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1st December

Blackcombe (south-west corner of the Lake District National Park) or Ayres Rock ?

Kristina and Anna went for a little stroll! (If they went to Australia they made pretty quick time as they are back in work today)!

30th November

As you can see Lenka was dressed appropriately for putting up the Christmas Tree outside Reception.

26th November

It is snowing - not here, but in Poland ! Alice's Mother sent through the photo, which we thought we should share !

25th November

Just a little walk - Lingmoor Fell. Kristina (who took the photo), said it was just a little walk (4 hours) !

20th November

Its always worth asking ........... a couple of souffles on their way into the office!

13th November

A normally camera shy Oisin, let me take a photo of him with our silver framed certificate from the Good Hotel Guide, Editors Choice 2024, Pubs with Rooms.

12th November

Anna has been 'out and about' this morning. The first photo was taken this morning on the way into work.

The remaining photographs are taken on an early morning run for Anna !

10th November

We had a lovely postal delivery today. So pleased to have retained our two stars.

5th November

What a beautiful morning !

1st November

They multiplied !

31st October

Pumpkins galore ........................ well, just the one! With thanks to Nick and Raul (two of our fabulous chefs) who thought we should have at least one carved pumpkin !

30th October

Once again, our talented younger guests have been very busy, with varying degrees of success !

29th October

Saturday and Sunday mornings are made a little more acceptable with a little breakfast snack ! Thanks to the kitchen team.

28th October

Simon joined our FOH team a couple of weeks ago. Simon is from Budapest and has been in the UK for a few years now. His English is far better than our Hungarian !!!

23rd October

Words fail me!

22nd October

Keiran asked for a small breakfast....................... needless to say he was ignored and was even presented with a Yorkshire Pudding!

19th October

Early morning views from the Dominican Republic (two of our team have managed to have a quick break)!

17th October

We mentioned how cold it was yesterday, we think it may be colder in Canada for Kristina!

16th October

............................ it must be cold, the fires have been lit!

15th October

We have had some budding artists who have lunched wth us recently.

14th October

The 'Reception Team' were all in the same day - we just had to take a photo!

9th October

We were joined by David & Grace on the 9th September who chose The Punch Bowl for their wedding breakfast.

8th October

We do have some magical morning views (Keiran, one of the team, took this photo on the way to work).

16th september

Our lovely reception manager Jude has escaped from The Punchbowl for a couple of weeks to Egypt for a well earned break! We are all very jealous!

11th September
Some fabulous photos from two of our lovely regular guests, Mr & Mrs Siddle. We are so lucky to have this on our doorstep, Crinkle crags, Blelham Tarn and Sergeant Man.

10th September

Anna couldnt decide if it was going to remain sunny or rain - but decided to put the umbrellas up anyway!

6th September

There is nothing better than 'home grown produce'. All for the Punch Bowl kitchen (after a bit of clean of course!)

4th September

Katie managed to escape from work for a few days for a much needed break - especially as she will be heading back to Uni in a couple of weeks. She even managed to find time to take a photo or two from Blair Atholl horse trials.

3rd September

Such a beautiful day today, we popped out for a quick drink (well, one of us did!) !!

1st September

We have found our Punch Bowl lettering (although we didn't know we had lost them !).

31st August

Mr & Mrs Handley (who were celebrating significant birthdays and a significant wedding anniversary) invited all their friends to join them on a boat ride on Windermere. The theme was 'nautical' - I think they all look 'nautically-themed'!

30th August

Getting ready for our VIP guests later this evening.

27th August

Maisie (age 5) joins our list of 'youngsters with excellent drawing skills'.

26th August

On the menu tonight -

Cured Salmon, mackerel pate, mustard emulsion, pickled cucumber, Exmoor caviar
Lamb rump, fondant potato, root vegetables, baby carrots, kale

26th August

........ when it comes to volunteering to mop the floor Keiran was the first to volunteer, well to be perfectly honest, there wasn't anyone else to do it !!!

25th August

We do have some fabulous young artists join us - this week it is Elanor - aged 5.

