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A spectacular new ‘beyond-boutique’ hotel in the Lake District is looking to fill eight ’dream roles’ which will involve everything from parking guests’ Lamborghinis, unpacking Louis Vuitton luggage and arranging luxury spa therapies, to serving intimate dinners, preparing lavish rooms and pouring chilled champagne.

Brimstone Hotel on the Langdale Estate, the only development of its kind in Cumbria, is set to open in July and has ripped up the rule book to create these unique roles from a completely blank canvas.

Instead of looking for people to fill traditional hospitality positions, Brimstone is seeking ‘Hosts’ to really take ownership of every aspect of its personalised ‘couture’ offering and make guests’ stays absolutely exceptional.

Anne Durnall, Senior Manager for Langdale Estate said:

“It has been a challenge to find a way to really communicate just how exceptionally unique and incredibly exciting these roles are.  We are looking for vibrant people-people to tend to our guests’ every need, to nurture them and make their experience at Brimstone amazing, to go above and beyond all expectations.

“Brimstone boasts fabulous vast suites, state of the art technology, innovative food and drink concepts and all kinds of unexpected treats, now we need our Hosts to bring all this to life. For the right people this is an incredible opportunity to be part of something really ground-breaking in Cumbria.”

Brimstone will offer 16 suites with exceptional style, huge glass walls, expansive balconies, innovative technology, real wood burning stoves, indulgent in-room spa therapies and exciting bathing experiences.

For further information about Brimstone and the positions available please visit www.brimstonehotel.co.uk/careers.

It is quite beyond me how I have never discovered Kirkby Lonsdale. A beautiful and quirky market town nestled in the south-eastern edges of Cumbria within a stone’s throw of the National Park, surrounded by emerald green fields. It is one of the few Cumbrian towns mentioned in the Doomsday Book in 1086, where it was called “Cherchibi” (village with a church) and beside it runs the lovely River Lune.

I have to start with the shops. I love shopping and my thirst for a good browse and rummage around the rails and shelves of boutiques has not quite been satisfied since I moved to the Lake District. Kirkby Lonsdale put that right within five minutes. There are streets filled with old stone buildings that are full to bursting with quirky boutiques – shops where you go in not needing anything but the moment you are over the threshold you want everything! The shops have enigmatic and romantic names as well such as “Parma Violet” and “Ooh La La!” so you just have to in and explore. Fortunately for my bank balance I managed to show some restraint.

As lunchtime approached I headed for the Sun Inn, which I had heard much praise about and wanted to see if it matched my expectations. I need not have worried. As soon as I entered the wooden door into the cosy bar area I knew I was going to enjoy my time there. A fire glowed in the corner and the big oak beams all around gave it a sense of style and elegance but with a homely feel. No pretention, just a warm and friendly Inn.

The Inn has been run for the last seven years by Mark and Lucy who have modernised the building in a very sympathetic way and they could not have been more welcoming and keen for all their guests to get the most not just out of their visit to the Inn but from the town as well. Dogs are allowed in the bar and there are also dog-friendly bedrooms. Whilst I was there, the most beautiful husky-type dog was holding court in the bar area loving the attention from everyone.

Another love of mine (probably on a par with shopping) is good food. At the Sun Inn I was in for a real treat. I started with the chicken liver pate, which came with toasted brioche and a sweet apricot chutney. It was rich and full of flavour with the apricot balancing the pate perfectly. This was followed by the most succulent roast sirloin of beef I have had in a long time, with a slow-cooked blade of beef, roast potatoes that were crisp on the outside and fluffy inside, a Yorkshire pudding and a lovely selection of vegetables including asparagus, swede, broccoli and cauliflower. All cooked perfectly. I really cannot praise the quality of this locally-sourced food highly enough. My mouth watered from the moment it arrived and I finished with only one disappointment – that I did not have enough room for pudding! As I sat sipping a cup of tea, the smell of sticky-toffee pudding kept wafting past me, destined for other tables. Next time for sure.

