Superb cottage! (Cottages in Cumbria in general)

Member Name: jemini

Product:	Cottages in Cumbria in general
Date:	21/03/01 (227 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Olde worlde charm, space, dog-friendly garden, good area

Disadvantages: Few steps down to garden, toddlers beware!

Rose Cottage is an olde worlde delight. It is situated on the north-western perimeter of The Lakes and has fairly easy access to some beautiful countryside.

My family and I booked this cottage last summer through Recommended Cottage Holidays, who have a very good website, by the way. We hadn't used them before and we were not sure exactly how the cottage was going to turn out. We needn't have worried. Typically, we didn't get through the week (in August) without it raining, but that didn't spoil our holiday.

The cottage sleeps 6 people in 3 bedrooms. The Master bedroom, with a double bed and a beautiful view down towards Loweswater, is en-suite and is HUGE. There are two other twin rooms which are a decent size and very comfortable. These are in the oldest part of the cottage (dated 1600s) and have beams and those wonderful sloping floors that make you feel as if you're tipsy. Great fun. The twin rooms share a bathroom with shower over the bath.

Downstairs is large. It has a large 'farmhouse' kitchen/diner with an offshoot toilet/utility room, a very nice dining room and a lounge with an open fire. Logs and coal are supplied.

French doors in the lounge lead out to the large, grassed garden which is totally enclosed. This was just great for our two dogs and was probably the main reason why we chose the cottage. They could just gallop around or sit in the sun as they felt inclined. There is a large patio with furniture and a small barbeque. The only thing to watch out for are the few stone steps leading down to the garden. Toddlers would need to be watched.

The decor was really nice - with good furniture and some nice, homely touches. We even got a cream tea supplied when we first arrived. The cottage owner (who lives next door at the farm) was very friendly and helpful.

To one side of the cottage is the farm, but we got used to it and seeing the comings and goings of the tractors. It di
dn't really bother us much.

We found that, from Pardshaw, we could drive into Cockermouth in ten minutes - great for shops and a nice garden centre on the way (with a lovely coffee shop). There were a few nice pubs within a couple of miles, which sold bar food in copious quantities. Loweswater, the nearest lake, took about 15 minutes and you can easily drive to Keswick and Buttermere in about an hour. In the other direction, Bassenthwaite Lake is well worth a visit and took us about 20 minutes.

The week we had in the cottage was excellent. What I particularly liked about the cottage itself was the spaciousness of it, the olde worlde charm, the enclosed garden and (in one of the twin rooms) soft beds! I just love soft beds, but you never seem to get them these days. The other beds were much firmer.

The area was surprisingly good. We hadn't heard of Pardshaw before (well, it is just a small village) but it gave us good access to most of the Lake District even though it wasn't central.

I would recommend this cottage to anyone - especially those with dogs who, like us, might find it a bit difficult to find a 'dog-friendly' cottage to rent.

Please note that the price quoted below is only approximate. It depends what time of the year you go. It's good value, whatever you pay!

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