23rd August

We are making the most of taking photos of Alice (Boris) as her last day at The Punch Bowl will be Sunday 27th August before she moves on to pastures new. Alice joins the Witherslack Group in an admin role. Their gain is our loss!

21st August

Where to sit on a sunny day?

20th August

We would like to welcome Jemma to the team. Jemma moved from Liverpool to Kendal approx 6 months ago and has been with us at The Punch Bowl for the last couple of weeks.

19th August

Despite the terrible weather Alice and her boyfriend managed to walk up Helvellyn. Apparently its Scafell Pike next week !

16th August

We do have some superb 'artists' eating with us (Tilly & Rowan).

15th August

Again, one of our younger guests (Chloe), drew a picture of herself with Claudiu.

14th August

One of our younger guests ('B') did some excellent colouring at dinner.

13th August

Mr Cornah joined us with family members to celebrate his birthday. (They were all very well behaved!)

12th August

Mr & Mrs Ramsbottom stayed with us for a night and mentioned they were 'on the lake' for the remainder of the day. They certainly look as though they were making the most of the fabulous weather we are having at the moment.

10th August

Not wanting to boast (it is day 3 now) - but we still have sunshine !!!

9th August

What a beautiful day (again) ............. thats two day in a row !

7th August

The sun has popped out - fingers crossed it stays for a while !

6th August

A day (well, a Sunday) in the life of the Reception Team ! (breakfast, lunch and dinner!)

1st August

How lovely to be joined by Sam and Dan who joined us on the first night of their honeymoon.

Having stayed with us previously and enjoyed their stays with us, one of their table names was The Punchbowl.

We hope they enjoy married life and we wish them all the very best.

31st July

How lovely to be joined again by Ali & Sara who had their wedding with us in 2010.

Ali & Sara took one of our used (to be perfectly honest it is almost falling apart!) OS maps and went for a walk via the ferry and over Claife Heights.

29th July

A very early retirement for Mr Gibson (obviously thrilled with his 'happy retirement' plate!).

28th July

Despite the weather, Tarn Hawes was looking fabulous yesterday (and only a short drive from The Punch Bowl).

25th July

Just some food !

23rd July

Sunday is one of our favourite days, not only do we have a Sunday roast (if there is any left!), but we also have cake. (We even have a cake rota!). It was coffee cake today.

17th July

On our drive to work each morning, we may be met by a pheasant / duck or possibly a sheep or an odd cow ! Kristina (who you may have seen at the PB last year) was met by a bear !

16th July

Team meeting or caught in the act!

15th July

A couple of dishes from our 'specials board' tonight:

Beef Fillet, foie gras, sautéed spinach, hollandaise, crispy potatoes
Hand-Dived Scallop, hazelnut crust, asparagus, beurre blanc sauce

13th July

What a difference a day makes - the sun has finally popped out again this morning.

11th July

We are so pleased to have received this fabulous award from the AA - 'AA Inn of the Year 2023'.

10th July

Home made bread rolls. The guys were very busy in the kitchen earlier this morning and the smell was amazing

9th July

Burratta, mixed tomatoes, basil, pine nuts, tomato essence. One of our specials for dinner.

8th July

Pat (our dessert chef) has been very busier than normal today and has made an apricot & frangipane tart - this is for our Sunday lunch menu (I also think there will be some vanilla ice cream!)

7th July

Alice otherwise known as Boris, has been baking again ! (Regrettably not for the team here!)

5th July

It is Alice's birthday today

July

We recently had a 'video shoot' for a wedding video. We 'started' at 07:00 and finished at 18:00. However it was all worthwhile as we do feel we have a fabulous video.

With a huge thanks to Brackens of Bowness, who supplied all the gorgeous flowers and Lorraine, who was our 'stylist' for the day.

Wedding Video

Staff!

Alice decided to 'borrow' my mobile and this was the end result.

Pat was really pleased with his desserts, not too sure about Alice though !!!

1st July

Char Grilled Mackerel, olive croutons, radish, cucumber confit cherry tomato and gooseberry jelly is on our Specials board this evening.

29th June

The sun has returned!

