Dog Friendly Cottages in Cumbria

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Les - Verified booking

  Tanyard Cottage could be a cosy, welcoming, and comfortable holiday home but, sadly, it’s not.

  Whilst it’s equipped with the basics (to the absolute minimum) everything is the cheapest it’s possible to buy from the cutlery, kettle, toaster, microwave and, most especially, the sofa which is the cheapest, nastiest and most uncomfortable sofa you could imagine. Several reviews over the past two years have mentioned how uncomfortable the sofa is yet the complaints have been brushed aside with the excuse “We had to get one to fit the space”. That is clearly nonsense as a two seater settee plus an armchair would easily fit. Besides comfort has nothing to do with size but with quality which comes at a price. A comfortable place to sit and relax after a day out walking is a prerequisite for any holiday cottage in the Lake District, for goodness sake put aside a couple of weeks rental income and get a decent sofa and then people won’t be put off by the bad reviews. The cottage is generally clean apart from the mould around the shower tray and the grease on the oven trays. The latter is not a surprise as the only cleaning materials provided are a washing-up sponge which cannot have cost more than 5p, two J-cloths, and some washing-up liquid. We tried our best to clean the trays but you cannot remove grease with a J-cloth. Of course grease on oven trays can be minimised by using kitchen foil but there is none provided. Likewise it would have been nice to wrap food placed in the fridge with clingfilm but again there is none. Kitchen roll would be handy to mop up spills but again no. In a previous response the owners have said that they “provide the things that are a faff to bring” but let me assure you that clingfilm, foil, and kitchen roll are more than a faff to bring on holiday. A previous reviewer has mentioned the lack of ‘welcoming’ basics such as tea and coffee and, indeed, there is nothing to welcome you apart from the first line of the instructions left on the table. Excuses such as “people are rather choosy about what coffee or tea they like” are rather lame. Ninety per cent of people would be happy with Tetley or PG tips and Nescafé which is, after all, what almost all hotels supply. If money really is that tight put a tenner on the rent, nobody will notice, but they will notice that someone has been thoughtful enough to provide a basic welcome. Make it extra special and provide a small bottle of milk and, maybe some local biscuits. The cottage we stayed in the previous week provided all this and even a bottle of wine! Bear in mind also that there are no shops nearby and the last thing you want after arriving at your holiday cottage is to have to drive several miles down narrow country lanes simply because you would like a cup of tea or coffee. All of the things wrong with Tanyard cottage could easily be put right with a change of attitude. “What can I do to make my guests’ stay as comfortable and enjoyable as possible” is the right attitude not penny-pinching and brushing aside previously raised complaints. Finally something which I accept the owners have little control about is the parking. The instructions are to park close to the wall outside the cottage but this was not possible while we were there as there was a car parked outside the house opposite everyday and there is not room for two cars on the road. Even worse is that the owners of Willow Cottage next door have unhelpfully, and rather stupidly, put a large flowerpot in the road making getting close to the wall difficult. Someone had damaged their precious flowerpot and so they have put an arrow on the fence of Tanyard cottage discouraging people from parking there. In the end we parked down at the church which was safer but the 300 yard uphill walk was inconvenient especially in the rain.

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• Suzanne - Verified booking

  We have had a lovely holiday at Piggy Bank cottage, property was clean with modern appliances and the over all standard was to a good quality.

  My only criticism is the decor in the lounge is looking a bit tired and dated compared to the rest of the cottage. The electric log burning effect fire looks odd against and fire surround that in my opinion isn't very attractive and not original to the property. The sofa's are comfortable but a little tired looking (please don't be offend this is solely my personal opinion.) We found the main double bed was a little to hard and i couldn't sleep on it. So i ended up in the double bed under the childrens bunk bed which i slept soundly. I understand everyone is different when it it comes to beds so this could be down to personal preference. So I've still rated 5 out of 5 for over all comfort. The bathroom was nice but the toilet seat doesn't seem to fit the toilet properly and it can slip when you sit on it so we we're careful when using it. Having said all the above I would still highly recommend the cottage and would stay again. I would score it 98% out if 100. It had a very cosy warm feel to it which is perfect for us when we've been out hiking fells all day. We found the the shower and bath excellent. A nice morden and extremely clean bath room. The kitchen and facility were excellent to a good standard and very clean. The property overall was extremely clean. Great carpets through out soft under foot. When we hoovered the hoover smelled a bit doggy, We don't have dogs so maybe it was more obvious to us but just wanted to bring it the owners attention. Bedding and towels were great quality and were clean and fresh. Good off street parking with a pretty little court yard and a very short walking distance to shops and pubs. Sedbergh village itself was smaller than we thougt but has everything you need. Powells fruit n veg shop has very fresh and lovely produce. The Dalesman Inn pub was our favourite for eating out and drinks. Nice sandwich shops and coffee shops. Nice Florist and craft makers shops. Farfield Mill is a fantastic place to visit if you like arts and crafts. It was full of craft makers who are happy to share and discuss their creative trades with stunning works of art. Over all we have had a fabulous holiday and would probably stay for 2 weeks next time as we couldn't fit everything in that we wanted to do. I hope I've not offend the owners of this property i just wanted to give my honest opinion in this review and constructive feed back. So to summarise this is a lovely cosy clean and well kept cottage to stay and we recommend it to anyone who loves the Yorkshiredales and wants a good base to stay. Sedbergh itself is a superb location for walker's and this lovely cosy cottage is set in the very scenic location with plenty to do you just need to go out and explore. Thank you piggy bank cottage for a welcoming stay. We shall be back.

