This is the 2nd year we’ve stayed at Swarthmoor Hall and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Seven of us met there for our dance retreat, so we’ve used The Old Hall, Hampsfell and Garden Suite units as well as booking their hall. The accommodation is lovely. The rooms are comfortable and newly decorated, the kitchens well equipped and the bathrooms very nice too. The hall itself is a great size and has wonderful acoustics, as well as being airy and light-filled. The grounds are a pure delight. There is a beautiful mature garden at the back of the main house which feels private, even though it’s open to the public Monday to Friday, as well as a lush meadow with a labyrinth laid out and bee hives at the back, a woodland area and a fire pit with wooden benches. However the real cherry on the cake are the team that work there. The office staff are helpful and responsive throughout the booking process and go out of their way to accommodate a group’s needs and Jenny, who heads up housekeeping is fantastic.. super friendly and keen to address any small issues or queries. I would definitely recommend Swarthmoor for someone hoping to host a self-catering retreat..everything already mentioned aside, the place has a wonderful atmosphere and as the birthplace of Quakerism, has a 400 year history of spiritual practice, which embues the place and informs the ethos.. I would also recommend it for a group of families wanting to holiday together and use it as a base to explore Ulverston and the northern lakes and coast. Ulverston itself is an interesting little town with lots of independent shops and cafes and a great Booths supermarket for groceries.