Grasmere Gingerbread Shop

The first and last place I head to when I visit Grasmere. I always buy the largest (12 pack) One when I arrive to last my stay and one to take home when I leave.
You cannot beat it or fault it and no visit to Grasmere is complete without a stop!

This truly is… as good as it gets.
I grew up with extreme romantic visions of the UK (thanks BBC version of ‘Pride and Prejudice’. Extra thanks, Colin Firth in _​that_​white shirt). It’s super delightful to stop in at places that KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE. HI, GRASMERE GINGERBREAD SHOP, you’re perfect.
It may be wee, but Grasmere has a lot of history; notably, Wordsworth is buried a stone’s throw (literally, almost) from the Gingerbread Shop. The Shop sells… gingerbread. That’s it’s thing. From a mid-​1800s recipe.
The shop also holds, max, 6 people in it, so be prepared to queue at busy times. Then again, there are worse things than standing outside a quaint cottage-​cum-​shop in idllic surroundings with the smell of sugar and spice in the air.
The gingerbread is not what you might think. It’s crumbly and crisp, but also chewy and soft in the middle. It is cut into rectangular pieces and folded up into printed parchment paper, 6 or 12 to a pack (go for 12. Trust. Go for 12). There are some other things on offer — some preserves, ginger meringues, some flavoured marshmallows, but that’s really just distraction from the main event: gingerbread.
True story: I think my Mom loved me a little more after I gifted her with some.
Unilocal note: PRO TIP: freezes decently. Also great for: making friends. (Online orders possible, but I recommend heading direct to the Shop to soak in some of the atmosphere along with your treat)

Grasmere is a quaint little village between the larger towns of Windermere and Keswick. It makes a nice stop for some food and there are gentler walks around the lakes as well as the compulsory visit to Dove Cottage for tourists.
However, if you arrive in the village after they open, the whole village is permeated with the amazing smell of gingerbread baking. You just have to follow that smell to the little shop selling it. They’ve tried to keep it oldey worldey by getting the staff to dress in olden garb but they haven’t tried to enlarge the shop, which can make for long queues snaking out of the door, a pain if it’s raining.
The gingerbread smells divine, even after it has cooled down. However, be aware that it is quite hard and may not be a suitable gift for relatives with dentures!
Also, I witnessed one of the funniest tourist statements in this country:” Are you sure the Euro isn’t the currency over here?”

Even though Unilocal UK has just started, how has this place not been reviewed?!
This was the highlight of my Lake District trip a couple of years ago. We could smell the delicious bakery from the other side of town and having heard about it from everyone we told our trip plans to, knew we had to go. I’m not a major gingerbread fan, so I originally only bought a couple of pieces just to say I did. Before we got back to the car, I had turned heel and was headed back to the shop. In addition to being kitschy adorable (very olde English, complete with costumed cashiers) and located in a cool little town, the gingerbread was AMAZING. I bought far more than I should have and I’m pretty sure I ended up eating the packages I bought for friends.
The only reason I’m not giving it a 5 star review is because even though it’s inexpensive to buy from the shop, having it shipped to even UK addresses isn’t cheap! I’d love to indulge in this yumminess more often, but just can’t justify the expense, especially since it’s not warm and fresh when it arrives on my doorstep.

The Grassmere Gingerbread shop sells unique gingerbread made from a secret recipe. I don’t know of anywhere else in the world that sells gingerbread like this and it’s absolutely delicious. You can see the gingerbread being made in the shop and it’s served by employees dressed as they would have done in the olden days. You can buy the ginger bread in small or large packs and have it gift wrapped if need be. The price is a little steep but then it’s local produce and it is unique so you can’t really knock em for that. I visit to Grassmere or even the Southern Lakes is not complete without a trip to this shop.