The Samling

The Samling is a gabled Georgian house above Lake Windermere, surrounded by a cluster of old Lakeland stone buildings and a 67-acre estate of woodland, hay meadows, kitchen gardens and ornamental water gardens. The views run south along the lake and west to the Coniston fells. The house says private house parties are what it is famous for, and it takes them whole: twelve bedrooms, suites and cottages sleep up to 24 guests, with room for a further 36 at an evening reception.

The restaurant holds a MICHELIN star. Executive Head Chef Robby Jenks cooks from the estate's greenhouse, gardens and woodland, in a dining room with floor-to-ceiling windows over Windermere and the Langdale Fells. The wine list carries three stars from The World of Fine Wine, and the sommeliers run tastings from the cellar. The Reverie, the hotel bar, is named after a Wordsworth poem written about a day in these grounds, and its terrace looks across the lake.

For a smaller party there is the Chef's Table, set opposite the kitchen for up to six and served by the head chef, with a tour of the kitchen after dinner. The Gathering, a separate private space 100 metres from the house, takes day events, and the main house has a meeting room that seats fourteen.