Hole in t' Wall • Bowness

As its name suggests, this is not an easy pub to find....

To track down this 401-year-old inn, you have to turn off down a narrow little Windermere lane called Low Side, and, at the point where it meets another narrow lane called Low Fold, look sharply to the right and keep an eye out for wooden tables.

On the outer wall, there's a mural depicting Thomas Longmire, who was in charge here from 1852 to 1862, at the same time as being champion wrestler of all England ("a quiet-looking giant", observed Charles Dickens, who drank here in 1857).

Inside, there are fireplaces, both active with flames, and dormant and rusting, in the form of ancient stoves. Some are in the ground-floor bar, others down the little staircase in the lower Smithy Bar.

Here, a large sign bears witness to the days when this part of the pub was a forge, with the words: "The blacksmith he did sweat in here, and slake his thirst with Hartley's beer".

This, it turns out, is how the pub got its name. Known originally as the New Hall Inn, it became the Hole in t'Wall thanks to the gap in the brickwork that was knocked through so that the blacksmith could be served a beer while at his anvil.

These days, of course, it's not just large men with hammers who can have a pint of Hartley's. The firm's XB bitter (4.0% abv) is a regular fixture, as are fellow ales Dizzy Blonde (a gentle 3.8%) and the slightly more urgent Unicorn (4.2%), both from Robinsons, who took over Hartley's 30 years ago.

The food is unfussy and Cumbrian. First prize for unpretentiousness goes to the tasty, fried potato "spirals" served in a large pile with tomato chutney.

This truly is a great authentic blast from the past, filled with local real ale, good banter, great food and a warm heart that other establishments only dream of owning.