There’s no shortage of luxury hotels up in the Lake District, but after another year calmly collecting awards for its shelves, The Gilpin is edging its way into the lead.
Now named the third-best boutique hotel in the entire UK, the intimate hotel is home to plenty of remarkable features – spa suites built on top of natural ponds, a Michelin-star restaurant, lakeside hot tubs, a sublime setting near Lake Windermere, resident llamas and pigs, and loads more to go at.
The Gilpin is actually spread across two sites, about a mile apart.
The first is The Lake House, a traditional country house with just six bedrooms in a fairytale setting beside Knipe Tarn. It feels quintessentially Lake District.
Then a little further up the road you’ll find the larger Gilpin Hotel, home to modern and tranquil spa suites and lodges as well as cosier, more traditional hotel bedrooms.
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The Gilpin Hotel is also the proud home of SOURCE, a Michelin-star restaurant, and Gilpin Spice, a more laid-back pan-Asian restaurant (more on those later…)
The top-level customer service here begins before you’re even out of the car, with someone popping up from a cabin in the car park to direct you to your suite.
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And that’s just the beginning…
We went to see exactly what it’s like to live the life of luxury with The Gilpin.
The spa suites at The Gilpin
Inside The Gilpin’s spa suite. Credit: The Manc GroupSpa Suites at The Gilpin have their own hot tubs on the decking. Credit: The Manc GroupEach spa suite has its own treatment room inside
There’s not much that can prepare you for the sheer scale and luxury of the spa suites when you first see them with your own eyes. I could quite easily hit my daily step count just by walking back and forth, taking it all in.
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Each one has its own driveway with EV charger, and as you crunch your way up the slate path you’ll be walking alongside your own natural pond and a giant decked terrace.
The decking also hosts your own private hot tub, so roomy you can stretch all the way out, a seating area, and views down into the woods that surround The Gilpin.
Inside to the rooms then – there’s a main living space which is half-taken-up by a spa-level bathroom (gigantic circular tub, rainfall showers, double gold sinks), the rest of the space given over to a corner sofa, kitchenette and floating fireplace. There’s a sizeable double bedroom perched directly over the pond.
And then the piece de resistance – your own in-room spa facilities. I never thought I’d be staying somewhere where I could roll out of bed, make a coffee, and stroll into a state-of-the-art sauna and steam room without setting foot outside the door, but here we are.
Halfway through our first day, we have massages in our own private treatment room without having to do the awkward shuffle back through the hotel in a robe and slippers – bliss.
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SOURCE restaurant
The world’s best bread at SOURCEWhite pork with braised spelt, chestnut and trufle at SOURCE in the Lake DistrictScallops in charcuterie sauceSOURCE restaurant at The Gilpin in the Lake DistrictA ‘tiramisu’ dessert at SOURCE
As for the on-site restaurants, The Gilpin is home to one of the Lake District’s best, the Michelin-starred SOURCE.
With head chef Ollie Bridgwater in charge of the kitchen, his team create a seasonal fine-dining menu that’s creative and impressive but remarkably laid-back.
You start your evening with a cocktail in the lounge, sinking into plushy sofas by the fireplace, before being taken into the dining room itself.
The staff are personable, approachable and relaxed, explaining each dish (and how to eat it) in plain English.
Standout dishes include their ‘gin and tonic’, a gravity-defying amuse bouche that pops in a burst of refreshing citrus in your mouth; hand-dived scallops swimming in a smoky sauce that has all the heart of an entire charcuterie board; and tiny homemade bread loaves with a glaze of fermented garlic honey.
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It’s a restaurant worth travelling for – but luckily for us it’s only a short trot back to our spa suite for a blissful sleep.
The Gilpin’s Lake House
The hydropool looks down the valley. Credit: The Manc GroupThe lakeside hot tub at The Gilpin’s Lake House. Credit: The Manc Group
After breakfast (posh rarebit and poached eggs for me) and a walk down to say hello to the hotel’s pet pot-bellied pigs (Salt, Pepper and Mustard), it was time to make our way down to The Gilpin Lake House.
It’s like stepping inside Jane Austen’s imagination. While parts of the Gilpin Hotel are bang up to date architecturally and decoratively, down at the Lake House things are far more traditional.
And while it’s a luxury hotel it’s a playful and familial one too, with animal statues standing guard in the grounds (watch out for the gorilla in the woods and the goblin by the hot tub) and each room named after a family matriarch (we stayed in Harriet).
Our bedroom has picturesque views of the hotel’s very own lake, where a small jetty holds wooden lounge chairs and a boat house watched over rowing boats for guests to use in warmer months.
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The Lake House. Credit: The Manc GroupAfternoon tea at The Lake HouseThe lounge at the Lake House. Credit: The Manc Group
The joy of the Lake House really does lie in its communal spaces. Whether it’s playing board games and browsing walls of books in the lounge or chatting over an afternoon tea in the dining room looking over Knipe Tarn, you can’t go far wrong.
