Having a hearty breakfast when staying in the Lake District is a must, especially if you want to enjoy the beauty around you fully. One of my favourite places is The Lingholm Kitchen & Walled Garden located on the western shore of Derwentwater.
Not only is the setting so beautiful – you literally eat your breakfast looking down onto an octagonal walled garden with Skiddaw in the background. The Lingholm Kitchen & Walled Garden cafe is also dog friendly – this isn’t a restaurant scared of a little mug, and all the staff were so lovely with Falcon and he even got his own sausage with breakfast.
Breakfast is served from 9 to 11 am and the menu has a lot of variety, for meat, vegetarian and vegan eaters, with a focus on local produce. Plus you can tell that everything is homemade from the hashbrowns to the house beans, and even the sourdough, as well as the jams, marmalade and lemon curd, which FYI you can buy in the shop to take home with you.
The star of the menu has to be the Lingholm Breakfast, complete with Cumberland sausage, smoked back bacon, flat mushroom, hashbrown, black pudding, house beans, fried eggs, and sourdough toast for £12.50. Trust me this isn’t going to leave you hungry and will prepare you for the morning hike. My husband was impressed with the black pudding and sausage, as well as the house beans.
There is also an impressive vegetarian option for £11.95 with a flat mushroom, griddled halloumi, crispy kale, roasted peppers, house beans, poached eggs, hashbrowns, and sourdough toast. Seriously tasty and good to see a vegetarian alternative with actual veggies than just meat alternatives.
Breakfast options
If like me, you like to have something sweet – I can’t recommend the Eggy Bread for £11 enough. Seriously tasty with blueberry compote, Wild and Fruitful lemon curd, which you can buy in the shop, and cinnamon sugar. It is also normally served with smoked pancetta but I ask for it without. The star here is that lemon curd – it was dreamy. I was gutted they had sold out as I would have needed a jar or two of that to take home.
Other options on the menu that stood out, and I did get a little food envy, was the Avocado Toast for £8.50, which is vegan, served with organic Rye toast, Wild & Fruitful tomato & chilli relish, rocket, and toasted pumpkin seeds. Plus, you can add on poached eggs, smoked bacon, halloumi or mushrooms for an additional fee.
They also do breakfast sandwiches if you are looking for something a little smaller – choose from Cumberland sausage, smoked bacon, or mushroom, halloumi and rocket. Or try the Eggs Hollandaise, with free-range eggs served on house-baked organic sourdough muffins with spinach and hollandaise for £7.50. You can also add smoked bacon, hot smoked haddock, halloumi or mushroom for an additional fee.
I loved everything about breakfast at The Lingholm Kitchen from the food, which was delicious to the hot chocolate, and fresh juices, to the view and relaxed atmosphere. The staff are also lovely. If you are heading this way in the Lake District make sure to stop by. I also saw a lot of walkers stocking up on lunch essentials as well after they’d eaten breakfast – apparently, the sausage rolls are amazing.
Things to note if planning a visit to The Lingholm Kitchen & Walled Garden
The cafe doesn’t take bookings for breakfast or lunch, even if you are staying on the Estate, so be prepared that you might have to wait, as this is a very popular place. For breakfast, I would advise you to arrive early. You can only book Afternoon Tea, which is definitely worth a visit – see my review here.
It is also cashless – so don’t forget your card or set up Google Pay on your mobile before you go.
The Lingholm Estate has also changed its parking to pay & display. If you are going to the cafe and buy food you will receive a refund of £4, so the parking is only a £1. Just don’t lose your ticket.
Before you head off, take a walk around the Octagonal walled garden, which sits on the same spot as the old Lingholm Kitchen gardens which Beatrix Potter credited as her inspiration for Mr McGregor’s garden in ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’. It has been wonderfully constructed using more than 75,000 reclaimed red bricks and I can imagine in the summer it is brimming with vegetables.
The Lingholm Kitchen & Walled Garden, Portinscale, Keswick, Cumbria, CA12 5TZ
