Coledale Inn, Keswick

Situated high up in the village of Braithwaite, the Coledale Inn feels more like a hotel with a bar and restaurant. From the central corridor, there are rooms to both the left and the right. I chose the main room to the right-hand side. This room had some impressive candelabra with large surrounds. The decor was fairly stylish. With quite a few different staff around, it didn't take me long to get served. Great Corby Blonde is the regular ale. Guest beers were Bowness Bay Swift Best & Theakston Force Crag, a mild that was probably one of their other beers re-badged. Theakston Pale was available on keg, with cider options being Inch's or Strongbow Dark Fruits. Wifi was available and whilst I was the only customer in the main room, there were a couple of Scottish customers with their dog in the other room who had ordered food. Menus could be found on each table, including a light bite menu with 5 items, such as steak & ale pie or beer battered haddock, priced at £13.95. There was also a menu of hot and cold sandwiches and a board on the wall listing vegetarian specials. It was only when I visited the toilets that I got to see the other room off to the left-hand side of the entrance corridor. It is a smaller room, but felt much more like a traditional bar. The bar itself features some lovely carved wood. To the front, there is quite a large garden area with picnic tables affording nice views. A stay here will set you back a minimum of £127 per night, according to posters in the toilets. However, of the two places I visited in Braithwaite, this was easily the better and deserved of its posting in the Good Beer Guide.

Possibly my favourite pub in a week's worth of the Inn Way to the Lake District. At the end of a beautful mountain route from Barrow Door, it sits in an elevate position over the village with stunning views. The Yates Bitter was absolutely first class. An unforgettable afternoon blogged at http://bit.ly/2rrGzDd

Perched on a hill above the village, the view is surprisingly not as good as might be expected. Take the road towards Whinlatter Pass and turn left just as it leaves the back of the village, winding up hill to the car park in front of the pub. There are two bars, a lounge and dining room to the right, a rather nice public bar to the left. In the latter, three hand pumps had local Yates Bitter and Cumberland Corby Blonde. The bar is a recent installation, with crude hand carving (reminiscent of misericords) in blackened wood reputedly recycled from a snooker table. Seating - benches and low stools - is upholstered in crimson throughout. There's a high arch through to the front part of the room, with a bay window, disconcertingly below ground level, looking across the car park to the small garden. On the walls are some great engravings of Lake District scenery, and some old photos of the village. On the sound system: some R&B at a tolerable level.

Official site of the Coledale Inn, contains menu, wine list and some beer details - www.coledale-inn.co.uk

Official site of the Coledale Inn, contains menu, wine list and some beer details - www.coledale-inn.co.uk