A Retrospective ....

Those of you who follow regularly will remember at the end of last year we travelled to Scotland the week before Christmas. On the way back to Wales we stopped off in the Lake District and stayed at a property once owned by Beatrix Potter, Lindeth Howe Country House Hotel.

It was another Secret Escapes deal including bed and breakfast, afternoon tea and a five course evening meal. How could we say no ....

It's in a wonderful location with views of Lake Windermere, from the higher rooms looking over the tree tops. Our room faced the car park, somewhat confirming my hunch that rooms booked on deals through these sites are not always the cream of the crop. I am confident that the best rooms are for customers paying full rack rates, and why not. This is not a criticism, just an observation to bear in mind when booking deals, you get what you pay for. Having said that, the room was lovely, it was dark when we arrived so looking at the view did not matter.

Lindeth Howe is home to Executive Head Chef Marc Guibert, the mastermind behind the worlds most expensive dessert ever made at a cool £22,000 ($35,000). It's a Faberge egg lookie likey with four different kinds of Belgian chocolate, gold leaf, champagne caviar and the piece de resistance, a two carat diamond. We didn't order that.

The food was very, very good. The atmosphere was way too grown up for us. Very formal with unspoken protocol which we immediately broke when walking into the dining room without being invited. We were swiftly ushered out to wait in the lounge to enjoy canapés and the opportunity to buy drinks and make our dining choices. We were then taken to our table in a hushed room, everyone whispering so as not to break the rules. I like to relax when on holiday and dining, obviously this was too up-market for this pleb! In summary, fur coat and no knickers, a bit pretentious and we've been there, done that, won't be going back. However, I would recommend it if you want to experience that level of formality.

This is a good look ....

Megan and Vincent

You too can look this cool if you go to see The Hobbit in IMAX 3D. Last night was our second viewing, first time in 3D. It won't be in cinemas much longer. If you have the chance and you like that kind of thing, don't miss it - be warned.

Enjoy!