Steele’s Mill - Self-catering house in Cumbria

There’s been a working grain mill here since 1327; this one was built in the 1800s. Fragments of the past remain: staircases and floors of oak grown on the estate, grinding stones set into the floor, and the old apple-wood cogs encased in glass. There’s a lovely approach to this stunning conversion, a hugely comfortable retreat for four, with the master bedroom positioned grandly at the top, and below the tiny twin. Cook just-caught brown trout from the river Lyvennet on a shiny black Rangemaster, dine at a handmade oak table furnished with welcoming flowers and a bottle of wine, lounge on a leather sofa by the gas wood-burner, idle with a book on the balcony. By day, venture out on the snaking road past fields of cattle to King’s Meaburn village, to Appleby for delis, pubs and a country fair in summer, to Lowther Castle for those seeking gothic revival grandeur. Nature is embraced indoors, too: the mill has a hidden bat loft with an aperture only accessible to the pipistrelle! Colours are cream and duck-egg blue melting into pale oak, mattresses are superb, shower heads drench you and the peace is supreme.