Langdale Chase Hotel: new wave luxury in The Lakes

IN the dining room of the Langdale Chase Hotel it is hard to switch your gaze from the gleaming expanse of Windermere laid out before you. Floor to ceiling glass is just one of the many modern refinements to an idyllically positioned pile dating back to 1890. 

He fell in love with Evgenia, née Shvelpina, who was Trotsky’s secretary, and apparently also defeated Lenin at chess

‘Sympathetically restored’ isn’t the half of it. The stained glass, dados and panelling of the Great Hall have been retained – the oak subtly lightened – but, after a yearlong refurb, the rest of the hotel is a ravishing 30s Art Deco-influenced update on the traditional Lakes hotel template.

Not that they are neglecting one timeless association. The arrival of the ‘Swallows and Amazons’ Afternoon Tea encourages us to finish our meditative Negronis (we have been comparing two different versions). Time to concentrate on this edible celebration of 50 years since the first film adaptation of Arthur Ransome’s Lakes-inspired classic published in 1930.

This eventually ran to a series of 12 novels with boats a flowing theme; the original story features the Walker children, John, Susan, Titty and Roger, staying at a farm with their mother Mary (in the film played by Virginia ‘Born Free’ McKenna). They sail a borrowed dinghy named Swallow to an uninhabited island and encounter their rivals, Nancy and Peggy Blackett, whose own vessel is Amazon. Eventually they join forces against a man they call Captain Flint and Black Jake the pirate.

The crew and cast were guests of the hotel, celebrating the 1974 production’s ‘wrap-up’ with a party there. The author, who lived in several houses in the area had been a frequent visitor after the original Manchester businessman’s country house was converted into a hotel in 1937. 

As we tuck into scones (jam first, cream second), imaginative crustless sandwiches and assorted fancies Ransome is observing our anniversary tea ritual from a corner of the room. There’s a modest shrine on the wall, etchings of boats, gouaches of lakes and the man himself, pipe clenched, along with his second wife, Evgenia.

The pair’s mortal remains are buried three miles away in Rusland churchyard between Windermere and Coniston, the lake most closely associated with Swallows and Amazons. The author took to the grave many secrets a world away from the cosy adventures of his children’s fiction. As one of the few foreign correspondents remaining in Russia during the Revolution Ransome unashamedly championed the Bolshevik cause. He fell in love with Evgenia, née Shvelpina, who was Trotsky’s secretary and apparently also defeated Lenin at chess.   All the time he was playing a more dangerous game. Papers unearthed since have suggested he might have been a spy or even a double agent.

All of which sits rather curiously with the spread before us, themed around his later career as the Guardian’s angling columnist and best-selling children’s author. The tea itself, also available to visitors, is a masterpiece. As it should be for £55 a head. Devised by exec chef Michael Cole, the menu is a nod to the culinary favourites of the novel’s author and its young protagonists. Sandwiches include smoked salmon with beetroot and cream cheese, honouring Ransome’s love of smoked fish, while pemican beef with horseradish and red onion stands in for the corned beef the Walker kids regularly indulge in. The big hit with us is the potted shrimps on crumpets.

A chocolate and marmalade fancy recalls the eclairs and marmalade sandwiches at the Pirate’s Party in the book, gooseberry choux reflects the berries picked on the their island adventures and Titty’s Bun Loaf is a homage to one of the Walker girls. Later adaptations of Swallows and Amazons renamed her Kitty and Tatty, much to Ransome’s annoyance.

He would surely have been delighted, though, with the presentation of this cream tea, the emblem of the swallow replicated on crockery made and hand-painted by local artisans.

The food and beverage side matches the quality of the hotel’s rebirth. Pre-dinner bar margaritas matched the wow factor of the Negronis, the lounge menu offers superior snacks such as lobster roll and the a la carte dinner offering revealed a kitchen punching above its two AA rosette weight. Chef Cole has firm roots in Cumbria and it shows in the quality of his sourcing. My beef fillet main came from the exemplary Deer and Dexter at Old Stoddah Farm, near Penrith. My breakfast ‘Omelette Arnold Bennett’ was a creamy smoked haddock feast made in heaven.

Langdale Chase goes local too with its toiletries, in a partnership with Cumbrian-based  natural skincare brand, Bath House. In our lodging, the Langdale Pikes Suite, a large slipper bath gave every opportunity to soak test the fragrances. Previously the Master Bedroom, this suite benefits from an octagonal turret lounge with a panorama of the gardens, lake and distant peaks. Binoculars are provided. And a balcony too. With its comfortable armchairs it’s also a perfect reading spot. Interesting, contemporary books are another bonus.

Rainy day? As if, in the Lakes. You could arrange a tasting in the wine room or take in a movie in the mini-cinema. During our stay the programme was Goodfellas and An Education (with Carey Mulligan). The bolder can take advantage of the hotel’s link-up with a local adventure specialist, offering 4×4 off-road driving and clay pigeon shooting, as well as lakeside activities including paddleboarding, wild swimming, boating and kayaking. 

Much has been made of pollution affecting Windermere, but the waters off the jetty looked clear enough. Not that we intended to take the plunge. Our exercise was a gentle saunter around the 4.5 acre gardens, originally designed by Thomas Mawson, the landscape architect behind The Hague’s Peace Palace Gardens. Internationally recognised garden designer Annie Guilfoyle has been enlisted by the new regime to revive them.

This is the only lakeside hotel garden in the area, but one drawback is the lack of further paths by the water. We crossed the busy A591 to find one which took us up into the hills in the direction of picturesque Troutbeck. Within minutes, with Windermere below us, it felt properly bucolic. After a sunny pint outside the ever-reliable Queen’s Head, we trekked back. Our own personal turret with a view awaited us.