24th June

'Any port in a storm'!

23rd June

With the early morning sunshine we are so lucky to be surrounded by an array of birds all singing. BUT we didnt know which birds ! It was suggested we download an app (Merlin Bird ID) on our mobile phones (which I duly did!). We now know we are listening to a: song thrush, blue tit, black cap, green finch, bull finch, black bird, house martin and a wood pigeon.

22nd June

The sun is back !

21st June

A new addition to our lunch time menu, Chicken Schnitzel, rocket, roasted cherry tomato, pine nuts. parmesan.

20th June

We really do have some talented younger guests.

18th June

Ploughman’s Lunch, pork pie, honey roasted ham, cheddar, salad, apple, pickle - a perfect addition to our Sunday lunch menu.

12th June

Kristina, who some of you may remember her from the Christmas period, is now in Canada and still fishing ! (if the seaplane is hers, she didn't say so !).

10th June

We now have an 8oz sirloin steak on the menu.

9th June

Not too sure how long this fabulous weather will last!

8th June

We have been trying some proposed new dishes for our lunch time menu. Our favourite so far is:
Char grilled tuna, fresh mango, Asian style salad, ponzu dressing. Its a hard life on Reception !

6th June

Spring / summer flowers always look so beautiful. Lenka & Claudiu's daughter collected these from her local 'forest' and she wanted us to have them at The Punch Bowl. Duly done !

4th June

Brioche summer pudding with brioche ice cream (regrettably the ice cream was still in the freezer when I took the photo!) .............. what more can we say !

3rd June

On our 'specials board' this evening.

Mackerel, fennel & dill salad, mackerel pate, radish croutons

Rack of lamb, crushed mint Jersey royal potatoes, baby aubergine, tomato pistou, red pepper puree, olive puree

3rd June

07:00 views!

2nd June

Anna (and family) decided to go for a little walk up Mount Snowdon earlier in the week!

28th May

As I am sure some of you know (if you check out our blog), we have cake every Sunday. We had a special delivery today by Amelie - a cheeky money cake, delivered by a cheeky monkey !

I think Amelie was hoping she could eat the monkey on top of the cake - regrettably as Mum was here, she only managed the feet !

27th May

Another early morning stroll around the beautiful village of Crosthwaite

26th May

Home made strawberry jam, damson pickle and black currant jelly.

25th May

Lenka doing a little flower arranging for the outside tables.

24th May

A little stroll around the village earlier this morning.

23rd May

"Well, I was just passing". Next minute Lorraine was putting together a few outside table decorations - why not !

22nd May

............. with it being such fabulous weather, then why not have your staff tea outside. Alice and Anna making the most of the sun!

21st May

Sunday at The Punch Bowl is 'staff cake day'. Today it was Alice's turn. Before her 12 noon shift, she managed to make 2 x cakes. One is spinach cake and the other is a Kinder Country cheese cake. Both absolutely gorgeous.

21st May

One of our 'specials' for dinner. Pan Fried Sea Bass, prawn & scallop risotto, seafood sauce.

20th May

Here's hoping summer is on its way. We have some absolutely fantastic weather this morning.

9th May

After the rain comes the sun. Not always true, however today the sun has appeared again.

7th May

A rare day off together, so it was a couple of games of ten pin bowling followed by afternoon tea at the Midland Hotel, Morecambe. Needless to say Pat was beaten by both girls !

6th May

Just a normal Saturday !

5th May

To celebrate the coronation of King Charles III, we have a special cocktail this weekend "Mirk Howe Royal Cocktail"

1st May

Two of our lovely locals making the most of the gorgeous weather with a pint of Estrella sat in the beer garden.

30th April

It has been raining all morning, however as you all know, it never rains in Crosthwaite ! (I decided to add a more colourful photograph!).

29th April

Out of the kitchen today, Confit Duck Leg with sauteed potatoes, honey glazed carrots, crispy onions and duck jus.

26th April

Kristina, who popped in over the Christmas / New Year period, has now replaced the fabulous Lake District views for Banf/Canmore views (Canada). I think her Northern Light photos are stunning!

