Drink in the Lakes
The Lake District is this year laying down the gauntlet to Scotland as the best place in the British Isles to make whisky. With its tumbling rivers, peaty soil and pure air, it might well give it a run for its money. Newly opened The Lakes Distillery, occupying a Victorian model farm on the edge of a lake and beneath one of the park’s highest peaks, is taking on the challenge. On daily tours, visitors are guided through the whisky-making process, drifting from the stone barn that houses custom-made copper stills to the one-time cattle shed where barrels of whisky are left to age. Tours end with an expert tasting, though it’s well worth sticking around for more palette-pleasers at the bistro – its menu devised by Michelin-starred chef Terry Laybourne. Whether you choose roasted venison loin or salmon fishcakes, be sure to end with whisky-laced truffles.
7 Picturesque Bassenthwaite Lake – the setting for a new whisky distillery