Warwick Hall is a great base from which to visit a host of attractions, including Hadrian’s Wall, the Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery, Dalemain House and Lowther Castle & Gardens.

Any driving north on the M6 for the Lake District or Scotland tends to breathe a sigh of relief when the ‘Wrenaissance’ Ashton Memorial at Lancaster hoves into view. There is then the welcome prospect of a pit stop at the bustling Tebay farm shop and a road that becomes less populated by the mile. But what if the weary traveller fancies a break to visit Ruskin’s house at Brantwood, the fells of Wordsworth and Shelley or Beatrix Potter’s Hill Top house near Windermere? Warwick Hall, two miles off the motorway at Carlisle, provides the perfect answer. This splendid mansion has 10 en-suite bedrooms, a well-stocked drinks tray in the drawing room and tranquil garden views over the parkland and River Eden.

 

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Dogs are welcome throughout the house (Warwick Hall’s owners Val and Nick Marriner have a friendly labrador and working pointer of their own) and can stay in guests’ rooms for a small fee of £15 per night. In addition, there are two miles of level river walks, fishing on the Eden, a fine walled garden and oystercatchers for company. Sheep and lambs graze in the parkland beyond. Val and Nick Marriner came to live at Warwick Hall in 1998. They were attracted not just to the neo-Georgian mansion (rebuilt after a fire in 1936) but to the 260- acre estate of woodland, farmland and two miles of trout and salmon fishing. The banks are carefully tended, making access to the river a pleasure on the two beats: Top Beat and Park Beat. They are said to be the most productive on the Eden with a decent chance of catching salmon, brown trout or grayling, according to the season. There are two comfortable fishing huts and a good tearoom in the village for takeaway sandwiches and soup. Nearby is The Queens pub, serving cask ales and an excellent lunch.

lunch on the terrace

Nick Marriner has established a regarded shoot a short walk from the front door of Warwick Hall and would-be guns can enquire about taking a let day to shoot either here or at nearby estates, such as Castlesteads with its 100- to 150-bird days. Marriner’s own shoot is challenging for all the right reasons, with birds coming off game crops behind lofty escarpments. “The shoot offers high birds and is perfect for shooting parties that want to stay in the house and have complete privacy on the estate,” says Val Marriner. It is also possible to take Warwick Hall in its entirety for special celebrations: a milestone wedding anniversary, birthday or the like.

The New Room, the largest bedroom at Warwick hall

Not only does this beautiful spot exude a timeless tranquillity and informal comfort but it is well equipped for the 21st century. There is an electric-vehicle charger in the driveway (£15 per night) and a conventional petrol station (avoiding the exorbitant motorway charges) half a mile away in the village of Warwick-on-Eden. My large, spacious bedroom boasted double-aspect windows looking over the river, and there was not only a bath but a walk-in shower. This particular room affords views of the ‘Otterstone’, an ancient boulder marking the most northerly boundary of the ancient Forest of Bowland.

The charming Garden Suite

Dining at Warwick Hall commences with drinks in the firelit drawing room at 7pm. It was here I met Val Marriner, who took me (and her dogs) for a walk around the gardens where magnolias and rhododendrons were in glorious bloom. The front garden has a wonderful show of roses and the bow of the River Eden below completes a sylvan scene. Dinner is at 7.30pm but guests who may be held up on the motorway can ring to say if they are going to be late and will be accommodated accordingly.

“We pride ourselves on the best of British cuisine, taking advantage of the wonderful food resources available here in Cumbria,” Val Marriner told me. And so it was to be: gravadlax, succulent chicken fillets and home-made apple crumble. Often on the menu are Cumbrian lamb raised on the local fells, fresh vegetables from the house or nearby farms, and fish freshly caught just off the coast at Maryport. The wine list is small but appropriate. I opted for a decent French white Burgundy at £37. Breakfast is of the same homely and appetising menu, featuring black pudding and Cumberland sausage.

A selection of fresh produce in grown in the grounds

“We hope you’ll find our menus interesting and in the best tradition of British dinner-party cuisine,” Val Marriner had said. It, and my stay, were certainly that: reminiscent for both the traveller and countryman of a ‘home from home’.

Warwick Hall, Warwick-on-Eden, Carlisle, Cumbria CA4 8PG.

Double rooms with B&B from £165 for two people.

GOOD FOR:

• SPORT ON OFFER
• OVERNIGHT PIT STOPS WHEN HEADING NORTH
• DOG FRIENDLY

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