The hotel/B&B that we stayed at was the Wateredge in Ambleside, which Frommer's describes as a "winning little choice". Here are some pictures: http://www.ambleside.u-k.org/adverts/wateredge/main.html.

On the day we arrived -- from London -- we were very very hungry. We were between meals at the hotel (they served breakfast, lunch and dinner to all guests every day) but they offered us some soup. Two huge bowls of creamy wild mushroom soup arrived in our room shortly thereafter. Soup was the thing to eat on this trip. I figure they do soup so well because it's soup weather all the time. Soup and tea. Our room itself was sort of overly <like that>, kind of froufrou frilly, and not in the oldest part of the building. But we were at ground level, with lakefront views and access.

The thing that really stands out about the place as a place to stay is the food. We stayed there for I think three nights, and we ate every single breakfast and dinner at the hotel. More food than we should eat, all very rich, and very delicious. Duck, lamb, fish. I think it was all very British but that British cooking has come a long way.

I'm sure this isn't helpful. I can't entirely recommend the place because like you I know there is probably better, you might have stayed in better, although I saw no flaw from the staff, to the accommodations themselves, to the setting, and of course, the food.

They had boats with little outboard motors (that's right, right? -- a little puttery thing) for guests to use so one day (or twice) we went out on the lake (Windermere, that is) and tied our boat to a dock over at Bowness, which is apparently the town where Bill and Hillary got engaged. We had lunch there, soup of course. And pints. Yes, soup and pints. A cute little town of curvy roads. We were quite taken with Ambleside and the whole area -- the stonework, the quaintness of these towns, the natural beauty of the area. One cabbie said the Texans who visit refer to the stone walls as "stone fences".

One day we played pitch n putt golf in Ambleside, which seemed a very British thing to do, me in my red Doc Marten's (procured in London), however. I do not have a talent in this area. I had to climb a wall into an adjoining cemetery at one point.

We bussed to near Castlerigg, and then walked along that very hallucinogenic path to the stone circle. I think I had something of an out-of-body experience along there. Maybe I ate something funny. When we got there, though, there was a group of <differently abled> adults picnicking in the middle of the circle. I got some really good pictures in which I don't
include any people, and it looks like I'm in the coolest, most serene place ever, because my pictures don't come with audio. The walk was the best part.

Oh, we also went to Wordsworth's home in...ahem, Cockermouth.

We took some walks in the woods, but we didn't <hike>. We didn't bring
the best footwear for it.

Marie