Why not stay at Sykehouse Cottage in early October and sample the wonderful selection of beer on offer at the same time?  The Lake District has many small independent breweries and every October there’s a beer festival centring on Broughton town mini buses taking people further afield.  There are usually over 90 real ales available during the event and the pubs will be open all day.  Cumberland sausage tends to feature quite heavily in the festival as well.

Broughton’s Festival of Beer runs from Friday 4 to Sunday 6 October 2013 and includes:

The Manor Arms in Broughton’s town square which always has a great selection of local beer

The Prince of Wales, Foxfield : a pub with its own brewery

The High Cross Inn : there’ll be live music on Saturday night

and up the Duddon Valley at Seathwaite, The Newfield Inn.

More details can be found on the local website here.

Cat Nap is a favourite local ale of mine.  From Barngates Brewery, Ambleside.  They describe it as: “A straw coloured hoppy beer with a hint of grapefruit. Well balanced bitterness leads to a long dry finish. A fruity, zesty character.”