The Brown Horse (Winster)

Located on a quiet country road east of Windermere, the Brown Horse Inn is a former coaching inn that has been fully renovated and is a peaceful place where diners and overnight guests can escape the crowds. The inn is not only home to its own micro-brewery, but it also has substantial vegetable gardens, meaning that both the beer and food miles are kept very low.

This pub is very popular thanks to its fantastic selection of ales, wines, and gins, as well as its delicious home cooked food. Both self-catered and bed and breakfast accommodation is available here, and the inn welcomes dogs and families with children.

Food & Drink

Inside this cosy pub you will find a traditional style bar with an open fire and exposed beams that create a relaxed atmosphere. Here you can enjoy a pint of real ale that is brewed by the pub in its very own micro-brewery, Winster Valley Brewery. The brewery creates five different ales, two lagers, and one bitter, all of which are available either via pump or in bottles. In addition, the pub serves real ale from another local brewery, Bowness Bay Brewing. For those who prefer draught beers, the bar stocks Carlsberg, San Miguel, and Guinness amongst others.

Wine

The wine list is impressive for a rural country pub with 60 varieties on offer. Twelve are available by the glass, including a delicious New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, and a warming Argentinian Malbec. For extra special occasions, the pub has a cellar reserve collection that includes a mature Gold Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Lebanon, as well as a number of Champagnes. The wine list helpfully notes which wines are vegan.

The gin list is exceptional, with well over 100 available. There are around a dozen local gins, whilst the rest are sourced from both the UK and around the world. The menu offers serving suggestions for each gin with garnishes available that include various berries, citrus fruits, and herbs.

Food

Food is served at the Brown Horse Inn three times a day. Breakfast is served between 8.30am and 9.30am every day and is open to non-residents for a set price that includes a continental buffet and a full cooked breakfast. Lunch is available daily between noon and 2.30pm (3pm at weekends) and the lunchtime menu offers a mixture of light bites, salads, burgers, and a small selection of classic main dishes.

Evening meals are available daily between 6pm and 9pm and the menu offers a range of imaginative and mouth-watering dishes, such as gnocchi with asparagus, peas, spinach, and feta, as well as classics, such as steak and kidney pudding. Children have a range of choices available and the restaurant is vegan friendly with a dedicated vegan menu, but does request that vegan dishes are ordered 24-hours in advance.

Other Features

Dogs are welcome in the bar, where there are plenty of tables available for dining. The pub has an elevated beer garden with views of the surrounding countryside.

Accommodation

The Brown Horse Inn has nine bedrooms – four of which have recently had a full refurbishment. Rooms are presented in a classic style that is sympathetic to the historic nature of the building. All rooms have en-suite bathrooms, flat screen televisions, large comfortable beds with rich fabrics, tea and coffee making facilities, and complimentary toiletries.

Wi-Fi is available but the signal can be intermittent due to the pub’s rural location. Double and king rooms are available, as well as a family room with one double and one single bed. For longer stays and for larger families, the pub has three self-catered cottages in the area that sleep between 2 and 8 people.

Map