Dog Friendly Villas In Kirkby Stephen

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Ewan - Verified booking

  We had a lovely week at High Sprint Gill.

  The enclosed garden really is enclosed, and our two "lively" working cocker spaniels enjoyed exploring and taking a wee sip from the stream (until it dried up in the heatwave!). The view from the garden was - WOW - panoramic across the dales. There are some lovely mature trees around the cottage and a wide variety of birds visiting. A wooden bench and picnic table are a nice touch for eating outside, and there is apparently more garden furniture around but we didn't use it. The cottage itself stayed cool indoors, providing a relief from the heatwave, and although the Aga cooker stayed hot, it wasn't a problem for us. In normal times, when temperatures are cool, the Aga will be a lovely background warmth in the cottage. We used it for some cooking: the hot / very hot plates heated up pans nicely and worked well for shallow frying. The oven was great for heating things up too; faster than we expected. There is also a conventional electric oven and large microwave. Overall, the kitchen was well-equipped and had all that we needed, including a radio. The owners left plenty of dish-cloths and drying towels, which was kind. A small boot room on the ground floor provided some extra storage, and there was a toilet, sink, washing machine and tumble dryer in this room too. We didn't need the dryer as it was hot enough to hang washing on the line outside; pegs were provided. The main lounge was spacious, with two comfortable sofas, CD player, freeview TV, DVD, and VHS. You can educate young children on historic media technologies of yore while on holiday. We didn't use the open fire, but it looked easy to use and was already set up to be lit when needed. Extra fuel was available with an honesty box to cover the cost if you need to light a fire each night. We reckon the cottage would be very cosy in the late autumn or early spring when the Dales get a bit chilly. A second dining room is provided, complete with another freeview TV, dining table and chairs, and an old upright piano. We enjoyed playing games in the dining room at night and the piano was an added bonus if you fancy some DIY music. The dining room had an electric heater if it gets chilly, and there are some lovely exposed beams in each room. The cottage feels like you are stepping back in time, and is the most characterful property we have stayed in with Sykes. Upstairs there are creaky, slightly uneven floors, and beautiful views out across the moors or down the lane. The master bedroom has a sink, which was handy for us as a family of 4 adults, and plenty of storage. Beds were comfy, although one matress probably could do with an upgrade on one of the single beds as it was rather thin (would be fine for under 12s though). The bathroom was large and includes a bath, bidet and shower. Everything worked nicely for us, although the shower occasionally took a while to get going. This was just part of the charm of the cottage for us though: the cottage gets water from a spring, and water is heated from the Aga. The owners left small supplies of toiletries in each room, which was great. Overall, we got the impression that the owners really care about their guests and work hard to make the cottage feel homely and comfortable. High Sprint Gill is highly recommended if you want to 'escape' for a while and enjoy being in the Dales and spotting hares, red squirrels, or birds of prey. Mobile coverage was good on Vodafone and other networks, if you need that, and the Wifi was also good but don't expect to stream 4K video. It's a short drive from Kirkby Stephen, which has a Co-op, Spa supermarket, garage, and take-aways if you want a break from cooking. The bakery, pubs and cafe looked good, but we didn't have time to sample them. We spent some time in the Fat Lamb pub garden (walkable from the cottage; about 2.5 miles) during our stay, and the walk from the pub to Ravenstonedale was worth it for the scenery, although we ended up staying on the road most of the time to avoid livestock. For dog walking, there were a couple of viaduct walks that were quite sheltered (from the heat) and mostly flat for easy walking. Opportunities for off-lead walking are limited to places without livestock, which rules out most of the Dales during the summer, but the Smardale viaduct walk was mostly off-lead, provided some shelter from the sun, and had impressive views and can provide shorter or longer routes as required. We also visited Sedbergh and Acorn Bank (national trust), but in 'normal', cooler weather there are plenty of walks from the cottage if you want to leave the car behind or get on a bike. The cycle routes look great, and not always too steep. There was a large parking space outside the cottage, with enough space to turn around. The lane approaching the cottage is quite bumpy and narrow (7 foot at one point), so pump-up your tyres. There is a single garage attached to the cottage but we didn't use it. In summary, this is a wonderful cottage with heaps of character and has everything you need for your stay. It's rural, beautiful, and quiet. Just what we needed.

