AS a child, I was taken mountain climbing. Don’t get me wrong: I loved it. But the strenuous nature of virtually every family visit to the Lake District perhaps blinded me to the idea that you can have a wonderful holiday in Cumbria’s stunning National Park without coming away completely exhausted.

Bowness-on-Windermere offers endless opportunities to take afternoon tea, devour top-class ice cream on the lakeside and, the first destination for my wife and I on our three-night stay, The World Of Beatrix Potter attraction.

My wife Sarah, ever the child at heart, was as happy as Peter Rabbit, with unrestricted access to Mr McGregor’s garden. Centrally located and open all year round, it’s well worth a visit – particularly if the legendary Lake District rain sets in.

Our ultimate destination was Fallbarrow Park, a large holiday and leisure park brilliantly situated between the lake and Bowness town centre and offering a fantastic range of accommodation, entertainment and facilities for families of all ages.

Sarah and I stayed in a twobedroom lodge. Through an entrance lobby area, there was an open plan kitchendining- living area boasting a good space for hosting guests, a well-equipped kitchen including dishwasher and luxurious lounge space with television, DVD player and sound system.

French doors opened onto a raised, fenced-off terrace, complete with picnic table.

Clearly, careful thinking had gone into using the site’s slopes, contours and greenery to give every guest a valuable sense of privacy and quiet.

There was a double bedroom, with en-suite facilities and dressing room, a second twin bedroom and a separate bathroom. Four adults could holiday quite comfortably.

One of Fallbarrow’s biggest fans is Dragons’ Den star and Darlington-based businessman Duncan Bannatyne.

He has visited since the late 1980s, including on almost a dozen occasions last year and recently bought a Wessex Deckhouse lodge.

The Dragon’s top tips for things to do while visiting Fallbarrow are: take a boat out on Windermere and visit the lake’s many islands, soak up the lake views from the jetties, breakfast at Fallbarrow’s deli, take a walk along to Bowness and buy fresh meat from the local butcher and cook up a meal for family and friends.

Sarah and I took his advice on point one, enjoying a lovely cruise to Lakeside, at Windermere’s southern tip, where it was my turn to become a child again, as I sucked in the steam and hummed ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ as we chugged along the heritage Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway.

At other times, we welcomed visiting family members to join us for a few hours’ walking up to Orrest Head, which offers outstanding “value for money” when the lake views promised are compared with the climbing required.

For a British weekend in mid-April, the weather was surprisingly good. Not all stay-long – our visit to Damson Day, an annual event celebrating the plum fruit held at a nearby farm, was sadly curtailed by heavy rain – but at least long enough for us to enjoy our Saturday morning hike.

One of, if not the, highlight of our visit was a Sunday evening visit to Bowness’s Porto restaurant – again, a favourite of Mr Bannatyne.

Porto promises “a more refined dining experience” and certainly does not disappoint.

One of the more enjoyable parts of my job is visiting restaurants, pubs and other such places in the Durham area for the purpose of Eating Out reviews.

I can honestly say that in the six years I have been carrying this heavy burden, I have never been anywhere to compare with Porto. It was outstanding. Everything we chose is worth trying but make sure you order, as my chocolate-loving wife did, the ‘Egg and Soldiers’ – three hollowed-out egg shells filled with dark chocolate mousse, Bailey’s Tiramisu and white chocolate and raspberry ripple, served with shortbread ‘soldiers’.

Back at Fallbarrow, there is plenty to keep guests entertained without leaving site.

The bar sells good, reasonably- priced meals, the deli is a perfect place for a late morning coffee or more and the shop is well stocked with everything you would need for a family holiday.

All in all, a wonderful weekend – and not a blister in sight.

Travel facts

  • The five-star Fallbarrow Park is one of nine holiday and leisure parks owned by South Lakeland Parks in the Lake District and Lancashire. Short breaks in a lodge at Fallbarrow Park start from £457 this June and caravan breaks from £246. New luxury lodges are currently priced from £299,995 and new caravans from £74,995. Visit slparks.co.uk or call (01539) 897143 for more details.

 

  • Porto Restaurant, 3 Ash Street, Bowness-on-Windermere, is open Monday to Sunday, 6pm until late and Friday to Sunday between noon and 2pm. Visit porto-restaurant.co.uk or call (01539) 448242.