My view of Kendal, Cumbria

This is not a pupils' page. I am a teacher at the Lakes School and don't see why I should not join in the fun and have my own page.
What follows is my personal guide to Kendal. It is not exhaustive nor is it meant to be definitive. I live in Kendal and these are the things and places about it which I think are worth mentioning.

You are welcome to comment on anything here by emailing me, Duncan Rhodes.

None of the entries have made a payment for inclusion here. They are simply here as my personal recommendations.

You may also like to see some pictures of Kendal.

Kendal lies just outside the Lake District National Park about 10 miles south of Windermere and 5 miles from Staveley.

The town was the home of Catherine Parr, the last of Henry VIII's wives. The ruins of the 12th Century castle still dominate the town.
Many of the older buildings (and increasingly some of the new houses) are built from limestone which gives rise to the town being called the 'auld grey town', though you will find very few people using that name now.
In the centre of the town is the town hall, most notable for the carillon bells which ring out a tune on every third hour from 12.00 midday, except thankfully 3.00am. Jolly pretty they sound anyway. Aside from that the towns' worthy and recommended attractions are-

Abbot Hall Art Gallery and the Museum of Lakeland Life and Industry

This is probably an essential stop on the itinerary of any visitor to the area. The Art Gallery displays many important works by the local born painter George Romney together with works by Constable, Turner, John Ruskin and Edward Lear. The rooms in Abbot Hall have been restored to how they would have looked 200 years ago. There are also changing exhibitions of contemporary art.

The Museum of Lakeland Life and Industry has a wealth of really interesting exhibits tracing the industrial and agricultural history of the area.
Abbot Hall is at the south end of town in Kirkland.
For more detail see the Abbot Hall page.

The Kendal Museum
This less visited but worthy museum is devoted to natural history and archeology. It has lots of information about the geology and animal life of the area. It is also worth visiting to see the remarkable collection of stuffed animals from all around the world. The Romans were on this area once and this museum houses some quite impressive exhibits of Roman artefacts gathered from sites around Kendal.
Opening times and admission prices for the Kendal Museum are the same as those for Abbot Hall, with the exception that the Museum is CLOSED on Sundays.
A further description of the Kendal Museum can be found on the Abbot Hall and Museums page.
It is also worth pointing out that buying an admission ticket to any of the three attractions automatically offers reduced admission to the other two.

The Castle
It is well worth the easy stroll up the hill and over the moat (which was never filled with water incidentally) in to the castle ruins. The view over the town and beyond is good. This is also free.
Carlsons Tackle shop For the angling visitor to the area, this shop is really a must visit. You will get advice on all matters piscatorial.

Walk the town
Another free and fascinating activity is just to walk around the town. The centre has many alleys, ginnels and yards which just make it an interesting place.

Eventually you will get hungry and need to eat. This, for me, is where Kendal excels. What follows is a list of recommended places to get sustenance. The list is not in any particular order at the moment.
August 2000 One of the more recent and very welcome additions to the general "food facilities" in Kendal is a bakers called Staff of Life. It is another "must visit" place. I only came across it a couple of weeks ago but I have been a regular visitor since.
We are not talking pretty pastries or fancy cakes here. We are talking bread. Real bread, proper stuff which bears no resemblance whatsoever to the mass produced things which line supermarket shelves. In the last two weeks I have enjoyed- Chocolate bread, Olive bread, 9 seed bread (which after a recount proved to be 10 seed!), pesto, pistachio and finally walnut and raisin. Every loaf a complete delight.

The bakery is owned and run by Simon Thomas and his wife Julie. They started out with a market stall but have moved on to have their own permanent place down one of the yards. Simon appears in the picture here with some of his loaves. He bakes breads based on Italian recipes, using organic flours and olive oil. Simon is a real enthusiast and will always offer you a small sample before you buy but, to be honest, just get on and buy it. Get there before lunch to get a greater choice. Better still, get there earlier and simply breathe in!
How to find the "Staff of Life" bakery- Find the glass bandstand thing at the top of the hill in the centre of town. Walk down Finkle Street about 50 metres (I'm guessing the distance), the yard you need is on your right as you see the New Shambles on your left. Loaves are usually Ł2 each and well worth the money. Ok, that's it, I am saying no more, if you visit Kendal and do not visit Staff of Life don't complain later that I didn't tell you about it!

Restaurant Deja Vu
A French restaurant, run by a Frenchman, Francois (affectionately known as The Frog) and currently my favourite spot for an evening meal out. Extremely good food and relaxed atmosphere.
One of the co-owners is the charming, attractive and talented Dave Ball, chief executive of Clear Vision Technicians. Dave is also known for his wine recommendations each month at Oddbins. What a guy. I can not recommend this place highly enough.

If you are not ready for the full evening blow out, Deja Vu also offers a reduced menu for a very good deal at lunchtimes.

