The Cavendish Arms is the oldest inn in Cartmel, a sixteenth-century coaching house on the main street that has been run as a proper village pub for a very long time — and which happens to stand directly beside one of the three or four best restaurants in Britain. It is dog-friendly, unpretentious, and about as central as Cartmel gets.
Quick Facts
Cartmel is a genuinely odd and rather wonderful village: a few hundred people, a priory the size of a small cathedral, a racecourse in the fields, and — since 2022 — three Michelin stars at L'Enclume next door, with a fourth at Rogan & Co up the street. The Cavendish Arms predates all of it by four centuries and carries on being a pub, which is the correct response.
It is also the sensible base if you want one very good dinner and four ordinary ones. Book L'Enclume months ahead; eat here the rest of the time.
Founded around 1190 and saved from the Dissolution because part of it was the parish church — the villagers argued they could not lose their church, and won. The monastic buildings went, the great church stayed, and it is still in use today. Free, open, and with a fifteenth-century east window worth the walk on its own. Ask about the misericords under the choir stalls.
Cartmel Racecourse runs a handful of National Hunt meetings through the summer, and the whole village turns out. If your stay coincides, go — and book everything else well ahead, because the place fills. Holker Hall, a short drive away, has award-winning gardens, a fine Victorian interior and one of the largest lime trees in Britain. We run tours there.
Our scheduled tours depart Windermere station, Bowness Pier 1 and Ambleside library — around forty minutes north. Oxenholme, for our full-day tours, is a similar run. From Cartmel a private day collected at the door is generally the easier arrangement.
The grand sweep: ten lakes, the high passes between them, and an Ullswater Steamers cruise exclusive to this tour. If a celebration stay deserves one great day out, this is it.
See dates & bookCollected at the door, your party only, the day shaped to you — literary landscapes, hidden valleys, or simply the most beautiful roads we know. Well-behaved dogs are welcome aboard in our vehicle crates.
Enquire about a private dayDove Cottage at Grasmere — entry included as standard — and the valleys that made the poems, with Dora's Field carpeted gold in daffodil season. The right literary day for this most Georgian of addresses.
See dates & bookAcross the lake to Hill Top and Near Sawrey, with our illustration-matching walk through the village lanes — back for a long lakeside lunch.
See dates & bookThe afternoon version crosses the lake by boat rather than by road — worth choosing if you'd like the crossing itself to be part of the day.
See dates & bookA slow hall morning, then eight lakes and their valleys at a seven-seat pace — the most civilised way to spend a Lakeland afternoon.
See dates & bookThe same eight lakes as the afternoon tour, run the opposite way round in the morning — ideal if you'd rather keep your afternoon free for the lawns.
See dates & bookA full literary day east to Haworth — the Parsonage, the cobbled village, and the moors that gave Wuthering Heights its weather, newly magnetic with the recent film. Oxenholme pickup available.
See dates & bookInto the Dales for Grassington's "Darrowby", the Wensleydale Creamery, Kilnsey Crag and Bolton Abbey — filming locations brought to life around you with live scene technology.
See dates & bookFrom Cartmel a private day saves the drive north entirely — collected at the door, no departure time, and the route shaped around your party. It also means nobody has to think about driving home after dinner. Well-behaved dogs are welcome aboard, travelling safely in our vehicle crates.
Not sure which route suits your plans, or want a day built entirely from scratch — a family reunion, a wedding anniversary, scattering ashes somewhere that mattered? Tell us what you have in mind and we'll design a day around it — see our guide to celebrating a special occasion for ideas, or get in touch directly.
It is the oldest inn in Cartmel, occupying a sixteenth-century coaching house on the main street.
Effectively next door. It holds three Michelin stars and books months ahead, so reserve well before you travel.
Yes. Well-behaved dogs are also welcome on our private tours, travelling safely in our vehicle crates.
Windermere station, Bowness Pier 1 and Ambleside library, around forty minutes north. On private tours we can collect you at the door.
We are an independent local tour operator. This guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by The Cavendish Arms.