The Sun Inn, Coniston

AFTER a relaxing day rowing on Coniston Water with Jasper (dogs are allowed on the rental boats) we decided to try The Sun Inn for a meal. And oh boy, we picked well. We’d seen the place a few times, the first being the day we climbed to the peak of the Old Man of Coniston on a three peak circular walk, as it’s right next to the footpath you take up to the Coppermines valley.

It’s a beautiful 400 year old pub with gorgeous views which actually precedes the village itself in age. The interior is just how you you’d expect and old inn to look - dark yet cosy, with agricultural tools and fox heads decorating the walls. 

We sat down on a pew opposite each other with two pints of Tag Lag, Jasper lying at our feet after a long day attempting to chase ducks while on the boat, and took a look at the menu. 

The 400 year old Sun Inn and it's warm welcome

Oh wow! Sticky toffee pudding - (which we should shorten to STP because of the amount I am probably going to mention it on Fell!) I’ll make room for that. Greg decided to go with the whitebait to start, while I had nothing (I was preparing for dessert already). 

As a seafood newbie, who hasn’t eaten a great deal of shellfish or fish in the past, but is slowly developing an appetite for it, I liked picking the odd whitebait, nicely fried crisp with a semi-battered outer, and dunking them into a tasty dill mayonnaise. Although I made sure to decapitate them first - I’m not quite at the stage where I can eat fish heads just yet! 

They were very nice though, and a generous portion arrived at the table for the price.

For the  main,  I had half a roast chicken stuffed with black pudding. Beautiful. The chicken was juicy and flaky and the black pudding complimented the flavour of the chicken. Again this was a generously sized portion and disaster struck! I realised the horrific fact that I was full! No sticky toffee pudding for me. 

Meanwhile Greg was still hungry enough to demolish his steak and ale pie with chunky chips and veg. I don't know how he does it. The pie reportedly had lovely hefty pieces of steak and a rich, stocky gravy. Needless to say, the food was fantastic, and Jasper agrees too, as he enjoyed some scraps of chicken, steak, black pudding and chips from his spot under the table - lucky dog!

The staff and other customers were very accommodating and friendly, in fact Greg got chatting to the locals at the bar for ten minutes before I got my drink! And the owner even came over to check we were having a nice time and even went to get Jasper a dog treat as soon as he’d spotted those big brown puppy eyes staring up at him. 

Fantastic service all round; we were made to feel really welcomed. Great food, great inn, great people. We will be back, to eat another glorious meal (and hopefully next time save room for dessert) or come and stay in a room for a relaxing weekend away. 

We highly recommend it - so please check it out at: http://www.thesunconiston.com

Cheers 

#TeamFell