New Year Breaks In Scotland

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Brenda - Verified booking

  Firstly, the cottage was tiny, especially the kitchen.

  The dogs, two little Scotties, were not allowed on the furniture, the bedroom (which was up steep, narrow stairs that I struggled with), was inaccessible for them so that was OK.Yes? No. They lay on their blanket downstairs and 'cried' all night long. I went down so often that I actually thought I should sleep on the couch. The worst thing of all was that the garden, just asphalt and a small square of decking, was detached from the house itself, so one had to put leads on them then walk them round to it down a narrow path in the pitch dark late at night. They were not allowed to poo there, nor in the village itself and they again had to have leads on because there were lambs or calves in every field, except one on the far side of the village, although it too had a sign up saying 'No Entry April/May'. The whole experience was horrendous, so when I told Chris I was leaving, he said in a patronising tone that I should have researched the lambing issue and stomped away. I was astounded by his rudeness and explained to his wife that I have lived in rural settings for about 45 years.... I left after only one night, thereby forfeiting my rental fee. Don't go with dogs unless they are constipated. And if you do, I recommend taking a powerful torch and letting them loose in the old graveyard! However, the Border country is beautiful and steeped in history. Even places like Mary Queen of Scots' House welcomed dogs in their grounds including drinking bowls. '

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• Tracey - Verified booking

  A lovely cottage in a very quiet area.

  Good parking in front of the shed at the back. Good facilities, the shower was excellent, water hot all the time, plenty of fuel for the stove to last for a couple of weeks, mattress on bed extremely comfy. Information on the area was a bit disappointing as there was no WiFi or mobile phone signal in village at all and no literature in cottage on walks in the area. Had to drive and park in a layby to get mobile data. The door lintel through to stairwell was very low and i banged my head twice on it could maybe do with a sign to mind head or maybe a soft padding fixed on as it hurt. Garden seating and table wasn't very clean so didn't use it. But cottage was lovely and all facilities provided. A nice gift of shampoo and conditioner and soap provided and coffee and sugar. With regards to Sykes booking it was a bit confusing with correspondence online on payment but it was soon sorted out with a phone call. All other correspondence was good. Generally I like to deal with owner direct and not a holiday company but on this occasion the owner lived just next door and I was given his contact number and he was friendly and helpful. A great few days.

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• Eberhard - Verified booking

  Please repair the two chairs in the Dining room.

  IT would bei very helpful, If the Window in the bath roombcan be opened easily. It would bei great, If there are some more hooks for the towels in the bath room. The accomodation was very nice, clean and well equipped with all necessary Tools in the kitchen, living and sleeping rooms. We enjoyed the nice weather sitting in the terrace, listening the birds singing and the sheep and lambs shouting. Parking place was excellent. Hownam was a very quiet hamlet to calm down in nice Nature, Walking abroad over meadows and Hills, meet friendly people and neighbours. We enjoyed the smell of all the flowers Blooming in the early Summer, with bright colours. Everything was arranged in fantastic quality, with exact descriptions, with information Material about the Borders Region.

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• G I Llian - Verified booking

  This was our first adventure staying in a cottage, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

  We couldn’t have wished for anything better. The bathroom and kitchen looked like new, the Morso log burner had the living room heated in minutes. There was no internet or mobile phone connection for BT or EE, but a 10 minute walk/ drive along the road to high ground allowed us to check our text messages and emails.Parking for one vehicle was provided beside the spacious garden, which has a decking section, with a garden table and chairs and surrounded with stone chippings, which our Cocker Spaniel enjoyed running around in. The most outstanding asset was the remoteness and silence surrounding you, and the beautiful unspoilt countryside surrounded by rolling hills with a babbling burn running through the valley. Colin and Gillian July 2020.

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• Thomas - Verified booking

  A very nicely decorated cottage to a high standard.

  One of the best tvs we have had in a cottage .Very nicely furnished lots of storage in kitchen however not enough cutlery and mugs and cooking equipment to be able to fill dishwasher had to hand wash .No tin opener that we could find . Very friendly owners and staff in the pub .A nice area within easy reach of St Andrews , Dundee and Scone Palace . We didn’t realise our garden part would be accessed via the fire door by quite a number of people and children coming through from the pub .Good job our dog was friendly,as he was out there a lot .

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