Please bear in mind that many of the pubs and restaurants get booked up so it would be a good idea to book in advance of your holiday to avoid disappointment.
There are loads of excellent hostelries within easy striking distance of Fold Cottage but here's a few of our favourites:
The Outgate Inn - across the field in front of the cottage, a minute's walk away, with some decent beer and good food, and which generally gets good reviews in our visitors book. Happily, it has just reopened after a period of closer and is already getting good reviews. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
The Drunken Duck, Barngates - about 2 minutes drive, or a pleasant 15 to 20 minute walk along a quiet lane from Fold Cottage. Definitely the closest venue for a splendid dinner. The food's great and they brew their own superb beer! It's so popular these days that you'd be well advised to book a table long before your holiday. Map.
The Cuckoo Brow Inn at Far Sawrey. Perfectly placed for lunch if you're having a long day's walk down the side of Windermere or through the woods to the south of Latterbarrow.
The Eltermere Inn, Elterwater - in fact a small hotel looking across Eltermere, but it has a good bar behind the reception desk with tables in front of a massive old open fireplace - great for a winter's evening. Taken over by Wheelwrights in 2017 and after a couple of poor experiences we haven't returned but maybe it's time we gave it another try. Map.
Chesters, Skelwith Bridge - a justifiably popular cafe by the side of the River Brathay. A walk through the old Kirkstone Quarries yard, up the Brathay to the waterfall and beyond through the meadows to Elterwater is an easy stroll to work off the cake. Map.
The Britannia Inn, Elterwater - probably the best pub in the Langdales, with good beer and reliably good, hearty food.
The Jumble Room, Grasmere - once one of our favourite places for dinner and we'd go more often if they changed the menu a bit more, but if you're only going once or twice a year what's to lose? Great food, good music, nice people, quirky atmosphere. Map.
... and then there's Ambleside, where you'll find a variety of pretty good restaurants - Thai, Indian, fish and chips, Italian, Lucy's, and many more.
The Lake Road Kitchen - not cheap but superb for a special night out. The trick is not to order any extras and then you won't need to 'phone the bank manager when you leave. The home made bread is to die for!
The Old Stamp House has a superb tasting menu showcasing local produce and has a well deserved Michelin star.
Hawkshead is even closer, a pleasant walk across the fields on a summer's evening, and has one or two places worth exploring. The Sun, the Red Lion and the Queen's Head are all worth a try. The food (and beer) at the Red Lion is particularly good. The Little Icecream Shop is not to be missed. Poppi Red - a bistro which has the merit of being not far away and serving good food throughout the day in a pleasant atmosphere.
Let us know if you find anywhere particularly good.