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From the moment we arrived at The Old Vicarage we were made to feel welcome,
as were the dogs, and the warmth and generosity continued throughout our stay.
The bed and breakfast is family-run and the owners and staff are helpful and
genuinely like dogs. If you are lucky, you will catch sight of the owners' dogs among
the many which stay here.
This spacious Victorian
building is full of charm and character, it has the feel of a
country house hotel, and offers beautifully furnished and decorated en-suite rooms,
all varying in size, style and their views. There are newer, modern rooms, as well
as more traditional ones. Each is equipped with a mini-fridge, TV, video recorder
and DVD and CD player. Our room was in the newer part of the building and was
larger than many we have stayed in, with plenty of room for two dogs to
stretch out. The bathroom, which would not have been out of place in a top-class hotel, had a spacious, walk-in shower and whirlpool bath,
bliss after a long day walking the fells and doing agility. As if that wasn't enough,
there is an indoor swimming pool,
sauna and hot tub. It is tough writing
these reviews......
The B and B has a large lounge with an open fire, a piano and a small snooker table.
Free Wi-Fi is available in the public rooms
(if you really want to keep in touch with work!)
 The breakfast room overlooks the garden and hills
beyond, and the conservatory leads out onto the
rooftop terrace,
which has magnificent views of the fells. Here you can sit and read or just take in the wonderful views.
Quiet, peaceful wooded grounds surround the house and guests
have free parking
- a real bonus in Ambleside.
The Old Vicarage overlooks Rothay Park (just a couple of minutes' walk away)
which is surrounded by dramatic landscape and is a gateway to some of the most
beautiful fells in the Lake District. In addition, it is planned to be part of the intended Cumbrian Cycleway, which is currently being developed.
There are many walks which can be taken from Ambleside, from short,
easy ones to longer, more strenuous ones - you can leave the car behind as you
walk straight out onto the fells or along the lake shore of Windermere.
Ambleside is a terrific base for walking, cycling and many other activities and
the evening entertainment options in the town are many. We spent more than one enjoyable night with friends at Zeffirellis, where the food is wonderful and the jazz equally so.
Cumbria is enormously rich in wildlife and has a tremendous variety of habitats.
It has more SSSI's than any other English county and the greatest area of land
under SSSI notification. There are a number of Nature Reserves in Cumbria and the Lake District Osprey Project at Bassenthwaite Lake is a
partnership between the Forestry Commission, Lake District National Park
and Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
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