You can book the leisure facilities free of charge so you have them to yourselves for an hour, which we do, spending an afternoon hopping from hot tub to indoor swimming pool to sauna, champagne in hand.
Think that all hot tubs are created equal? You couldn’t be more wrong. One of The Gilpin Lake House’s tubs is a huge hydro pool with sensational views all the way down the neighbouring valley. The other is a deep cedarwood hot tub right beside the lake, offering complete tranquillity no matter the weather.
And when you’ve had enough of floating about, the short walk around the lake is just taxing enough to justify another cocktail by the fire in the lounge.
Gilpin Spice
What an absolute gem Gilpin Spice is, serving up one of the best Asian meals I’ve had not just in the Lake District, but ever.
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The hotel’s more casual restaurant is headed up by chef Tom ‘Westy’ Westerland and a fantastic front of house team.
Dishes here span Korea, Thailand, India, Japan, China, Indonesia and more.
Westy’s fried chicken is a highlight (as you’d hope, if he’s decided to put his name to it on the menu), coated in a glaze of sticky gochujang.
There’s fall-apart slow-cooked ox cheek in a powerful rendang sauce; edamame puri that explode with flavour after you pop them whole into your mouth; and Goan-style tiger king prawns swimming in a comforting coconut sauce.
Even if the rest of The Gilpin is out of your price range (though it’s worth saving for), the Gilpin Spice alone is worth the trip up into Cumbria.
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You can find out more about The Gilpin and book your stay here.
The most magical Christmas displays have now landed at one of the North West’s best garden centres
Emily Sergeant
Christmas has officially arrived at one of the best garden centres in the North West, and it’s just as magical as you’d hope it would be.
Just outside of Greater Manchester in the village of Glazebury in Warrington, you’ll find Bents Garden and Home – a multi award-winning destination garden centre that’s often voted one of the region’s best. It’s great place to visit all year round, but as anyone who has ever made the trip there will tell you, this place really comes alive during the festive season.
Bents first started out life all the way back in 1937, when Alfred and Margaret Bent began growing and selling roses in the front garden of their terraced house in Glazebury.
Ever since then, the business has gone from strength to strength – opening its first dedicated garden centre building in the early 1950s, and then undergoing several expansions in the 60 years that followed to create the place we know and love today.
A place that’s home to everything you need to kit out your home and garden, several cafes and restaurants, a food hall, a cook shop, a children’s boutique, and plenty more.
Christmas has arrived at Bents Garden and Home for 2026 / Credit: The Manc Group
And then at Christmas time, you can also get to wander around all the magical festive displays and stop for a bite to eat at the winter food markets.
Christmas at Bents originally began in the 1970s, establishing what would become one of the garden centre’s most successful – and favourite – times of the year, with people travelling in their thousands from all across the North West to visit, making it an annual tradition in the festive events calendar for many families.
With a jaw-dropping display to suit everyone’s festive decor tastes, Christmas at Bents really does need to be seen to be believed.
Expertly decorated trees form the centrepiece of each display, with all the baubles and decorations adorning them for sale by the side for you to recreate yourself at home.
Walking around the centre, you’ll also find every type of artificial tree (both normal and pre-lit), an array of fairy lights, wreaths, and garlands, before you arrive at what is sure to be one of the best Christmas Lemax Model Village set-ups you’ve probably ever seen.
A trip to Bents is an annual festive tradition for thousands across the North West / Credit: The Manc Group
Then, once you’ve filled your basket up with all the decs you need, you have to stop off at the Winter Food Markets before you head home.
There’s a wide array of different street food options to choose from like bratwursts, giant filled Yorkshire puddings, loaded fries, nachos, mac and cheese, crepes, churros, and build-your-own crumble, before taking a pew in one of the little wooden huts and washing it all down with festive-themed hot chocolates and mulled wine.
Don’t forget to stop off at the food hall, farm shop, and deli counters to stock up on plenty of goodies there before you leave too.
Basically, if you’ve never been to Bents before, we honestly cannot recommend it enough – even more so during Christmas time.
Don’t forget to stop off at the Winter Food Markets before heading home / Credit: The Manc Group
But it is really important to note that it does get very busy here, especially on weekends and at peak times like the run up to Christmas.
So you may have to be prepared to patiently wait for parking spaces and cooperate with your fellow shoppers, as well as join queues at the cafes and restaurants, all while respecting the hard-working staff at all times.
Let’s be as respectful as possible, and make this a place where everyone can enjoy a magical festive experience in 2026.
Meet Larishka – the DJ making her mark on Manchester’s Garage scene
Emily Johnson
It’s time to meet Larishka – Audio North’s Artist of the Month for October.
