Vegan Lake District is run by Matt Helm and Nicky Meyer. We have been holidaying in the Lake District every year since 2015. On our first visit we were struck by how hard it was to find vegan food options at restaurants. We would often spend an hour or more traipsing around towns looking for somewhere we could eat.

 

Things have improved since then, there are more vegan options than ever. We wanted to make a directory so that other vegans and those following a plant-based diet can quickly and easily find somewhere to eat or have coffee and cake.

 

It’s still the case that the main towns have the best options (Keswick, Ambleside, Grasmere). Bowness and Windermere may also be good, but we tend to stay in the Northern or Central Lake District so we haven’t researched those two locations much yet. We’re looking forward to doing so though!

 

In the early days Ambleside was hands down the best place for vegan eating in the Lake District, with Fellinis, Zeffirellis and Gandhi’s Cafe all catering for vegans. However, when we visited in 2019 we discovered that Keswick had really caught on to the plant-based trend and its options now outstrip Ambleside, particularly with the wonderful Kat’s Kitchen.

 

When we’re not eating in the lakes we tend to be hiking on the fells, chilling out in our campsite or maybe going for a drive if the weather is particularly bad.

 

Outside of holidays Matt is a session guitarist, guitar teacher and aspiring ultra-runner. Nicky works for a charity and is keen gardener and theatre-goer. Our favourite Lake District fell is Blencathra.

 

We’d love to hear from you about your vegan experiences and recommendations in the Lake District, particularly if there’s anything we haven’t featured on the site that you think we should. Email us at info@veganlakedistrict.co.uk or use the Contact page.