25th April

Lots of fabulous, local photographs and information can be found on the Lake District travel guide (there are quite a few photos of The Punch Bowl on their Facebook account!). Or alternatively checked out their website.

24th April

The damson trees are now in full bloom.

23rd April

Happy St. George's Day

21st April

What a fabulous day! Just had a quick walk in front of the beautiful church adjacent to the hotel. Fingers crossed we get lots more days like this.

19th April

Our new lamb dish to be included on our menu on Friday. Lamb, with asparagus, dauphinoise potatoes and minted peas.

18th April

Beautiful drive to work this morning.

17th April

Just been into the kitchen (huge mistake as I am now extremely hungry!). Just going to a table now:

Confit Duck Leg with sauteed potatoes, honey glazed carrots, crispy onions and duck jus. Cod with peas a la francaise and creamed potatoes and finally Pork Tenderloin with champ mash, spring vegetables, baby carrots and pork jus.

Sticky toffee pudding with toffee sauce and vanilla ice cream. White Chocolate Mousse with rhubarb and chantilly cream and finally one of our 'favourites', Lemon Tart with Mirk Howe damson sorbet.

17th April

Kamil and the team have been very busy in the kitchen over the last few weeks. We have a couple of new / different starters added to our menu. Beetroot salad with crispy goat’s cheese, walnuts and balsamic. Crab Salad with white crab, basil oil, heritage tomato and olive puree and finally a Ham Hock Terrine with pickled carrots and piccalilli.

(We do also have Lobster Ravioli with seafood sauce and tarragon oil on our dinner menu and following on the 'fish theme' we also have a Pan Roasted Sea Bream with saffron potatoes, confit leek and shrimp sauce.

15th April

One of the Reception Team (Anna) went for a walk to Buttermere. We are so so lucky to have this on our doorstep!

14th April

Despite the miserable weather yesterday, we spent the majority of the day bringing the sunshine in (well, with flowers), with a huge thanks to Kevin from Brackens of Bowness.

13th April

Nothing better to do on a wet Thursday morning? Just pop a couple of flowers and a bit of greenery in a jar !

12th April

One of our guests who stayed with us a few days ago, was a football commentator and usually commentated on Everton and Liverpool's home games. Anna's son is a very keen Everton fan and on check out the lovely gent said he would pop a book in the post for Anna's son ...... a signed copy of Kevin Sheedy's book 'so good I did it twice'.

9th & 10th April

With a huge thanks to Alberto, Rodney, Thora, Ember, Sienna, Alexander, Ellie, Josie, Rosie, Ellie and finally Mummy!

8th April 2023

Mia and Clarke (complete with sword and shield) joined us for dinner on Saturday evening. Their 'colouring in' was enhanced by Mia's additional drawings.

7th April 2023

We are so lucky to have a gorgeous blue sky this afternoon and the temperatures have moved into double figures (plus 12!). We hope you all have a fabulous bank holiday weekend.

7th April 2023
You are never too old to start 'colouring in'!

6th April 2023

We have had a special chocolate delivery today from our lovely guests Sue & Terry. Not too sure if there will be any left tomorrow !

5th April 2023

We are surrounded by super bakers. This time it is Magda. She made us a traditional Polish Easter cake. Absolutely gorgeous.

4th April 2023

And another couple of creative young ladies, today Heidi & Hazel joined us for lunch.

3rd April 2023

We have had some creative young guests in today, thank you to Delilah, Lena and Isaac.

2nd April 2023

............... another busy day in the kitchen and with it being a Sunday we have cake!!!

1st April 2023

We are so lucky to be able to 'sample' our new dishes. Added to the menu today:

Guinea Fowl, pomme Anna potato, black garlic aioli, spring vegetable, truffle sauce.

31st March 2023

A typical English breakfast! Black pudding sandwich - one of Magda's favourites !

30th March 2023

Spring is 'springing' - we have daffodils everywhere in the hotel.

27th March 2023

It is a lovely day for a wedding

26th March 2023

We all decided the mini egg cake was for us !. Thank you Alice - fabulous job!

