What are the arrival and departure times?

Arrival is after 4:30pm; departure is by 9:30am.

Can we arrive earlier?

It can take 4-6 hours to clean and service the cottages to our standards, plus time for any essential maintenance and repairs. Hence we can’t guarantee availability before our stated arrival time. You are welcome to call us en route to check if your cottage will be ready earlier, or if it would be helpful to drop your luggage and go off somewhere.

Do you live on site?

Our three cottages form the conversion of a beautiful stone barn within our grounds, so our house is close by. We’ll meet you on or soon after arrival and make sure everything’s okay, after that we’re around and happy to help if needed, but we do recognise that our guests want their own space and so we’ll leave you to it for the duration of your stay.

What happens if we need to arrive late?

Once your cottage is ready we program the door lock and provide the code to you. There is no need to collect keys and it’s not essential that we meet you on arrival, so you can let yourselves in at any time; we’ll come and check that everything’s okay a bit later. If you know you’ll be arriving very late, it’s helpful if you can let us know.

Do you have any facilities for disabled guests?

We have included a number of facilities in The Carthouse for disabled guests, although the bedrooms are all accessed by stairs. However, all other facilities are on the ground floor including a wet room with wheelchair access, with a shower, washbasin and wc designed for disabled use with suitable grab rails and an assist call. The front door of The Carthouse has ramped access and parking is immediately adjacent. Please contact us to discuss your needs and to ensure that we can provide for them. Further details are provided in our Accessibility Guide.

Television sets in all cottages can display subtitling for those who are HOH, and we’re happy to help set this up, or help set up any assistive listening devices you may bring.

Are your cottages suitable for young children?

The Byre and The Haystore are open plan with two flights of stairs off the living area, (The Byre also has a flight of stairs leading down to the outside area from the French doors) so please bear this in mind if you have young children. We can provide stairgates, but if you have any concerns please contact us and we will be happy to discuss with you so that you can decide on suitability. We can provide a highchair, but don’t have cots available as we find most parents prefer to bring their child’s own travel cot. Drawers and cupboards do not have childproof locks. We don’t have any special play facilities within the grounds for children, although if they enjoy the open countryside there’s plenty of that nearby!

I want to bring my dog. What facilities are there, and how many do you allow?

You are welcome to bring your well-trained dog.

As a guide, The Byre and The Haystore are suitable for 1 dog, and The Carthouse for 2, but please contact us and we can discuss further, Each cottage has its own enclosed area where dogs can be let out. Please note guests’ dogs must be kept well under control in the grounds.

Dogs are not permitted in the bedrooms, please, but if you bring your own throws dogs can be on the sofas (we can usually supply something if you forget throws or need more). Dogs must not be left behind when the guests are out.

Both the local pubs are dog friendly.

It is only a matter of moments to be out of our grounds and onto open land, however do be aware that there are usually loose sheep close by, often just outside our gates, and chasing our Red Squirrels is definitely not allowed!

Please let us know in advance, via the booking process, if you wish to bring your dogs.

Is there Wifi?

All the cottages have 4G Wifi and we do not charge for the service. The service is unlimited and reliable but we cannot guarantee that it wont drop out/slow down from time to time. There is 4G coverage from Vodafone and EE.

Is there phone signal?

Of the mobile services, EE and Vodafone have the strongest coverage. O2 isn’t too bad either. Vodafone and O2 have no coverage in Ravenstonedale village.

Do you have car parking?

We are located down a private track about 400 yards from the road, and all parking is within our own grounds and dedicated to each cottage. The Byre and The Haystore each have space for two cars, The Carthouse has space for three. We can accommodate more by arrangement.

We have an Electric Vehicle; can we charge it?

Unfortunately, we don’t have a dedicated EV charging point at the moment or suitably protected outdoor electricity supply point. We ask guests not to trail extension leads through an open window and use an internal mains socket as we cannot guarantee that any socket is on a circuit suitably RCBO protected for supplying an outdoor appliance, nor that the circuit is certified safe for supplying a high load for many hours. There are EV charging points within a few miles in Kirkby Stephen and at the motorway services.

Where can we sit outside?

Each cottage has its own outdoor table and chairs. There is a shared area at the highest point of our grounds with the best all-round views, and there is a lovely area beside the beck, which is a perfect spot to sit and relax, maybe have a picnic at the tables provided, or use the brick barbecue.

Do your properties have hot tubs?

Because of the significant risks to health from hot tubs in holiday premises there are increasingly stringent regulations around their use and we have chosen not to have them. Unlike at home, a hot tub in a holiday let should be emptied, checked, sanitised, filled, dosed with chemicals and reheated between departing and arriving guests; followed by twice daily tests on the water. The regime sounds a lot but it’s important; a hot tub that’s not rigorously maintained is an ideal environment for infections and diseases to be passed between guests.

Can we hire or bring our own portable hot tub?

No, sorry we don’t allow this. We are not connected to mains drainage and our private system is not suitable for taking the discharge from emptying a hot tub, for reasons of both sudden volume of water and the chemical content. The chemicals used in a hot tub to help prevent disease and Legionella means that it is illegal to empty one directly onto the ground, or where it could run straight into a watercourse such as Artlegarth Beck which is right next to the cottages.

What public transport is there?

There is a limited bus service from Ravenstonedale, with buses to Kirkby Stephen, Sedbergh and Kendal. The bus stop is about a mile and a half away.

There are also leisurely trips on classic buses which stop in the village.

The railway station at Kirkby Stephen is on the famous Settle to Carlisle line and has services to Carlisle and Leeds. There is no taxi rank at either Kirkby Stephen station or town; taxis are available but need to be booked.

Where do we get our shopping?

Kirkby Stephen has a range of shops about 6 miles away, including two small high street supermarkets and a larger supermarket on the edge of the town.

Immediately off the M6 at J38 there is a service station just off the roundabout with a shop attached and unlikely as it may sound, the nearest Motorway Services (Tebay Services between J38 and J39) has an excellent range of high quality local farm produce.

Can I get groceries delivered?

Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda all deliver to this area.

What if we don't want to cook?

We consider ourselves spoilt! The village has two pub/restaurants, The Black Swan and The King’s Head both serve very good food; they’re also both dog friendly. There is also a private chef in the village who does outstanding takeaway pizzas most Mondays for takeaway. Kirkby Stephen, about 6 miles, has a number of pubs and cafes plus fish and chip shops and both Chinese and Indian takeaway/restaurants.

Do you provide a Welcome Pack?

Yes, on arrival we provide a few local treats. The contents of our welcome pack may vary from week to week but often include local bread, homemade jams, beer and/or wine and a few other local treats.

Are logs provided for the woodburner?

A handful of logs and kindling are provided to get you going; enough for a couple of nights. Extra logs are available to purchase on request; £20 for a full week’s worth. You can add these at the time of booking or on arrival.

Do you have items we can borrow during our stay?

We recognise that it’s impossible to remember everything you may want for your stay. If there is anything you have forgotten please don't be afraid to ask, the chances are we have it. In addition, here is a list of items available to borrow during your stay. These items are for the use of other guests too so are subject to availability. - Golf clubs - Bike pump - Children's outdoor games and toys