The Wilson Arms

Consistently praised for comfortable beds, quiet rooms, and attentive staff. Guests enjoyed delicious breakfast but criticized overpriced, mediocre food and drinks. Ideal location for lake exploration and hiking.

While staying at a nearby caravan site we decided to have an evening out and gad noticed this place this on the way there. When we arrived the pub was closed but a beer tent/marquee had been set up in the garden. We queued up as it was really busy as they had a band on and ordered our drinks and meals and were issued with a buzzer to collect when they were ready from round the back. The food and drinks were quite pricey for what you got, mediocre basic food packed in takeaway boxes . That was not the main problem though, we could live with that. What was an issue was the rude bloke behind the bar and the facilities. We couldn’t get a signal and tried to use the WiFi which came up with ‘Wilson staff’ and ‘Wilson guest’. I asked the girl serving our second round what the password was and she said she didn’t know and asked the man behind the bar. He asked me if I was a guest and I told him I wasn’t, but was having a meal there and would be there all evening. His response was ‘Then there isn’t one then’ and walked off!!! Never before have we been refused WiFi in a pub or restaurant, especially as we couldn’t get a signal and wanted to contact home. Went to use the toilets which were in a worse condition than some festivals we have been to. There were only 2 which were Unisex and the man before me had peed all over the seat. No toilet roll in either one of them and no hand wash or sanitiser. The waiting on staff were lovely and friendly but the man behind the bar (Dave, may be the manager) was so abrupt that if we hadn’t paid for our food and drinks we would have left. For a venue that caters for a large number of people, 2 unisex toilets which are lacking the means to be hygienic is not good enough. Luckily I had some tissues and hand sanitiser with me but noticed that most didn’t. Because of his rudeness I didn’t want to point out that someone should check the facilities and in any case, his manner made me think he wouldn’t have cared anyway. I believe there are other places nearby so you may be better off going elsewhere.

We have just returned from a lovely weekend here. We stayed in the shepherds hut with a hot tub. It was perfect in every way. Very clean and cosy. If you want to cook you can as there is a little kitchen with all the mod cons. Everything was thought of the underfloor heating and USB ports in every socket was a great added touch. The hot tub was really good we used it every evening. It’s fenced off to make it more private. We had to fill it which didn’t take long and then used wood to heat it up which wasn’t a problem. The food and service in the pub was excellent the staff are very friendly and work very hard . The views are amazing as well. It’s also Dog friendly. A really lovely place to stay. Definitely returning in the summer.