High Chapel House
High Chapel House, the home of Cook in Cumbria, is set in its own beautiful garden on the southern outskirts of the village of Ravenstonedale - a village that the famed hill-walker Alfred Wainwright described as ‘a most blessed place’. The house overlooks open countryside and drystone walled fields with the Howgill Fells looming in the distance. The only traffic you are likely to hear is the occasional tractor.
Although easily accessible to the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks, many visitors prefer to stay locally and enjoy the unspoilt (and more peaceful) natural beauty of the upper Eden valley, and the many local visitor attractions which include golf, trout fishing, friendly pubs and restaurants, farmers’ markets, glass and pottery studios, and specialist food outlets. The village of Ravenstonedale is also close to Wainwright’s coast-to-coast walk, and an ideal base for exploring some of the most scenic walking country in England. It is also only a few miles from Kirkby Stephen railway station, on the famed Settle to Carlisle line. Ravenstonedale itself was once on the Tebay to Darlington railway, and sections of the old railway line can now be explored on foot. If you follow Scandal Beck, which flows close to High Chapel House and northwards out of the village, the path will take you to the stunning hidden valley of Smardale where the old railway crosses Smardale Viaduct and a 16th-century stone packhorse bridge crosses the Beck towards the site of an old monastery. It is a place that truly revives the soul.
High Chapel House was built as a Manse in 1854, attached to the local Congregational Church, called ‘High Chapel’ as it was further up the hill than the Methodist Chapel. A Grade II Listed Building, the house is set in about half an acre of peaceful gardens with majestic trees and red squirrels - and plenty of off-road parking. The house has been completely refurbished with a purpose-built teaching kitchen and beautifully appointed guest rooms which are also available for B&B guests. It is also interesting to note that one of the best local history books, ‘History and Traditions of Ravenstonedale Westmorland’ was written in the house in 1877, and at the turn of the 19th century the house was the boyhood home of Bernard Lord Manning, later famed as a theologian and fellow of Jesus College Cambridge where he lectured in medieval history.
Whether you choose just to attend one of our day cookery courses, or stay longer as our guest, our aim is make you feel at home. Our en-suite rooms provide comfortable accommodation, and we do everything possible to make your stay memorable for all the right reasons!