Mark and Lucy have created a wonderful Inn – warm, friendly and stylish with excellent food and service. It is a destination in its own right and definitely on my list of favourite places to eat in Cumbria.

Following advice from Lucy, I headed off on a walk from the pretty church of St Mary’s (where the graveyard was full of vibrant yellow daffodils) to Devil’s Bridge over the River Lune. In the 2009 floods, the path from Kirkby Lonsdale to the bridge was effectively washed away but it is in the last phase of being replaced and is very accessible. The bridge dates from 1370 and has three arches.

It is an impressive sight. Legend has it the names stems from the Devil appearing to an old woman and promising to build a bridge in exchange for the first soul that passed over it.

A beautiful town, quirky shops, excellent food, an iconic bridge and a friendly atmosphere. I still do not know why I took so long to discover Kirkby Lonsdale but I am delighted I have.

By Tanya Oliver

Tanya Oliver is a freelance writer and author of “from High Heels to High Hills” with her own blog http://heelwalker1.blogspot.co.uk. Her home county is Sussex but she has been visiting the Lake District all her life and is currently living here. You can find her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/heelwalker1 or on Facebook http://www.facebookcom/heelwalker

In the last few days the Judges have been meeting to go through the entries submitted for this year’s Cumbria Tourism Awards to draw up a shortlist of finalists across the 12 categories.

Dozens of businesses from around the county including ones from, Penrith, Appleby, Kirkby Stephen, Keswick, Workington, Carlisle, Windermere, Eskdale, Grasmere, and Kirkby Lonsdale have entered the 11^th annual Cumbria Tourism Awards. The lucky shortlisted businesses in each category are set to find out shortly if they are to attend the glitzy black tie award ceremony and compete for the honour of being recognised as the best in Cumbria in their respective category at the awards presentation. The awards evening is being held at Rheged, Penrith, on 11^th June, the host for the evening will be Ted Robbins of BBC Radio Lancashire and Pheonix Nights fame who will kick off proceedings at 6.00pm.

The annual Cumbria Tourism Awards is open to a whole range of tourism related businesses including; hotels, B&Bs, holiday parks, visitor attractions, events, businesses and tourism staff, which make up the county’s successful tourism industry.

This year the award categories include a new category – Best Tourism Pub recognising the importance of this sector in our food and drink offering. This is alongside the well-established categories such as; Best Large Hotel, Best Small Visitor Attraction, Outstanding Customer Service and Best Sustainable Business to name a few.

Ian Stephens, Managing Director at Cumbria Tourism, said: “As always, the judges had a tough decision to whittle down the high volume of excellent entries to the shortlisted few. These awards highlight the best that Cumbria has to offer when it comes to providing millions of visitors with a holiday or short break to remember. This is our chance to reward the best of the best and show our appreciation.

Mr Stephens added: ‘’It is important for our tourism businesses to enter and to be recognised by their peers. Indeed many winners at the Cumbria Tourism Awards go on to win at the national Enjoy England Awards, held by VisitEngland, which judges the best in the country. I’m delighted and very proud to say that Cumbria continues to produce some of the very best tourism businesses in the country helping keep up our reputation and profile in the national media and travel trade.”

The long established Cumbria Tourism Awards are widely recognised by both local businesses and visitors as a mark of distinction and quality. Those businesses lucky enough to win an award in one of the 12 categories are deservedly recognised as being at the pinnacle of their profession and represent the very best the county has to offer. Our shortlisting and judging process is renowned for being of the highest order, with high numbers of entrants going on to compete successfully in the VisitEngland Excellence Awards each year.

Cumbria Tourism would like to thank their sponsors for making the event possible, they include: Lamont Pridmore, Sealy Beds, Total Gas & Power, H&H Reeds Printers, Cumberland Business, Armstrong Watson, Colliers International, the Lake District National Park, G1 Creative, Rheged and Fusion Glass Art.

To find out more about the Cumbria Tourism Awards visit www.cumbriatourism.org/awards