25th March 2023

Sunday cake update! Alice is on Sunday-cake-baking duties tomorrow and we have a choice of cake! We have a choice to make - mini egg chocolate, chocolate & hazelnut or fruit pavlova.

25th March 2023

Early starts are all worthwhile when you are given a cooked breakfast and a cappuccino !

23rd March 2023

One of our 'specials' this evening a beautiful crab salad, with basil oil, heritage tomato and olive puree with a crouton.

19th March 2023

Happy Mother's Day to all our fabulous Customers.

18th March 2023

Several deer spotted grazing about 400 metres from The Punchbowl just behind Damson View Glamping - apparently they are regular visitors.

17th March 2023

If you haven't an umbrella and can't find anywhere to take shelter, then just jump into the boot of your car ! (This is a member of the team).

15th March 2023

Its a bit of a cold start this morning - views looking down the Lyth Valley from BIRKETT (one of our super bedrooms), by a couple of our lovely guests earlier this morning.

14th March 2023

One of our younger members of the team has recently returned from a school trip to New York

11th March 2023 - dinner time !

A couple of our specials for dinner this evening:

Fillet of beef, lime & fennel salad, teriyaki glaze
Pan Fried Halibut, orzo, crab & courgette

11th March 2023

We would like to welcome Aimee to our FOH team. Aimee joins the team for 2 x days per week, alongside her normal role as an accountant at Lake District National Park. Aimee is a "local lass", growing up in the Lyth Valley. Her hobbies include playing rugby for Kendal Ladies.

10th March 2023

We were prepared for the arctic weather conditions which had been forecast for The Lake District. Extra grit had been bought, lots of logs and coal for the fire. We even had extra food deliveries, just to be on the safe side !

***

What a difference a morning makes - suddenly the sun popped out and we had the most beautiful views behind
The Punch Bowl.

9th March 2023

We would like to welcome Richard to our FOH team. Richard will be joining the team for 2 x days per week, alongside his full time role working for Children in Crisis Care.

8th March 2023

Some of the team managed to escape to Storrs Hall for afternoon tea. Fabulous food / fabulous venue and fabulous company!

7th March 2023

Not the normal visitor to The Punch Bowl !!!

Mark (one of our lovely locals) has just returned from a 10 day holiday where he was visited by 3 quite friendly elephants!

3rd March 2023

' 111 Places to visit in Lancaster and Morecambe ' includes (on page 136) a fabulous write up on The Lyth Valley (fruitfulness of the damson scene).

26th February 2023

Sunday is 'cake day'. We have a cake rota and each member of the team either bakes a cake or pops to the local supermarket and brings in their delights on a Sunday morning. This week, it was Oisin's turn. He made a gorgeous vanilla sponge with a salted caramel filling. Top marks - 10/10.

26th February 2023

Still on a dessert theme, just popped into the kitchen and taken a photo of the Cherry Frangipane cake, which will be served with Pistachio ice cream for Sunday lunch. Here's hoping there will be some left overs !

25th February 2023

Its all about the food, well desserts today! Pat has been busy in the kitchen and just checking the lemon tart is ready to be served. We are, as always, keeping our fingers crossed there will be some left over for staff!

As you can see from the photos below, one piece did manage to 'escape'!

24th February 2023

Continuing in a drawing theme, find below some of our younger guests art work!

23rd February 2023

One of our lovely locals, David, has been doing some art work!

20th February 2023

Kristina, who popped in over the Christmas / New Year period, has now replaced the fabulous Lake District views for Banf/Canmore views (Canada).

19th February 2023

Mabel & Willow (mother and daughter) popped in for lunch today!

17th February 2023

Haddock & chips on their way out, safely delivered by Alice.

15th February 2023

We were so lucky to have been joined by Jen and Jana for their intimate wedding on the 15th February 2023. Fortunately the rain kept away and they were able to have a couple of outside photos. A lovely couple and a fabulous day.

13th February 2023

We have a Sunday cake rota - each member of the team either bakes a cake or buys one and we have with our 'staff tea'. Keiran couldn't wait until his 'turn' next week so decided to start early and brought in Peppa Pig! Needless to say, no one complained !

