Brook House Inn, Holmrook

Eskdale has become my most often visited Lake District valley in the last two or three years, so I have, as you'd expect, visited this and the other pubs quite a lot. The beer here, in my experience, is always good and often a bit less pricey than at the Woolpack up the road. They often have a Barngates beer (brewed at the Drunken Duck outside Hawkshead): Cracker, Tag Lag or the excellent Goodhew's Dry Stout. Although the interior of the pub strikes me as being a little too food oriented (each table, made from a slice of tree trunk, has its own place mats especially designed to cope with the distorted surface), there is a pleasant sun trap at the front for those magical days of unexpected sunshine. Eskdale is a beautiful valley with high level walks not far away, but the woodland walks near the river and the nearby falls are very relaxing, with the prospect of a beer adding to their charms.