Spring is in the air - my mistake it is just a passing shower!

First off -a bit of breaking news, a few minutes ago I got an email which said simply "congratulations"! After a bit of digging I found out that we have been awarded CAMRA Branch pub of the Year for West Cumbria. It is always good to get an award, but this is a rare honor as the usual recipient is the Kirkstyle Inn at Loweswater - hard to beat such a good pub when it brews some of the best ale in the county! We are finding it hard not to have a beer from Loweswater on the bar, and when they are they dont stay long.


So now back to the title of the post, the daffodils are finally in bloom and the temperature rose above 10 C for the first time since the 20th November 2009, having said that the high fells still have deep snow lying especially on shaded slopes and the summits. The top of Scafell has had snow visible on top from the 20th December - a full 3 months, certainly ther longest period in the 12 years we have been here.

Here is Foxes Tarn just a couple of weeks ago, and below is Owain having fun in the snow

Spring may be just about here but it is still pretty cold on the tops so if you are coming up for Easter,  pack the hats and gloves. I went for a dive in Wastwater yesterday and the water temp was still only 4 C, pretty cold hands after half an hour.

Valley News :-  Congratulations to Clare on the birth of daughter Kimberley.
The Woolpack has now changed hands, Harry Berger The previous landlord of the Boot Inn is the new Owner. The pub is expected to re-open later this week.
The King George remains closed still with a for sale sign outside.
 Snow and Ice is gone from the passes so all routes into the valley are now open.
Boot Beer Festival dates are 10th-13th June 2010

Brook House in the Paper!

Just a quick post, ( two in one month seems a bit extravagant and a little wasteful, would n't want people to think I had nothing better to do.) to highlight an article written about Brook House Inn and the fact that someone persuaded me infront of the camera, which is pretty unusual. Anyway here is the link- Whitehaven News  please have a read whilst the link still works. I would like to say a big thanks to Grainne Jakobson the author and owner of Woodend Cookery near Egremont, and to Mike the photographer for the great pictures.

Cheers
Gareth

Rhinos in the Bar

First of all Happy New Year to everyone.
It is a bright sunny morning with a touch of frost up here in Boot, I was going to write about Hardknott and Birker fell roads both being open again but as it is so cold this morning I will leave that for another day!
We had our busiest night of the year so for on Thursday when the Leeds Rhinos first team came to Eskdale instead of Florida for their pre season training camp! The players were staying at the YHA and the staff were here at Brook House Inn. I hope they had a good  night I know we did, none more so than Phil Baker one of our local chefs who is a serious rugby fan. He got to meet some of his heros like Great Britain captain Jamie Peacock

and a player for whom like Phil size is not an issue - legendary Leeds and GB scrum half Rob Burrow. Rob has played 270 games for Leeds, represented Yorkshire, England and Great Britain and was in the team in 2007 for the series whitewash of  New Zealand.

The Rhinos came to the area not just because it is friendlier than Florida, sells Tim Taylors and Hawkshead Beers, and is several hours closer to Leeds, but to help promote rugby in the local schools, raise the profile of the game in Cumbria and to play Whitehaven on Sunday 24th Jan at the Whitehaven Recreation ground stadium. I am a bit split as to who to cheer for on Sunday, my daughter was born in Leeds when we lived in Otley, I've been in Cumbria for 12 years now but in my heart I'm still a Lancashire lad! maybe I should stay in the kitchen.
Anyway thanks to the Rhinos for entertaining us on Thursday and the safe return of the fox and squirrel! Good luck tommorow.

Road Conditions

Just a quick update about roads in the area. After several days with snow lying in the valley the road upto Boot is now clear of snow, a few spots of ice remain but it is passable in any type of vehicle.
Hardknott pass is closed, do not enter the valley from that direction!
The Ulpha-Birker Fell road should also be avoided, adventurous people have come over in proper 4x4's but as the snow melts there is the danger of sheet ice forming especially at night and in the mornings.
The best route into the valley is via Holmrook then Irton and on to the Bower House, this avoids the hill from Santon Bridge although it is raining at present and I expect that most low lying roads will be clear by lunchtime today.

Merry Christmas
Gareth

Seasons Greetings

Well the decorations and Santas have been in the shops for a month now so I feel happy to pass on some Christmas cheer! This week has seen the first snow of the winter only on the fells, but that is the best place for it. Monday dawned cold and clear, a trip up Scafell Pike was already organised with the possibility of a winter route. Just to be clear "winter route" to me means a grade 1 gully filled with snow not an ice smeared precipice! So I was a bit perturbed when my mate Ben turned up with a boot full of shiny climbing gear and even a spare helmet for me. Not wanting to seem rude I offered to carry the helmet and let him carry the expensive climbing gear.