For Larishka, music has always been around her in some form. Growing up surrounded by classical and rock music, she never expected her route into electronic music to begin with a Parklife set from Carl Cox, before eventually becoming a DJ, promoter, and co-owner of Manchester’s Ghosts of Garage.
Today, she runs events, DJs across House, Garage and Bass, and is helping build a community around one of Manchester’s most exciting electronic music brands.
From promoter to DJ
Larishka actually started out as a promoter while doing an apprenticeship at a music booking agency. She always knew she wanted to work on the events side rather than bookings, but felt like she wasn’t going to make many connections within the industry while living in Oldham.
Her plan was to go to university to study music, with the hope of learning to produce while also moving into Manchester and making connections within the city’s music scene.
Quite quickly into her studies, she joined Ghosts of Garage. After about a year, she had something of a lightbulb moment.
Meet Larishka, the DJ making her mark on Manchester’s Garage scene / Credit: Supplied
“I was studying music, I run my own nights, and I was always on the aux at house parties, so why have I not learned to DJ yet?” she explained.
That realisation came while she was sitting on MATTIK’s living room sofa, where she asked if he would teach her. Before long, she was calling him every day asking if they could go to the studio and practise mixing.
“I owe it to him really, he was a brilliant teacher.”
“I get it” – the Parklife moment that changed everything
Larishka’s introduction to electronic music wasn’t exactly the traditional one.
“I grew up on classical and rock music – my dad was a sound engineer in the 70s so that was his thing really, and my mum played the piano every single day so that’s what I was constantly around.”
She first heard house music when she was around 15 or 16, after a friend sent her a track they had found on SoundCloud.
“I listened to it out of my phone and didn’t really get it, it was too repetitive.”
A few years later, everything changed. After hearing Parklife from her window every year growing up, Larishka eventually went to the festival for the first time and watched Carl Cox close The Valley. He played ‘Finder’ by Ninetoes, and it was the first time she had experienced electronic music on a huge sound system.
“I remember being in absolute awe and turning to my friend and saying ‘I get it’ and from then, I was just absolutely hooked.”
It became a genuine turning point.
“I had my A Level exams that following week and when I was revising all I was listening to was house music and I remember my Dad coming in and saying ‘Is this you forever now?’ and I said ‘Yeah I think it is'”.
Larishka is Audio North’s Artist of the Month for October / Credit: Supplied
Why Manchester means so much
“I mean it’s home, and always has been.”
Having become part of the city’s music scene, she says she feels incredibly lucky to have found a community around her.
“There’s a certain camaraderie that exists here that I don’t know that you’d find anywhere else.”
For her, that sense of community is what makes Manchester’s music scene so special.
“Seeing people you know everywhere you go, you kinda feel like you’re never alone and that you’re actually part of something.”
That spirit extends beyond electronic music, too.
“And it’s not just in electronic music either, that spirit exists across all genres – Manchester music history is so rooted across such a broad spectrum of genres, and to see that still prevailing today is something we should all be proud of.”
Building Ghosts of Garage
It’s impossible to talk about Larishka’s journey without talking about Ghosts of Garage.
She’s a co-owner of the brand, having joined in 2021, and works across its marketing, bookings and creative direction alongside Rich Reason. For her, one of the biggest things that makes a Ghosts of Garage night stand out is its commitment to the music.
“The music and lineups truly never miss, which is a credit to Rich. The guy knows how to program a lineup.”
The team makes a conscious effort to champion new talent, often including at least one Manchester or UK debut on a lineup.
“A big part of each event is making them unique while keeping the brand consistent – each event has to have its own USP or else the nights get boring and people think they can just skip this one and go to the next and it’ll be the same.”
For Larishka, music has always been around her in some form / Credit: Supplied
Community is a huge part of the brand.
“We’re also big advocates of community and want to create the gap between audience and DJ as little as possible, so try to get the crowd involved as much as possible through things like our WhatsApp community.”
The aim is to make people feel like buying a ticket means becoming part of something bigger.
“We want people to feel like if you buy a ticket for our event, then you’ve unlocked a key to be part of something.”
Larishka’s advice for getting into Manchester’s music scene
For anyone hoping to break into Manchester’s music scene, Larishka’s advice is simple – go out.
“I’m way more likely to book you if we’ve met and we’ve had a good chat because it means I can put a face to a name and I know what you’re like.”
For her, being part of the community is about more than simply sending messages and asking for opportunities.
“Being an active member of the community means you’re already part of the night, so booking you to DJ just makes you even more part of it than you already are, rather than someone I’ve never met before who’s in my DMs.”
Ultimately, it comes back to the same thing that has shaped so much of Larishka’s own journey – showing up, meeting people, and becoming part of something.
Daisy Jackson -
4th February 2024 
