as the food and wine, so we hope to live up to that ideal.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Also featuring on the Top 50 Boutique Hotels list in the north west were Another Place in Ullswater, Moor Hall in Lancashire, Hotel Gotham in Manchester, Rothay Manor in Ambleside, and The Samling Hotel in the Lake District.
The full list from 1 to 50, including special awards for food and drink and best service is available to view here.
You can find out more about Gilpin Hotel & Lake House and book a room here.
Chester Zoo opens massive ‘African savannah’, one of the UK’s largest-ever habitats
Daisy Jackson
Chester Zoo has today opened its doors and revealed a magnificent new African savannah habitat, the Heart of Africa – one of the largest in the UK.
The massive new habitat at the beloved attraction is home to dozens of African species, including giraffes, rhino, zebra, vultures and meerkats.
Chester Zoo has created a vast open savannah where guests can come across species living side-by-side, as well as new indoor habitats where you can see smaller species like never before, and habitats you can clamber inside.
The centrepiece of the Heart of Africa is the savannah, where you can see giraffes, Grevy’s zebras, roan antelopes and ostriches all roaming together across grasses and water.
As you weave around the incredible new habitat, which spans an area the size of 17 football pitches (22.5 acres), you’ll also come across several new aviaries where birds hoot, tweet and screech.
There are 31 species of bird here, including a fabulous flock of 120 greater flamingos, three types of critically endangered vulture, colourful black cheeked lovebirds, and Africa’s largest owl, the Verreaux’s eagle owl.
One of the most impressive new areas is the Hidden Savannah, where you can clamber inside a safari jeep that’s within the actual enclosure, so that you can see 10,000 locusts all around you from the driver’s seat.
This indoor habitat is also home to adorable, wrinkly little naked mole rats, who have a network of tunnels to burrow through, and other rodents like short-eared sengi and pygmy mice.
Heart of Africa at Chester Zoo, in pictures
Heart of Africa at Chester Zoo, in pictures. Credit: The Manc Group
As for the cold-blooded animals, or ectotherms, there’s Trevor the African bull frog, plus dung beetles, red spitting cobra, Ethiopian viper and pancake tortoises.
There are 15 other mammal species to encounter too, including African wild dogs, meerkats, Eastern black rhino, yellow mongoose, and dik-dik.
The Heart of Africa stands as a symbol of Chester Zoo’s continued conservation efforts across the continent, which includes combatting poaching and illegal wildlife trade.
It’s thought that the Heart of Africa will attract an additional 200,000 visitors to Chester Zoo each year while creating 30 new jobs.
Heart of Africa officially opens to visitors on Saturday 5 April – you can book zoo tickets HERE.
Two Greater Manchester towns have been named in The Sunday Times’ best places to live
Thomas Melia
Esteemed UK newspaper The Sunday Times’ has published its list of the ‘Best places to live in the UK 2025’, and it features two Greater Manchester boroughs.
Us Mancs didn’t need anymore clarification to know that where we live is incredible but we’ll always take it, especially when the compliment is coming from none other than The Sunday Times.
The publication revealed its annual guide of ‘Best places to live 2025’ which featured more than 70 different locations throughout the nation.
Although we may have been pipped to the top spot, Greater Manchester is featured not once, but twice, which is pretty impressive.
Claiming the victory this year is the market town with a name as pretty as its surroundings, Saffron Walden, which is only 15 miles from Cambridge.
The locations were ranked through a number of key categories including transport, house prices, broadband, schools and a new addition, mobile signal.
All the contributors to the full list acknowledge the obvious missing puzzle piece,food, and we know if this was factored in a few more Greater Manchester locations may have nabbed the ‘Best places to live’ honour.
The first Greater Manchester based entry is The Heatons, a hotspot nestled between the city centreand the city of Stockport, which is actually four neighbourhoods – Heaton Chapel, Mersey, Moor and Norris.
These areas are home to living history in the form of the iconic century old Savoy Cinema and lots of open green spaces.
Food may have been missed off The Sunday Times’ list but it certainly didn’t go a miss on ours.
Mossley has been named on The Sunday Times Best Places to Live list. Credit: Instagram, @ariadneexploresThe Heatons also made the list. Credit: Instagram, @fourtheheatons
The second spot which managed to grab the title of ‘Best places to live 2025’ is Mossley, a town packed to the brim with cosy cottages, blissful walks and a close-knit friendly community.
It’s not too far from Dovestone Reservoir and the Peak District National Park – when you’ve got all this greenery on your doorstep you’re bound to be in a good mood.
Our friends over in Leeds at The Hoothave lots to cheer about as Ilkley, Hebden Bridge, Easingwold and Ripon all got a mention.
You can find out the full rundown on all the spots up and down the country that have been selected as part of ‘The Sunday Times’ Best places to live for 2025′ HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
2nd December 2023 
