Villas In Kirkby Stephen

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• David - Verified booking

  Cottage holidays like this give everyone, at a relatively low cost, the chance to live their dream.

  Most of us live in cities that are expanding at a frightening pace with every inch of green breathing space being swallowed up for more soulless, homogenised cells that pass for houses these days. From this cottage, in one of the most glorious parts of the Country, all you could see was fields of livestock. You went to sleep to the bleating of sheep, and awoke to the sound of birds, sheep and cattle. Stay here and have breakfast in clean air, watching tree creepers, nuthatches and woodpeckers visiting the garden whilst swallows swoop around. Then bid "good morning" to a playful lamb and thoughtful cow. Prepare a hotpot and pop it in the Aga. Go out for the day then come back to a glorious dinner and return to the garden with a glass of something interesting to catch the last rays of light and watch the stars come out to play. Sounds a simple life, but it is idyllic. Oh there's WiFi and television to keep children and teenagers happy. You even have mobile phone reception most of the time. So I urge people to book a holiday. Remove yourselves for a week or two and live life in a location like this. We can't change town planners views of what's important, but we can change ours. Even if you think you'd prefer Benidorm, book this cottage and try a slower pace of life...... you might find it restorative. Ultimately the true test of a holiday cottage is to ask the question "Would I like to book to stay there again?" And I would do so in a heartbeat.

  Read more less >

• Marcus - Verified booking

  Sally End is quite the best equipped and most generously supplied cottage we have ever stayed in, which, especially when combined with Robert and Sara's warm welcome, meant we instantly felt right at home.

  It is a substantial property, far more spacious than the photos suggest, and the garden has the most incredible view. The remote location was a huge bonus to us, as we were able to walk from the door all week without needing to move the car once - we covered 82 miles in total, taking in many of the summits of the Howgills as well as Wild Boar Fell and some great lower level walking around Uldale and the nearby limestone pavements. The cottage was eminently compatible with returning from walks with muddy boots and paws: there is an outside tap and hose, a small entrance hall, kitchen with hard flooring, excellent combination washer/dryer, and, of course, the Aga for not only drying everything out but having the very best baked potatoes ready for our return. We experienced quite a temperature range during the week, but the combination of Aga, storage heaters, electric radiators and wood burner gave us confidence the cottage would be cosy whatever the weather. For those who prefer the wildlife to the wild life, the location was exceptional: cuckoos, curlews, oystercatchers, even a red squirrel in the garden. Visiting during lambing season added particular enjoyment to our stay. While there are a couple of short unsealed sections of the access lane, it is in decent condition and was absolutely no problem at all in a small car with limited ground clearance. We will be back!

  Read more less >

• Claire - Verified booking

  A lovely but rainy two weeks!

  Sally End is well equipped and in a beautiful remote location, but with Kirkby Stephen and Sedbergh both close enough to pop in for supplies. The garden is safely enclosed (even for beagles!) and has good views, even in the rain. There's good parking space out front, and everything for checking in and out was simple. The rooms are a good size, though I didn't get on with the bed and my husband didn't get on with the sofa! The Aga meant we were never cold, but stopped us eating round the table as much because it was very hot in August, even with the rain. I'm sure it's delightful when it's cold out, though, and my husband enjoyed cooking on it. Sally End was supplied with clean cloths, cleaning products, and a Henry to easily tidy back up after our stay, oh and our teenager took full use of the WiFi on rainy days - it seemed really fast and sturdy enough to play online games on his phone, so he was happy. We enjoyed the variety of DVDs and books supplied! Overall, a cosy base to stay to explore Cumbria, the Yorkshire Dales, and the Lake District, even in summer storms - with it's thick walls and the aga, we almost forgot the winds and rain outside!

  Read more less >

• Laura - Verified booking

  The cottage was fantastic.

  It was immaculately clean and had a lot of amenities that were not listed on the site but made our stay even more comfortable, such as: tea towels, tea, coffee, oil, salt and pepper, cling film, board games, cocktail, wine and champagne glasses and more. The only thing missing was matches/a lighter for the log burner. Online the listing said everything needed for the log fire would be provided, so we may have missed the matches somewhere but after looking in all of the logical places we gave up and went to the shop. The local Spar convenience store was a 5 minute walk away so this wasn’t too much of an inconvenience. There are also a couple of nice pubs and an artisan bakery in town ( <5min walk). We had a really lovely stay at the cottage, it was nice and warm for our arrival, the beds were really comfy and bed linen felt luxury. USB chargers were a nice touch around the house too. You would struggle to park more than 2 cars outside if needed.

  Read more less >

• Lauren - Verified booking

  The cottage is in a beautiful location, although the road up is unsurfaced and this caused some issues with our car.

  The garden is enclosed which was great for our small dogs who can’t jump the wall. The cottage is very well equipped and the added extras such as the slippers and toiletries were much appreciated. Some things are in need of an update as appliances are clearly very old and 2 things broke during our stay, the hairdryer and the sink light. The bed wasn’t comfortable, it creaks loudly every time you turn over which isn’t great for light sleepers like us, the mattress was also too hard for us. The sofa and chairs were also extremely uncomfortable unfortunately. They are very old and in desperate need of an update, with the cushions sliding around and I banged myself on the wooden arms every time I sat down. It’s a shame as the lounge could be such a cosy area. Overall we enjoyed our stay at Sally End but do feel it needs an upgrade in places.

  Read more less >