A first visit to the Lake District for a while and in amongst returning to some old favourite pubs and re-visiting a couple of places I'd not been in for years, I managed to check out a couple of Good Beer Guide-listed entries that were new to me. Here's my thoughts on those.... I try to visit the Lakes every year as it is a place that is close to my heart, having had many happy times there over the years walking on the fells with friends and, particularly more recently, on numerous less active visits. But when I checked back to see when I had last been there it was over two years ago, so I was well overdue a visit, particularly as on that trip in September 2023 it had rained more or less non-stop. I drove up on a showery Saturday morning ( which I thought after last time didn't bode well! ) having decided to call at the two new places on the way to Coniston, where I normally stay, and get them out of the way. I'd left mid-morning and made good progress as I headed up t...