Finally,
the Lakes are warming up and we’ve been looking for the coolest spot to grab a swanderfully cold ice cream. But not just the usual vanilla or mint choc chip, we’ve been on the hunt for something special, something we haven’t tasted before! Luckily there is so much to choose from it could take you all day to decide! A scoop of pineapple sorbet, a spoonful of raspberry ripple or even a drizzle of caramel sauce? Yum!
No lakeside stroll could be better than one with a rainbow sprinkled ice cream in hand. Ice cream is loved by all ages, it is something for all the family to enjoy, even grumpy Gramps! If you’re visiting the Lakes you don’t need to worry, the Lakes is abundant with amazing ice cream producers and suppliers, meaning you won’t have to travel very far to get your ice cream fix!
We’ve listed a few of our all-time favourites for you to try! The new Lake District map to follow, this time look out for the dusting of sprinkles!
English Lakes Ice Cream at Brockhole
English Lakes ice cream can be found in numerous cafes and shops in the local area, also reaching far and wide. Based in Kendal, husband and wife Peter and Frances Fryer use local ingredients when creating their creamy flavours. To name a few; Raspberry Pavlova, Plum and Damson, Manhattan and Thunder and Lightning ice cream! Inspired by a raging storm of swirling clouds that crackled above Kendal. The sky looked similar to the swirls you’d find when mixing toffee and chocolate sauce through ice cream. How cool is that!
One stockist of the English Lakes ice cream is just around the corner from our Hotel. You can find it at Brockhole, on the shore of Windermere, easily grab yourself a scoop and have a wander around the lakeshore or even visit the lovely Brockhole Gardens.
Webpage : theenglishlakesicecream.co.uk
The Little Ice Cream Shop at Windermere & Hawkshead
If you’re looking for a vegan or dairy-free sorbet or even a frosty ice cream scoop for the hound! The Little ice cream shop is the place to visit! Nestled in the little village of Hawkshead, the award-winning ice cream parlour offers a huge array of flavours, including white chocolate, bounty gelato (vegan) key lime pie, cookie monster and Nutella ripple! They’ve recently featured in Lancashire Life Magazine as one of the best places to grab your ice cream fix this summer! Not only is the ice cream parlour super cute with daisy tiles and murals but also their wafers are too! Stamped to perfection! If you’re needing ideas for the coolest ice creams to post on your blogs, Instagram or show off to friends, pop down to The Little Ice Cream Shop, you won’t be disappointed.
Webpage : thelittleicecreamshop.co.uk
The Handmade Ice Cream Company, Windermere Jetty Museum
You can find a tub of The Handmade Ice Cream Company in most cafes and shops in the local area, places such as Booths, Emmas Deli in Grasmere and Windermere Jetty Museum! Churned in a small production kitchen in Haverthwaite, South Lakes Steven Darvill prides his ice cream on supporting other local farms and specialists. The Jersey milk used in their ice cream creations is collected each morning from a local farm ready to be turned into creamy deliciousness! The ethos of the company is to produce ice cream that is completely natural and uses the finest ingredients, something we pride in ourselves!
The Handmade Ice Cream Company has complete control over what goes into their products, they make their own gingerbread, sticky toffee puddings and fruit compotes/purees in-house! That’s what we like to hear! Which means they don’t use any artificial flavours or preservatives, letting the natural ingredients speak for themselves.
The craftsmanship that goes into each tub is the next level, you can taste the pride and love that is churned into every scoop. It is defiantly one to try!
Webpage : thehandmadeicecreamcompany.co.uk
Ice Cream GLOW UP!
COVID is really ruining our travel plans! BUT! For the time being, we can think of other ways to chill out at the weekend. Not only have we been sampling the best in The Lakes but we have also been researching how to Swan-up our ice cream creations! There were so many ideas to choose from but here are a few of our favourites.
Ice cream S’mores
If you’re not too sure what a s’more is, then look no s’more! They are an American creation that would normally be eaten around the campfire or at a summertime BBQ. They’re a swanderful way to jazz up a tired tub of vanilla. You will need… two graham crackers (or just two chocolate digestives, they’re even tastier!) A giant marshmallow to melt a squish plus a large scoop of your favourite frozen delight! We’d recommend a scoop of any of the above! Stick your giant marshmallow into a skewer stick and lightly toast over a campfire if you have one, or an open flame on a gas cooker would work. Singe it until it bubbles then squish onto one of the graham crackers. Roll a hefty scoop of creamy ice cream (any flavours are suitable… trust us) and top with the second graham cracker. Then squish! You can go the extra mile by dusting the open edges with toppings, such as chopped pistachios, dried raspberries or the big daddy of all toppings… rainbow sprinkles!
Recipe: Paper Stitch Blog
Ice cream Doughnut Towers
As if your ice cream couldn’t be sweet enough why not spread the creamy goodness between two doughnut halves for the ultimate sugar rush. These are great for parties and celebrations, no fuss and super effective!
Stack them high, Swanderful!
Recipe: The Kitchy Kitchen / The Sweet & Simple Kitchen
How fabulous is this? Waffles, ice cream and gooey marshmallows!!! This could make the grumpiest of people happy. It’s pretty self-explanatory as its a case of assembling all you’re favourite sweet pastries and sandwiching ice-cream between each layer! But we could all do with a little inspo sometimes. We’d love to see your creations if you ever decide to glow up your ice creams!
Tag us in your snaps @swanhotelnewbybridge
The Swan X