We have been told that The Mortal Man in Troutbeck is reopening. Wahey! 
This pub is in a beautiful old building in Troutbeck and has magnificent views from it’s beer garden.
Over the last 2 years or so the reputation of this place took a dive as the last, now thankfully departed, owner tried to turn it into an upmarket gastropub / hotel but (according to the AWFUL reviews on Tripadvisor – now removed) he forgot to spend any money doing up the rooms or employing the required number of staff. If you do read any reviews on the web don’t forget that he left in about March this year so things will hopefully change much for the better!
The new owners ar now in place and people are reporting workmen and their vans all over the place getting it ready again. We’ll be trying it out shortly ourselves when we get the nod that it’s fully up and running again.
So – please do support the new owners – this pub is part of the lake District’s heritage and if they can provide good beer and decent pub grub at sensible prices it will be a marvellous place to stop after negotiating the Kirkstone Pass from Ullswater, or after a saunter round Troutbeck. You can even walk here from Ambleside through Skelghyll Woods – a breathtaking walk in spring when the bluebells are out.
Hello John,
We are coming to Troutbeck (again) at the weekend and staying at the Queens Head. We’ve booked a table for Saturday there but had hoped to try Mortal man on Sunday night. Didn’t know there’d been problems with it as only drove past it last year and didn’t call so picking up your posting that it had closed has been very worthwhile, thankyou.
Has it reopened yet and is it worth a visit for food? Alternatively where else do you recomend close by? (Will have no problem in eating twice at the Queens mind!).
Also we are (very tentatively) thinking about looking at Limefit and White Cross Bay and pricing a static/lodge purchase. You seem local which would you plump for? And if we make an enquiry will we be sucked into some form of sales presentation lasting all afternoon or are they a decent set up?
Any advice/reply will be appreciated. Hope the weather holds for the weekend!!
Thanks John
As far as I know it has reopened but we haven’t had the chance to try it yet. I’m hoping to try it next week. If do you try it please report back!
Of the 2 parks I’d choose Limefitt (but then I did so I would say that wouldn’t I?) It’s smaller and more personal and I just love the scenery. This probably isn’t the place to discuss the sales process
If you’d like to email me using the contact option (top right on this page) I can hopefully help some more.
Dear John,
I was delighted to hear that The Mortal Man has reopened so we decided to give it a visit as it has always been a favourite of ours.
I must say how disappointed we were as within a very short period of time since the previous owners it has really deteriorated.
The owners seem to have completely stripped the property of all it memorabillia for The Mortal Man.
Whilst I appreciate that the prices were expensive under the previous owners there has been no change. £3.25 for a pint is expensive!!!
The food was very limited and for the prices we could have easily cooked these dishes at home.
We visited on a Friday evening and there was only 2 people in the bar at 8pm. This does not give you any confidence for the business.
Whilst we do wish the new owners well unless they get their act together they will lose the summer trade and lose their business.
Hi John – That’s disappointing as we had a great experience up there a couple of weeks back. I think they are struggling a little with lack of staff and the fact that the place was left to rot for a few months.
They were quite open with us that they were operating a skelton crew and that the offering was limited as a result. I still thought the lamb shank was excellent though!
I think you’ll find that it was the previous owner who stripped out all the historic stuff and tried to rebrand the pub as “The Mortal Man Experience”.
The new owners have promised to reinstate the old pub sign and they seem to understand the importance of the traditional stuff.
We did get some slightly iffy dry bread in our sandwiches but when it was pointed out they raced out and bought a new loaf and provided the sandwiches free of charge – I call that good customer service (although OK they maybe should not have made the mistake in the first place.)
I’d say give them time and then visit again
What were you drinking at £3.25 a pint? My pint of “Landlord” was about £2.75 which is a lot less than the last owners were charging!
“We visited on a Friday evening and there was only 2 people in the bar at 8pm”
We visited last on a Thursday lunchtime and saw about 2 dozen people, so don’t write them off just yet
We stayed at the Mortal Man in July 2009 and booked at short notice fr a weekend break. The reception told us to expect some refurbishing going on in the Hotel Park of the Mortal Man but they explained that we would have one of the newly completed rooms. Sure enough our room was lovely with a new suite new bathroom brand new beds, new linnen and carpets. I would think all of the rooms will now be open for business. As soon as you walk into the Mortal man you can almost feel the history in the air and it has the atmosphere of a real Lakeland Hotel. Its in a lovely peaceful spot and ideal for walkers wanting a nice relaxed stay with stunning views. The Food was very reasonably priced and very tasty and the Bar has comfortable chairs . we didnt eat in th dining room but had a look in and it would make an ideal place for wedding reception etc with views to die for. The new owners seem to be getting things done and establishing the Mortal Man as a great place to visit in Troutbeck
Dear John,
We visited for lunch in the middle of July 2009 without knowing anything of the recent history of ownership by what must have been the biggest Philistine since Goliath! That truly horrible gastropub sign said it all. Sad to say we were disappointed in the prices and the choice of food. I look forward to the new owners delivering on their promise.
They seem to be doing so John from what I have heard from others – must go up and give it another try shortly
(Any excuse)
The beer garden is one of the best we’ve ever been in. The view is stunning, & the place will be buzzing on a hot day. (We had sunshine, got sunburnt & thoroughly enjoyed it!)