Sykehouse Cottage

A beautiful C17th Holiday Cottage in the Lake District

Author Archives: vanessarigg


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Broughton Village Bakery

Wonderful display of breads, pastries and cakes at the Broughton Village Bakery

Wonderful display of breads, pastries and cakes at the Broughton Village Bakery

When Shaun & Christina Bryant took over the bakery in October 2011, the whole of Broughton held their breath.  The previous owners, Lara and Darren, had made such a good job of running the bakery and cafe that it quickly became a tourist and local favourite.  Broughton is a small town and each business is important to the welfare of the local economy so when we learnt that they were novices at the game, well, there were a lot of raised eyebrows.

We needn’t have worried.

They have just appeared in ITV’s “Britain’s Best Bakery” winning both the Lake District and the Northern Regional final.  How fantastic is that?

What’s more, it is open at 9am every day except Monday so you can walk down Church Street and have a lovely coffee and croissant for breakfast …

My personal favourite to take home is their Cheese and Herb Plait – great toasted then spread with butter and Marmite.


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Ulverston’s WalkFest 2013

Eric Robson and Alfred Wainwright, photographed by Richard Else

Eric Robson (left) and Alfred Wainwright (right), photographed by Richard Else

Why not stay at Sykehouse Cottage and enjoy Ulverston’s WalkFest 2013?

This is a lovely ten day festival of walks and evening events that celebrate the cultural and historical aspects of Ulverston.  This year’s festival take place between Saturday April 27th until Monday May 6th 2013.  Walks include “In the Footsteps of the Quakers”, “Walks for Wheels”, nature walks, and map reading skill practice.

A highlight of WalkFest will be Wainwright Redefined, a talk by Eric Robson, Chair of Radio 4’s Gardeners Question Time.  The writer and broadcaster who is also the chairman of the Wainwright Society, hopes to dispel some myths about Alfred Wainwright, the creator of the famous “Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells”.

 This will take place at the Coronation Hall Supper Room in Ulverston, on Saturday 27th April at 7.30pm.  Tickets are available from the Coronation Hall box office.


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Morecambe Bay Potted Shrimps

Morecambe Bay Potted Shrimps

There are certain foods that really remind me of the Lake District.  One of them has to be Morecambe Bay Potted Shrimps.  Small brown nuggets of joy encased in a spicy butter – spread them on hot toast or eat with thin crackers: a perfect Lakeland snack.  You can buy them already prepared from the grocer’s in Broughton or try making them yourselves.  Felicity Cloake’s excellent column How to Make the Perfect …. in the Guardian gives an excellent history and recipe.