The restaurant is enhanced by some very pretty window painting which adds to the continental feel. If you are in Kendal, go to it for an evening meal. The restaurant is at the north end of town at

124 Stricklandgate
Kendal
Telephone 01539 724843 Tintos
This is a fairly recent addition to nightlife in Kendal, a Tapas/Wine bar run by the same Francois as mentioned above. Therefore you may expect the food to be very good. And it is. We can also recommend the current House red. Only open in the evenings, go and treat yourself to some relly good nibbles and fine wine. The music is perhaps a bit loud for quiet conversation, but when you are in the mood for something a little more lively than a quiet drink in a pub, try Tintos.
You can find it in the Westmorland Centre, the entrance is opposite the Kendal Library, around the back of the following...

Cafe Ole
I really should get around to putting the accents on properly. Sorry.
This yet another part of the Francois empire, a brilliant little cafe offering tasty but substantial meals everyday except Sunday. Again, because it is run by Francois (and honestly we are not getting any money for these reports), the food is very very good.
An ideal place for a light lunch, or just a drink and a slice of cake.
There is absolutely no need for visitors to Kendal to have to go for lowest common denominator chain fast(?) food outlets. That is not to say that they do not exist in the town, but you just don't need them.

Cafe Ole
Westmorland Centre
Stricklandgate
Kendal

Halls Fish and Chips
Now here is a fast food outlet that IS worth the visit. The genial (and musical) Ellis Hall started a well deserved retirement about 18 months ago. The new management have made a few changes but continue the excellent job of providing locals and visitors with proper fast food. I encourage you to give them a try. The chip shop and cafe can be found at

104/106 Stricklandgate
Kendal
Telephone 01539 720433

1657
The Chocolate House. A truly remarkable place. Upstairs is the cafe where chocoholics (and the rest of us) can go in for some serious indulgence. The menu is almost entirely devoted to chocolate cakes and patisseries. As far as I understand it these are split basically into two types, those created by a chocolatier and those made by a patissiere. Whatever, you can not go wrong. Your cake can be accompanied by a chocolate drink, not simply hot chocolate, but chocolate flavoured with orange or mint or rum or with marshmallows floating on it etc. etc. AND all of these can be served hot OR cold. They also serve tea, coffee and other stuff but hey, why are you in the Chocolate House?
When you have to leave, you go down the little spiral staircase and through the shop. The shop sells chocolates. Really classy chocolates and chocolate rabbits and houses and so on and so on... Brilliant. If you have not been to 1657, go.
A little bit more difficult to find, get yourself to the Market Place where the War memorial is. (Also in the Market Place is the Doughnut Shop but in fairness to your waistline you should not visit this on the same day as 1657!!). Walk through the Market Place and on down the cobbled hill, 1657 is on your left, up some quaint old steps. Incidentally, despite all this talk of steps, they do have a side entrance to allow step free access.

54 Branthwaite Brow
Kendal
Telephone 01539 740702

Booths Supermarket
If you are here and self catering you need somewhere for food shopping. Although there are two large national supermarkets on the edge of town, this is the one I use and I live here. It may seem quite small and as supermarkets go in terms of floor area it is. However it stocks a remarkably wide range of foods, including local stuff from places such as The Village Bakery at Melmerby, Bells of Lazonby bakery and flour from The Watermill at Salkeld.
Booths is owned fairly locally in Preston and has branches around the North West. There is also one in Windermere.

45 Highgate
Kendal
Telephone 01539 723731

Farrers Coffee Shop
One of the most attractive shop fronts, unchanged for many years. The inside of the shop has not changed much either, it is one of those shops that feels nice to be in.
Farrers are coffee merchants, they import the stuff and roast it. (Coffee used to be roasted on these premises but they now have a separate place on a trading estate in town, possibly worth visiting the estate for the smell.)

You can (and I do) buy coffee beans here of many different types and have it ground to your specification. They also stock all the necessary coffee essentials, cups, cafetieres, espresso machines, grinders, chocolates to go with, as well as many different teas.
There is a popular cafe within the shop. A good place to break off from your stroll around the town. As the main road passes through Kendal it reaches the top of a hill just before the Market Place and at the top of the hill is Farrers.

13, Stricklandgate
Kendal
Telephone 01539 731707

Moving outside of Kendal for food

Two favourite places, The PunchBowl at Crosthwaite for which one of our pupils has prepared a separate page, and

Rothay Garden Hotel
....at Grasmere. Such a good place for eating out that I feel it is well worth a mention despite its distance from Kendal. In fact the Lakes School Maths department has held their annual Christmas Dinner here for the last three years. That is the trouble when you find somewhere that is this good!
It is a hotel and thus you can stay there but I have never done so therefore I can not really pass on anything useful about that. However, our head of department, Mario Hulzebus and his wife Jean HAVE stayed and they recommend it very highly. Go on, spoil yourself. And don't forget to tell the folks at the hotel where you read about them. (No we don't get any commission, but they are usually kind enough to phone the school and say thank you when someone goes on our recommendation.)

Broadgate
Grasmere
Telephone 015394 35334