It really was a great day, we were at Hollowstones at the foot of Pikes crag by about 11.30am and the sun would have been shining if it wasn't on the other side of the mountain. That is the beauty of this crag, no sun in the morning to melt the snow! With about 6 inches of snow lying and more in small drifts we chose to ascend via Long Gully, this is the obvious line up the face that can be seen from the lake and turned out to be an enjoyable easy grade 1 climb.
Looking down from the top with the temp at -5c we were glad to be up there and not diving in the lake!


Back at Brook House Inn, the decorations will be going up soon, the damson vodka is maturing nicely and New Years eve menu is finally written

New Years Eve Dinner 2009
Appetizer
--------
North Atlantic seared Scallops with cauliflower puree & pancetta foam
Goat’s cheese Rarebit with beetroot chutney
Smoked Salmon tartare with fennel crackers & red pepper salsa
Rabbit & pistachio terrine with salad leaves & piccalilli
----------
Black vodka martini sorbet
Tomato soup
----------
Halibut fillet with home smoked brown trout mousse,
lime hollandaise, garlic potato cake and wrapped greens.
Roasted partridge with an air-dried ham coat, pheasant stuffing and duck leg confit jus, celeriac potato cake and honey parsnips.
Venison medallion with girole mushrooms, balsamic berry reduction, celeriac potato cake and honey parsnips.
Lightly smoked tofu marinated in Islay malt, served on a bed of spiced red cabbage with potato and almond tarts.
----------
Clementine Syllabub with Ginger Tuille crisps & shot of orange Muscat
Mille-feuille of Chocolate cream & crème patisserie with a raspberry coulis
Egg Nog Trifle with boozy berries, Chantilly cream & toasted almonds
Maderia Poached Pear tarte tatin with vanilla ice cream & espresso syrup
----------
Cumbrian cheese board
----------
Champagne at midnight
Please arrive 7 for 7.30pm
£47.50 per person

If you would like to come please remember booking and pre-ordering is required.

On another note the King George appears to have closed its doors for the time being and the Woolpack is closed until next season. Brook House is open all day every day except Christmas Day and The Boot Inn is open from 4pm daily.

Changing Scenes

Finally I have got round to updating my photo gallery, adding some more pictures and redesigning the web pages. I have even put them on their own site at www.gareththornleyphotography.co.uk. Bit of a mouthful that address but it does what it says on the tin so to speak!
Back at Brook House more changes are afoot, with Sarah, Shaun and the boys moving out of the carpark kennels and into a house in the village. This will give the boys a bit of space to grow up in and they should sleep better when not being disturbed by cars leaving the carpark late at night!
Lots of winter jobs to be done this year, not least of which may be a new kitchen floor, if this goes ahead we will probably be closed for the best part of a week in January.

We have had a pretty hectic season, especially through September which was the busiest one yet. So I would like to say thank you for supporting us through the year and if you have stayed in this country instead of going abroard, well done, give yourself a pat on the back and please come again next year! I know it can be a bit wet sometimes and you might not get an all over tan, but that is what makes it our green and pleasant land.


Whilst I am giving thanks it would be completely unjust not to praise our wonderful staff, we have a great bunch working for us here, always ready with a smile when serving customers, and grafting hard in the kitchen to turn out so much good food, thank you one and all.

Rain, rain go away

So I have just looked back at last August and I see that this wet weather is becoming a bit of a trend, so, fingers crossed it should stop raining in about a weeks time!
I am pleased to report that the Great British public have not been put off by the inclement weather and this summer has been just about as busy as last, with the campsites packed for most of the holidays.
Owain and I once again managed a descent of the Esk in our "raft" which proved most entertaining especially to those watching from the banks of the river. The water level was higher than any previous trips and we came close to being flipped on several occasions! The water was moving so fast it was difficult to find places to stop and empty the raft, we did not hit any rocks on the way down but did have to fend off plenty of trees!

We have had 6 or 7 beers on for most of the summer with the beers from Loweswater brewery finding a place on the bar quite frequently, Loweswater Gold and LPA being most popular, but I am looking forward to trying some of their dark one which we should have on soon.

As Easter was my last post I should mention what a great success the beer festival was, we had over 40 beers on just at Brook House and not much left by Monday morning! Next year is the 10th Boot Beer Festival, it would be nice to mark it with something special, but I will be happy with the same warm weather and great customers which attended this years festival.
The beer of the festival was chosen by 2 stalwarts of the festival circuit from Preston who judged Rudgate Brewery Revel to be best.

The Roosters (great local band) played at the Festival this year and went down a treat, so we have provisionally booked them to come back in early November when we shall have a curry night with music and maybe a few extra beers (but not a winter ale festival!)

Dates will follow soon, as will Christmas and New Years Eve menus. Quiz nights are every other sunday, next one on the 6th September. Mid week breaks are available from 1st Nov please see here for details