12th February 2023

We welcome all our 4-legged friends to The Punchbowl, today it was Tia & Sammi who popped in for coffee.

12th February 2023

We re-opened on Monday 23rd January after our 2 x week 'closure'.

We all went off on various directions in the UK / Overseas, some of us actually meeting in the airport lounge at Manchester airport! As you can see below we kept ourselves busy!

8th January 2023

On the 23rd December we had a reception FULL of boxes of chocolates and biscuits.

Alice checked out our 'secret chocolate drawer' to find these 3 x remaining chocolates (obviously no one likes the caramels) and you can see the look of dismay on her face. (What has made it even worse, is that Keiran was meant to bring in a Peppa Pig birthday cake but apparently it is still at home in the kitchen !)

7th January 2023

We may have had quite a lot of rain over the last few days (!), this does however mean we have fabulous views (photo taken behind the Punch Bowl).

2nd January 2023

It really is a beautiful morning - the rain has disappeared (for a day or so) and the sun has reappeared!

1st January 2023

Preparing for our first Sunday roast of the year !

31st December 2022

Happy New Year!

30th December 2022

Congratulations to James and Lauren. James proposed to Lauren on Wednesday 28th December and she said yes. The proposal took place just outside the church where James had arranged (weeks ago with the Reception team) for candles / fairy lights / flowers to surprise Lauren.

25th December 2022

We are ready !

24th December 2022

We thought it was scampi & chips for staff 'tea' tonight, however we were really pleased to have had a gorgeous tea prepared by our fabulous chef Kamil.............. as always, a huge thank you.

24th December 2022

Danielle, Rachel, Saffy & Louis joined us earlier today for mulled wine and mince pies (obviously the girls and not Saffy and Louis!)

23rd December 2022

Anna deciding which to open first / or will there be enough for the Christmas period?

A huge thanks to our lovely Customers!

22nd December 2022

It was great to be able to have lunch with the rest of the Punch Bowl family (couldn't fit them all in the picture). A massive thank you to Kamil and Lucasz (they cooked the turkey) and Alice (who made the dessert), Claudiu (who brought through the food) and finally Richard who brought through our desserts!

11th December 2022

We do still have snow and the views are beautiful.

10th December 2022

We were all rather surprised to 'wake-up' to the snow this morning. It did however, look beautiful!

8th December 2022

First snow! Some of our more adventurous guests have earned their dinner by walking the Fairfield Horeshoe today, even saw a bit of snow!

They returned to a well earned pint in the bar...

1st December 2022

Our online table reservation system is now up and running using Resdiary.

You can check table availability and book your table through our website.

29th November 2022

Christmas decorations 'good to go'!

11th November 2022

We would like to introduce Philip to you - our newest member of the kitchen team.

Sous Chef Philip joins us from the 'Inn on The Lake' he lives locally with his 10 year old daughter and is loving his new role. He says the best thing about working at The Punch Bowl is the whole team - and the food is fantastic and inspiring - Welcome Philip!!

7th November 2022

They are back...we have reintroduced Arran Aromatics into our rooms. Beautiful products which have been expertly crafted and manufactured on the Island of Arran.

After the Rain scent is the perfect example of fragrance excellence, we hope you enjoy using them on your next stay!

26th September 2022

We won!
We just wanted to say a big THANK YOU! to all of you who voted for us in the Cumbria Life Reader's Choice awards, we are very proud to announce we are the winners !

21st September 2022
Yet another beautiful day in sunny Crosthwaite

14th September 2022

The start of our Blog!

This week sees the arrival of our new premium lager -Angelo Poretti. It is an Italian Beer, Made for the table with its sparkling effervescence, full bodied sweetness and distinct hoppy bitterness, Angelo Poretti has a natural affinity with a wide range of foods. The lively carbonation will cut through oily foods such as fish and chips, smoked salmon, tempura prawns and lamb.

A beer which deserves its place on the dining table. We are very pleased to have it on tap at The Punch Bowl. Why not pop in for a sample?