Eat and drink · Modern British
The Old Stamp House
Church Street, Ambleside
Michelin Star
Ryan Blackburn's Michelin-starred restaurant in Wordsworth's former office serves creative modern British food with a Cumbrian soul. The tasting menu is outstanding value, and the Lakeland ingredients shine.
Nearby
Lake Road Kitchen
Nordic, Ambleside££££
James Cross's small, fiercely independent Ambleside restaurant holds a Michelin star for tasting menus of five, eight or twelve servings, built on Lakeland produce with Nordic and Japanese influences. Cross cooked at Noma before opening here in 2014.
Zeffirellis
Vegetarian Italian, Ambleside, dogs welcome££££
Vegetarian Italian cinema-restaurant hybrid that has been an Ambleside landmark for decades. The pizzas are excellent.
Dodds Restaurant
Modern British, Ambleside££££
A relaxed, long-running Italian restaurant on Rydal Road in Ambleside, serving lunch and dinner with a takeaway menu too.
Walks nearby
Hard · 11.6 km · 602 m up
Wansfell Pike and Troutbeck from Ambleside
About 3 hours 30 minutes
Ambleside's own fell: past Stock Ghyll Force to Wansfell Pike, down Nanny Lane to Troutbeck, home through Skelghyll Woods and Jenkin Crag.
Hard · 19.5 km · 1018 m up
The Fairfield Horseshoe from Ambleside
About 5 hours 30 minutes
One of the great Lakeland rounds: from Ambleside up Nab Scar and over eight tops around the Rydal valley, with Fairfield's summit at the head.
Moderate · 10.2 km · 413 m up
Loughrigg Fell from Ambleside
About 2 hours 30 minutes
Ambleside's own fell: over the knobbly top of Loughrigg, along Loughrigg Terrace above Grasmere, past Rydal Cave and home by the River Rothay.