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• Doug - Verified booking

  We booked this gorgeous property with my mam and dad (both in their 70s).

  So we had a total of 6 in the group....the property is amazing.... breathtaking views from the extensive veranda....the accuracy of the house description is spot on...the summerhouse room is huge, although storage space is somewhat limited....there is a utility room with larger American fridge freezer downstairs, so over the week you definitely get your steps in...The only other negative we could find from the kitchen space would be to have a larger dishwasher...as the house sleeps 6 then a normal sized dishwasher would be more practical than the half size one currently in place....The outdoor furniture is gorgeous and luckily the weather enabled us to use this a few times...the extended garden was superb for the dog to play although the walk to the top of the hill that starts alongside the house is fantastic...the views of Windermere from the stone seat on the top of the hill are breathtaking.... each room were very well suited, 2 with en suite. The middle bedroom had a plumbed in roll top bath which we never used and a separate bathroom at the end of the ground floor...the showers were walk in ones which was great for my folks and the mirrors were Bluetooth enabled which is a fancy touch...the only complaints we had from the rooms were that the twin room bathroom had a sewerage smell which we had seen from previous reviews. It wasn't a game changer but probably needs addressing...there is also a boiler that sits next to the front door, which seemed to be on a lot and when so was noisy especially at night. We just left the heating settings as we found them so this may be why the boiler was on a lot, the temperature was comfortable so thought it was pointless to tinker with them. On the positive side, my folks have travelled all over the world in every type of accommodation and they both agreed the beds were the comfiest they'd ever slept in....high praise!!!. Overall I have to say we were so happy to pay a little more than usual as you could really benefit the extra space....I did have to laugh that when I went downstairs to get some stuff from the larger fridge my watch would lose Bluetooth connection from my phone which highlighted the size of the property....We would certainly recommend this property to anyone....the negative points are minor in comparison to the beauty of the place and size of the property....

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• Joanne - Verified booking

  The property’s location is stunning, and the garden space is beautiful.

  Overall the property is spacious and comfortable. As we were staying during the very hot weather we found the upstairs heat like a greenhouse. Fans or an air con unit might be helpful. We closed some of the blinds but keeping doors open wasn’t possible due to the number of midges/flys. The MAJOR issue was the situation with little/no running water!! The tap upstairs trickles, and after a very sweaty, sun cream day we were looking forward to using one of the showers…but no water again just a trickle. We arrived on a sat eve so it was Sunday when I tried to contact Lakelovers…after ringing all the numbers for 2 hours I gave up! Not even able to leave a voicemail message. We had to buy bottled water and ‘make do’. Eventually spoke with Steve on Monday who advised he’d been made aware that the boiler needed a new part?!? I was advised a plumber would try and fit the part that day…no response so I called again and spoke with Emma. No part was available but she advised how to ‘try and temp fix the issue’ - I tried but the noise was awful and it felt dangerous. I called again.. and eventually approx 7pm at night a plumber came. But not to fix it but to try and resolve it temporarily…without luck! We ‘laughed’ about it as the boiler is held together with a golf ball and two scouring sponges!! For the amount we paid, for the lack of assistance and for absolutely no offer to even refund or move us I will not be using this company again. We had our daughter staying on Monday but she had to leave Tuesday (my husbands birthday as well!), as the shower/water situation was too much for her to endure. It felt like glamping not luxury living. I do not understand why this property is being let out when there’s no water/water pressure. I’d like some form of compensation and I left a note to the cleaners as it became difficult to even clean dishes as the dishwasher was struggling too., and the kitchen tap had completely stopped working! Amazing property

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• Freya - Verified booking

  I regret booking this accommodation as it ruined the holiday and from the moment I arrived I thought to myself " I'm looking forward to leaving".

  The place was tiny, dingy, and unwelcoming. After driving many hours to a "holiday home" you at least expect to find the basics such as tea, coffee, and sugar, but there was none. How stingy! Just about all of the places I have stayed have also added thoughtful little extras such as milk, biscuits, or eggs from their own chickens, etc, but not here. There was no hairdryer. The sofa was terribly uncomfortable, uneven, and seems to eat you up when you sit down. I had to wash up someone else's dirty frying pan/sauce pans before I could cook myself dinner. There was a DVD player, not no DVD'S. It's quite irritating hearing a large fridge-freezer buzzing loudly behind you whilst trying to relax quietly on the uncomfortable sofa. There was nothing to make the accomodation feel cosy or welcoming and I was left feeling like I was the one who should have been paid to stay there. There is very little privacy as every window other than one is facing directly through neighbours windows, which are only metres away. When you step outside to walk to your vehicle the nosy neighbours are watching you through their windows and making comments to one another. Being inside I suppose they don't think anyone can hear them even though their windows are open. The morning after my arrival I had an issue with my vehicle and had to call an auto locksmith. Due to there being no signal whatsoever inside or outside of the accommodation I wasted a lot of time walking all around the village to finally pick up a very weak signal outside of the church. The locksmith could not get back in contact with me when he needed to and the whole situation was exhausting. The day was wasted! The only thing that makes it a "cottage" is the fact that it has one beam downstairs and a log burner for winter. Other than that it has no charm, feel, or privacy. Incredibly disappointed.

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