pub
The Lion and the Lamb, Gosforth — our western base for the Peak to Pub
An honest note on the Lion and the Lamb in Gosforth: a proper village pub with rooms on the western edge of the Lakes, where we based ourselves for the first days of the Lake District Peak to Pub.
When we walked the Lake District Peak to Pub in the summer of 2020, we didn’t stay in the seven pubs on the route — we based ourselves in one place and drove out to each day’s walk. For the first half of the week, Thursday to Monday, that base was the Lion and the Lamb in Gosforth.
A quick honesty note, as ever: this isn’t a recommendation so much as a record of where we stayed and what it was like. We mix it up trip to trip — tent, van, the odd pub or B&B — and pick whatever suits.
Where it is, and why it worked
Gosforth is a quiet village out on the far western edge of the Lakes, near the coast at Seascale. It doesn’t get the coach traffic of the central honeypots, and that’s part of the appeal. The Lion and the Lamb sits right on the village square — a proper local pub, refurbished a few years back, with real ales, straightforward food and free parking outside.
For the western end of the Peak to Pub it’s well placed. Wasdale, Scafell Pike and the start of the Eskdale day are all a short drive away, so the Wasdale to Eskdale leg in particular felt local. The trade-off is that the northern days — Keswick to Buttermere especially — are a fair drive over, so if you’re doing it our way with a car, expect some early starts at that end.
Worth knowing
It’s a village pub first and foremost, so evenings are sociable rather than quiet-country-retreat. We were happy with that after a day on the hill. Whenever we stop somewhere we like to put a little back into the local economy, and a few pints and meals over a long weekend is no hardship here.
Details and rooms change, so check the pub directly: thelionthelamb.co.uk.
Stayed here while walking the Lake District Peak to Pub, July–August 2020.