The Observer Magazine 13 JUNE 20220211

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‘I’m having the time of my life’ As he turns 82, Sir Ian McKellenMcKellen talks about the jjoysy of ageing,ggpyggp playing y HamletHamlet andand whwhatat he wisheswishes he’d told his mother Walking Travel wonders

Creggans Inn, Loch Fyne, Welcoming with rooms in the tiny bar, or a stopover, with neat Argyll, Scotland rooms and a restaurant reliant on fare On the shores of Loch Fyne, set in the UK’s most spectacular from Wensleydale producers. Doubles from Creggans Inn is a haven of £80 B&B, singles from £45; keldlodge.com traditional1 loveliness on the Cowal hiking country Peninsula. The area is increasingly Running Horse, Mickleham, renowned for its food, art and unspoilt near Dorking, Surrey nature. Spectacular sunsets erupting Although only 224m high, iconic across the loch are the after-dinner Box Hill is one of ’s entertainment at the inn’s Macphunns 8must-do peaks . To kickstart a stomp to Bar and Bistro, which serves hand-dived the summit, the mighty breakfast at the Loch Fyne scallops. Doubles from £150 Running Horse in Mickleham near the B&B; creggans-inn.co.uk bottom should set you up. Returning for fab dinners of pan-roasted Atlantic Lord Crewe Arms, Blanchland, scallops with pea velouté or lobster Northumberland and crab risotto, eaten in a booth in the Tucked into steep, forested wood-panelled dining room, or among hills in the Pennines with paths the locals outside, is the perfect reward. leading2 on to open moorland, Blanchland Upstairs there are also seven luxurious bedrooms. Doubles from £89 B&B; running-horse.co.uk

Bushmills Inn, Country Antrim, Northern Ireland Bushmills may be synonymous with whiskey, but the Bushmills Inn,9 with 41 rooms and suites, is well placed for walking the 120-mile Causeway Coast . Further hikes might visit Rathlin Island, off the coast of Ballycastle, or the waterfalls of the Glens of Antrim. Return for supper in the fi ne GEMMA BOWES dining restaurant or live music in the 21Words atmospheric Gas Bar, still lit by gas lamps. Doubles from £120 B&B, bushmillsinn.com

is one of the most enchanting villages in attraction is England’s tallest maypole. of circular walks from the door, between the northeast. Here, the Lord Crewe Arms, Really it’s the walking that people come three and seven miles long, and then 9 built as a guest house in 1165 for pilgrims for. Trails from the door are depicted in enjoy post-hike dinner options, including visiting Blanchland Abbey, is a treat – the ’s handy booklet . Eight garden goat’s cheese panna cotta or Brixham glamorous but ancient-feeling. Its historic rooms built from timber and four rooms crab thermidor, all served in the pretty bones –thick stone arched windows, above the bar feature a Scandie palette, lawned yard or cosy nooks inside. Doubles heavy beams and a medieval dining room rainfall showers and rustic furniture. In from £95 B&B; ringofbells.net – combine with contemporary touches. the revamped gardens, a wood-fi red oven Situated near the border with County turns out sourdough pizzas topped with Old Dungeon Ghyll, Langdale, Durham, it has an inexhaustible supply of Yorkshire Fettle cheese. Doubles from Lake District, superb walking terrain . Doubles from £219 £120 B&B; thealicehawthorn.com Usually heaving with fell walkers B&B; lordcrewearmsblanchland.co.uk enjoying a post Scafell Pike-high, The Ring of Bells, North Bovey, this6 famous mountaineers’ pub is one The Bell at Skenfrith, Dartmoor, of the classic venues in the Lake District. Monmouthshire, The Ring of Bells lies in an The drinking booths of the Hikers’ Bar Illustrated maps of six circular accessible spot with fantastic are built into the old cow stalls of the walks leading straight into the 5walking on tap. Try the pub’s own booklet 300-year old farm. It’s a little rough 3glorious Monmouthshire countryside round the edges, but the Langdale Valley are offered to guests at this 17th-century setting is incredible, and staying here is The Three Daggers Pub, coaching inn. If it’s a family stay, try the to become part of legend. Every British Edington, Wiltshire Skenfrith Sleuth walk with puzzles to climber – from Chris Bonington to the A microbrewery, spa barn solve on the way, or the Knights Templar earliest pioneers of the sport – has stayed with sauna and outdoor Trail, which crosses the border into at this long-standing focal point of British hot10 tub, and fi ve route maps for local England. There are 11 comfy bedrooms, mountaineering. Doubles from £120 B&B, walks are among the added extras at the too, and tasty food in the dining room, singles from £58; odg.co.uk Three Daggers, a 300-year old pub in though walkers might prefer a local ale the Wiltshire village of Edington. After in the relaxed Dog and Boot Bar . Doubles Keld Lodge, Keld, North Yorkshire rambles up to the Westbury White Horse from £175 B&B; thebellatskenfrith.co.uk Several epic long-distance hiking and on to the Salisbury Plain, or visits routes pass this romantically to Avebury and Stonehenge, guests can The Alice Hawthorn, Nun remote inn in the folds of return for a fun night in the Wood Shed, Monkton, North Yorkshire 7Swaledale. It’s here the 268-mile Pennine a pizza and beer bar. Posher meals are In the Yorkshire countryside , Way crosses Wainwright’s Coast to Coast served in the dining room. Three stylish this smart, food-focused pub route, and the 80-mile Swale Way passes bedrooms share the use of a private recently4 added accommodation. The by. Keld is also one of three suggested lounge and kitchen, plus there’s a cool Grade II-listed building sits on the village 4 stopovers on the four-day 52-mile Herriot cottage sleeping 12. Doubles from £99, ■ PETER CRIPPS/ALAMY; CLAIRE MCKIE; CHRISTOPHER HILL/ALAMY CHRISTOPHER MCKIE; CLAIRE CRIPPS/ALAMY; PETER green of Nun Monkton , whose prime Way . It’s a charming place for a drink B&B, threedaggers.co.uk .

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