Jenny Needham and her husband make a return visit to hotel where they spent their honeymoon – and find it much more relaxing this time round.

THE Lake District is simply stunning. No wonder it draws tourists from all over the world. But this can also be its downfall.

Hit Ambleside on a sunny summer holiday afternoon and the crowds can be maddening. Even the hills can be far too alive with the sound of chattering walkers.

One option is to take your chances with the unpredictable weather and go off season. You might get lucky.

We went on a mid-October week, before the half-term families descended, and on a crystal clear, sunshiney day stood atop Whinfell Pike admiring this poetic part of Britain without its usual cagoul-clad crowds.

The late summer sun softened the colours of the countryside and the trees were ablaze before shedding their autumn glory. Far below lay the white houses of Ambleside, our destination.

We had taken the route directly uphill from Troutbeck, where we were staying, and after a snack in a bustling, but not overcrowded Ambleside, decided the day was too lovely to take the bus back and set off uphill again back to Troutbeck. This time, though, we stopped halfway up and skirted the hillside to be rewarded with one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen.

A little footsore and muscle-weary, we popped into the Queen’s Head, one of the two excellent pubs in Troutbeck, before booking into Broadoaks, a country house hotel. We’d been invited by the owners to stay a night to review the place: what they didn’t know was that 18 years previously we had been there for our honeymoon, and it was a bit of a disaster.

We had married in mid-January and booked in for two nights. Our son had been born in the October so was packed up along with all the bag and baggage babies need at that age. We were a bit hungover after the wedding do; the baby had a tummy bug.

I thought a spell in the whirlpool bath might do us both good; he vomited over me. Not a good start.

At dinner that night, we were the only guests in a cold dining room.

The owner seemed to feel a bit in need of company and chattered to us throughout the meal. I think maybe he’d forgotten we were on honeymoon and simply wanted to whisper sweet nothings to each other.

Then there was the weather, which was unremittingly ghastly. A sleety rain came down like stair rods the whole time we were there. It was so good to get home...

Eighteen years on, things have definitely improved. For one thing, the baby is now out earning his own money, so we had only ourselves to worry about.

Broadoaks was taken over by the current owner Tracey Robinson in 2007, and Jo Harbottle came on board as co-owner this year. Since then, it has undergone a lot of redecoration and restoration. The dining room was warm and welcoming – as were the staff – the bar next door was beautifully decorated with tasteful feature wallpaper, and while the decor in our bedroom wasn’t to my taste – a bit heavy on the reds and golds – the bed was huge and very comfortable.

The whirlpool baths are still there, and while I’m not a huge fan, I can absolutely see why they are excellent for guests who have been tramping the hills around Troutbeck for hours on end. After a hot, pummelling bath, perfumed by toiletries from the Bath Store, in Ambleside, all the aches and pains of the day disappeared.

Pre-dinnner drinks were taken in the Music Room, and this is the part of the hotel I remembered and liked best from our first stay. After being built in 1836 as a holiday retreat for a wealthy military gentleman, Broadoaks was sold to Charles and Fanny Hodges, a doctor and his wife, who gave the building a new lease of life by building the Music Room in 1905. It was designed by William Morris and has a vaulted barrel ceiling for better acoustics and delicate Arts and Crafts plaster relief. The original Bechstein piano bought by the Hodges is still in residence. With a roaring fire and comfortable sofas, it is a lovely place to relax.

The food this time around was excellent, and the dining room was full.

The three-course supper can be ordered with matching wines, and included dishes such as carpaccio of tuna with nicoise salad, rack of Lakeland lamb, with fine beans wrapped in ham and rosemary jus and buttermilk panacotta, with shortbread, raspberry sorbet and sherbet. All simply delicious, as was breakfast next morning.

And the night itself? How did that compare with our honeymoon stay?

I think that should remain a secret between me and my husband. We do have a soft spot for Broadoaks, though, and have made a promise to return in another 18 years, though whether we’ll still be able to stride up to the top of Whinfell Pike remains to be seen.

• Broadoaks Country House, Bridge Lane, Troutbeck, Windermere, Cumbria LA23 1LA.

Tel: 01539-445566. broadoakscountryhouse.co.uk