ONE lunchtime, three of my friends and I fancied going for a nice, relaxing lunch and decided to take the advice of another pal who recommended The Castle Inn at Hornby.

We were certainly glad we listened to our mate, as we all enjoyed a really good meal in the relaxing surrounds of this historic coaching inn, situated in the Lune Valley village, which sprang to life in the 13th century.

As soon as you walk through the doors of this inn, you instantly feel relaxed and can settle into the comfy chairs in the bar as you choose your food.

We were all very hungry, having enjoyed a long walk in the beautiful countryside that surrounds Hornby, so decided we would go for a starter.

We were not driving and so we shared a couple of bottles of Pinot Grigio (£14.95 each) between us as well.

I went for moules marinières – mussels (£6.95) cooked in a garlic, cream and white wine sauce, served with a wedge of crusty bread.

This is also available as a main course for £9.95, but I decided to go for the warm chicken and bacon salad for main, which featured freshly dressed salad leaves with red onions, chicken and bacon with a balsamic dressing (£8.95).

For pudding, which we chose from a specials menu, I decided on my all-time second favourite dessert, sticky toffee pudding (£4.95) - my number one favourite is cheesecake.

Two of my friends were too full, but one of them joined me in partaking in a third course and went for the spiced crumble.

It was a lovely meal from start to finish, and I would wholeheartedly recommend a visit to The Castle Inn, just as our friend had done for us.

* Total cost of three course meal for one excluding drinks: £20.40