School Holidays 2017 Cottages In Penrith

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Roger - Verified booking

  Firstly would like to thank you for the wine and chocolates.

  That is a nice welcome, as is the readiness of the fire with initial logs etc. Inside the property is very comfortable and mostly exceptionally clean. I say mostly as there were 2 issues which i feel need addressing . One is the shower mat which is rolled on a shelf at the end of the bath and is black with mildew. It needs replacing. The 2nd is that the bin beside the loo, in which it is asked all toilet wipes sanitary products etc are put, and I have no problem with this at all . And I sincerely hope that this is just a one off oversight as it was disgusting, and even now back home makes my stomach turn. It had not been properly cleaned/checked and the inside of the lid was smeared with dried on faeces. Not something anyone would wish to be greeted with on their first evening. Hence the low mark for cleanliness. Also, on our arrival there was a towel and bathmat left on the stairs. I have also have given the accuracy of the listing a low grading , not because of what is stated but because of what is left out. Their are no windows to speak of which offer any sort of view. The windows upstairs are either too high or too tinily narrow to see out of. Downstairs the only windows are around the doorway which looks onto the carpark and the barn roof beyond. The doorway on the landing has a pretty aspect onto the little grassed area and fell beyond and there is a table out there but unless warm enough outside that is the only place where anything green can be seen. Maybe I should have worked this out for myself but I do feel that by not advising visitors of the complete lack of any view it is omitting a large problem. I have stayed in barn conversions before and this lack of view has not been a problem. Obviously from other reviews etc most people do not have a problem with this, but having some sort view is important to me, even if it's just of a garden or trees etc , not necessarily a glorious vista. Had I known this I would not have booked this property and for this reason alone I will not return.

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• Adam - Verified booking

  Beautiful location and cottage, right at the end of the road so quiet though you will get a lot of walkers in the summer.

  There are excellent walks along the lake and further and red squirrels running around in the garden. Would definitely stay here again. A few comments and things to flag to the owner. The cottage is 18th century and listed and so you should expect some idiosyncrasies in terms of comfort and decoration, however some areas look like they could do with a bit of TLC. The cooker, as others have mentioned, is an aga-type and so using the oven is a bit hit and miss - make sure you give it plenty of time to warm up and close the door properly. We had some issues with the heating - the timer/pump was on but the boiler was not and needed to be reset a few times during the stay. Somebody has obviously tried to burn coal on the dining room grate in the past and melted it - we found it outside and did use it as it's very difficult to keep the fire going without one. Dogs - there are very specific instructions about where dogs are allowed in the book when you get to the cottage (non-carpeted areas) that are not made clear in the listing which might put many people off. TV - some people have had difficulties. There is a freesat box which picks up everything you need, however there is only one HDMI cable so there needs to be another provided as otherwise you have to choose to plug it or the dvd player in. Also there are some issues with the freesat box - it seems to regularly reset itself while your watching something so may need replacing. A positive compared to the listing though - the internet is obviously improved from where it was and is fine for streaming netflix/bbc etc - the apps are available on the TV. Overall, these are fairly small issues that can be easily addressed and didn't detract from overall a lovely stay.

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• Sandra - Verified booking

  The photography on the site is very clever as it makes the property look a lot bigger than it is.

  Two of us stayed with 2 dogs and it felt cramped at times so I can’t imagine how cramped it would feel if 5 people stayed there! It’s described as pet friendly but I would dispute this as dogs need to be kept on the lead at all times and there’s a spot the size of a postage stamp for them to do their business. The text states, “two well behaved dogs welcome”, so if they’re well behaved then why do they need to be on their leads? There are eco friendly products in the cottage, washing up liquid etc, but no recycling facilities and you are asked to dispose of any recycling yourself by taking it off site. Whilst I understand that they are saying they don’t have the facility because of the location, I would argue that at £700 a week, they could easily provide a separate bin and dispose of it themselves at very little cost. I don’t see why holidaymakers should be responsible for this. People have mentioned the Prosecco & chocolates that are there on arrival and yes, it’s a nice touch, but there was no personal greeting and the only interaction I had with our host was her asking me to put the dogs on their leads when she popped up in the courtyard one day. They were doing nothing wrong and completely under control. All in all, the property was a disappointment but couldn’t fault the beautiful surroundings.

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• Olivia - Verified booking

  Townhead Farmhouse is fantastically situated for anyone wanting to discover the true Lake District, away from the hustle and bustle of the more obvious tourist attractions.

  We loved being able to get to the lake and up onto the hills so easily. The cottage was clean and well equipped but we found noise from the attached cottage a little intrusive (although they were not being antisocial - the walls are just very thin). There was an ongoing leak in the cottage which led to a pervasive damp smell. As this started prior to our visit it might have been nice for some discount to have been offered to us as incoming guests. We also felt guidance on the garden could have been clearer - we had assumed that the lawned area was ours and that the adjoining terraces were assigned to the attached cottage. The cottage guests however made free use of the lawn area including letting their dog foul the grass. This detracted from our enjoyment of the (otherwise beautiful) garden significantly, as several times I had to clear their dog’s mess up myself to avoid my children treading in it while playing. Not the cottage owner’s fault but maybe a clearer division of the garden area would help. Despite these issues I would recommend staying at Townhead farmhouse as the setting is really incredible - next time however I might be tempted to go as part of a larger group so as to have exclusive use of the farmhouse and cottage together.

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• Joy - Verified booking

  This is a lovely cottage and the location is delightful.

  However if anyone stays who wants to be 'close to amenities' then this isn't for them as it is quite remote. Keen walkers will love it though as there are plenty of walks from the front door. Look out for deer and red squirrels. The cottage benefits from all the basic requirements - hot water, heating, wood burning stoves, an extremely well equipped kitchen (although there were no oven gloves and only 2 or 3 decent teaspoons). The heating/ hot water controls have a mind of their own - the hot water never came on when it should have done so we had to keep setting it to constant and then turning it off when we didn't need it. As there were only 2 of us plus dog we lived in the cosy dining room - and never used the lounge. We couldn't work out how to use the TV and there were no instructions - nice to have a rest from the TV anyway! We left the biscuits and (long life) milk provided as we came with all our food - a nice touch might have been locally produced biscuits rather than Viennese creams! A flick round with a feather duster wouldn't go amiss but other than that the cottage was clean and welcoming.

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