Last Minute Cottages 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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• Patricia - Verified booking

  Summerwatch There is so much animal activity at Sycamore Tree Farm, the presenters of Summerwatch could film there.

  What with the lambs and sheep all over the garden, running past the front porch entrance, the swallows nesting in the porch and the two species of mice running around the living room there was plenty to keep us busy. We thoroughly enjoyed watching the antics of the lambs, we didn’t realise they could be quite so like young children. When we walked up to the road through the fields to take a blue bin bag as requested to the roadside collection point, the lambs tried to get hold of the bag and we pointed our walking sticks at them and shouted ‘no’ and ‘stay’. When this failed we broke into a run with the bag as we didn’t want them to hurt themselves trying to eat our rubbish. Although the grass in the garden had been cut, the lambs spent a lot of effort coming into the garden even though we always kept the gate shut. We couldn’t understand why, but I guess it’s a case of ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’. The house is lovely and warm, the only downside was we couldn’t work out how to get any hot water in the kitchen or bathroom. I think it was the warmth that encouraged the mice to run around the living room even when the lights were all on. We were amazed that they would come out into view like that while we were sitting there talking and reading. We caught one of the larger species, but the others moved too fast to catch, at least when we tried. There was a nest of swallows on a light fitting in the porch which we didn’t notice at first. But it was possible to stand in the hallway of the house with the glass front door closed and watch the swallows fly in and out to feed their chicks. We had no idea they had to make so many trips for such a large part of the day and the chicks could clearly be seen to grow as the week progressed. On the last morning as we were carrying the bags out to the car, the first of the three swallow chicks had left the nest and was on the porch windowsill trying to learn to fly out of the porch and we hope we didn’t cause it too much distress as we left. Sadly the nest will soon be empty again. The WIFI is great and there’s ample lighting to read by; the sofa and armchairs have been replaced and they and the beds are very comfy and there are great walks from the door, including walks by the river. I suggest you bring a torch in case you need to get anything from your car at night, as cars are parked quite a way away, the other side of the gate. We are looking forward to coming again next year, we just hope the mice won’t be there then.

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• Steve - Verified booking

  We enjoyed our stay The house was clean and reasonably well equipped.

  WiFi would make a big difference, but we knew there was none when we booked it. We loved the remote location, the beautiful valley and all the lambs. 10 Things that would have made our stay more pleasant - Use of the Rayburn in the kitchen would have made a massive difference to our comfort & enjoyment. The kitchen was cold. - A window on the pantry, cold air blows through the open grating, our use of the pantry blasted cold air into the kitchen. - Thermastat in the immersion heater to ensure hot water (it reaches boiling point so has to be turned off but we weren't told of this so we ran out of hot water on day 2.) - Some gravel around the gate and the parking area, after a night's rain it turned into a sea of mud. Not good for cars or house. - Better lighting in the hallway so we could locate our things, even a brighter bulb would have helped. - Better lighting in the living room, there is lots of mood lighting but all at a low level so we struggled to read comfortably. - Bedside tables that are flat - the dished ratten things in the 2nd bedroom were useless and the bedside lights too low to read by. - Bathroom door has unmatched hinges and makes a terrible noise when opened or closed, needs taking off and replacing properly (sounds like a detail, but the layout made this very disturbing at night). - Bolt on downstairs loo needs oiling or replacing with something less sharp, I caught my finger on it - most unpleasant. - Too many nicknacks and ornaments, as when staying you need to be able to use all available surfaces. The caretaker does need informing that the door is mising from the electricity meter box at the back of the house - to rent this house without electricity does not bear thinking about!

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• Carole - Verified booking

  This is a fabulous, very rural, old farm cottage.

  Perfect in November to bring a dog terrified of fireworks, & we heard none. All we heard was the weather, birdsong & the occasional train, which was not loud or annoying. Is this a cottage full of mod cons...no, but the positives far outweigh any not so positives. Barely any pressure in the shower, but one can still shower, so that's fine. There's also a lovely long bath where you can have a lovely long soak. The cottage is very well equipped in the kitchen. We cooked from scratch, most days, & found everything we needed. There's no washing machine, so we went retro & did hand washing. All four of us saw a red squirrel in the front garden, & the bird life is wonderful. There are 2 Herons at the nearby river. Getting here was tricky, but if you do EXACTLY 5.8 miles after the Moorcock inn you get to the turn off for the farm, and then Sycamore is signposted. Try arrive in daylight hrs though as it's tricky! Those directions are if you've come from the Hawes area. The nearby (4miles) Nateby Inn is the nearest pub and is great with good food. We are sure the details of the cottage said a pub 1 mile away, but it doesn't exist. We highly recommend Sycamore. The peace & tranquillity is wonderful. Some people have written in the visitors book that it needs an overhaul, but we disagreed. It is what it is, and that's perfect

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• Emma - Verified booking

  We LOVE this cottage - we stay in a lot of cottages and this is the first one we have rebooked.

  So peaceful and relaxing - the location is stunning. Sitting in the garden enjoying the tranquility and the view is so rejuvenating. The cottage is warm and welcoming. Really well equipped - we cooked from scratch a fair few times and found everything we needed for a full roast dinner. Loved the handy larder. The bath is also the perfect size for a good, long, comfortable soak after a hard day's hiking. We were bemused my the comments about it needing updating - it is PERFECT as it is. Location is perfect - secluded and very private, but with walks from the doorstep or just a short drive away. We walked every day and still couldn't fit in all we wanted to to! Loved the local produce available in every town and village, but that means we ate far too many cakes and pies (hence all the walking!). Shirley was wonderful, warm, welcoming and helpful - she is amaxing. Slept so well, and even sleeping with the windows open you don't hear the trains pass by. We are returning next year and expect to have another wonderful week :)

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