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• Andrew - Verified booking

  We booked the flat literally at the last minute.

  But Katie quickly got the flat ready for us and let us know when it was ready. The instructions for accessing the property were clear. But the flat is tucked away. So, if you can’t find the property, it’s at the bottom of Mellbecks at Frank’s Bridge (ask a local). The flat was lovely and warm. The living area comprises of a large and very well-equipped kitchen area, separated from the large and very well-furnished lounge area by a large and very useful kitchen island. The lounge area had a two-person dining table which could seat four people, a large coffee table, a good-sized TV sitting on a sturdy TV unit, and a big, comfortable couch. The toilet/shower room was also a good size with a powerful rainfall shower. The bedroom was a good size too with a built-in wardrobe, bedside cabinets complete with bedside lamps, and dressing table. All of the furniture was of a surprisingly high quality for a rental property. The property was very clean and well-decorated throughout. There is an allocated parking space immediately below the flat, which for us was perfect, as we like to keep an eye on our car. We stayed there for three nights and slept soundly each night. The flat is located approximately a three-minute walk from Market Square and the main road through Kirkby Stephen. We went there because of a classic transport event. The main street was full of vehicles of all shapes and sizes. But because of where the flat is located, we couldn’t hear any noise whatsoever from the main road. Would we stay there again? Absolutely.

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• Jim & Pauline - Verified booking

  My husband and I (plus our collie) had a most enjoyable holiday at High Sprintgill - it was lovely to stay in such a beautiful cottage which still retains much of its historical character and charm.

  
The cottage was cosy and warm and the use of the open fire in the evenings after walking on the fells during the day was very special and really contributed to the enjoyment of our holiday. However the Aga was the real highlight - it really is the heart of the cottage and so welcoming to come back to after being out all day. The cottage was spotlessly clean and maintained to a very high standard and Robert and Sara were friendly, helpful and kind hosts - they genuinely care and look after their guests ensuring they have the best holiday possible. High Sprintgill is situated in a very quiet and peaceful area - the location is amazing and the local scenery is stunningly beautiful - it is wonderful to have direct access to the higher fells and beyond. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at High Sprintgill and look forward to returning to this lovely cottage.


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• Louise - Verified booking

  A lovely property in a lovely location.

  Good points 1 excellent sized lounge with comfy sofas 2 good comfortable beds 3 lovely access to the garden 4 lovely village with nice walks from the village itself 5 the large lounge did make it feel like a good family environment Bad points 1 kitchen was tired 2 washing machine and dishwasher weren’t clear on how to use and seemed to take ages 3 upstairs bathroom didn’t have a shower 4 fridge was very small for 8 people 5 don’t expect to get things posted back to you, left a big item (Oodie) in the bedroom, told them exactly where it would be and they said they couldn’t find it, either they didn’t clean thoroughly after us so missed it or they threw it away despite us trying to contact Sykes the same weekend, they say you have 30 days. Wouldn’t have minded paying the charge as it was worth far more than the £15.

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• Anshu - Verified booking

  The cottage was very dirty especially the first floor which was carpeted and stained with a lot of cob webs.

  Most of the mattresses were in their worst condition, they had mattress covers on top but still the springs were still hurting. The day we arrived to the night before we left there was no internet inspire of numerous calls to the number provided and spoken with, on top of this there was no mobile connection either. There was no TV for 3 days out of our 5 days stay. The utensils were highly smelly we had to wash everything all over again as soon as we arrived after a long drive. The location of the cottage is beautiful but everything else was disappointing. I wasn't expecting any luxury, I was only expecting a clean cottage with basic amenities. Thanks.

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