Big Cottages & Group Accommodation in Penrith

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Adam - Verified booking

  Beautiful location and cottage, right at the end of the road so quiet though you will get a lot of walkers in the summer.

  There are excellent walks along the lake and further and red squirrels running around in the garden. Would definitely stay here again. A few comments and things to flag to the owner. The cottage is 18th century and listed and so you should expect some idiosyncrasies in terms of comfort and decoration, however some areas look like they could do with a bit of TLC. The cooker, as others have mentioned, is an aga-type and so using the oven is a bit hit and miss - make sure you give it plenty of time to warm up and close the door properly. We had some issues with the heating - the timer/pump was on but the boiler was not and needed to be reset a few times during the stay. Somebody has obviously tried to burn coal on the dining room grate in the past and melted it - we found it outside and did use it as it's very difficult to keep the fire going without one. Dogs - there are very specific instructions about where dogs are allowed in the book when you get to the cottage (non-carpeted areas) that are not made clear in the listing which might put many people off. TV - some people have had difficulties. There is a freesat box which picks up everything you need, however there is only one HDMI cable so there needs to be another provided as otherwise you have to choose to plug it or the dvd player in. Also there are some issues with the freesat box - it seems to regularly reset itself while your watching something so may need replacing. A positive compared to the listing though - the internet is obviously improved from where it was and is fine for streaming netflix/bbc etc - the apps are available on the TV. Overall, these are fairly small issues that can be easily addressed and didn't detract from overall a lovely stay.

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• Olivia - Verified booking

  Townhead Farmhouse is fantastically situated for anyone wanting to discover the true Lake District, away from the hustle and bustle of the more obvious tourist attractions.

  We loved being able to get to the lake and up onto the hills so easily. The cottage was clean and well equipped but we found noise from the attached cottage a little intrusive (although they were not being antisocial - the walls are just very thin). There was an ongoing leak in the cottage which led to a pervasive damp smell. As this started prior to our visit it might have been nice for some discount to have been offered to us as incoming guests. We also felt guidance on the garden could have been clearer - we had assumed that the lawned area was ours and that the adjoining terraces were assigned to the attached cottage. The cottage guests however made free use of the lawn area including letting their dog foul the grass. This detracted from our enjoyment of the (otherwise beautiful) garden significantly, as several times I had to clear their dog’s mess up myself to avoid my children treading in it while playing. Not the cottage owner’s fault but maybe a clearer division of the garden area would help. Despite these issues I would recommend staying at Townhead farmhouse as the setting is really incredible - next time however I might be tempted to go as part of a larger group so as to have exclusive use of the farmhouse and cottage together.

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• Joy - Verified booking

  This is a lovely cottage and the location is delightful.

  However if anyone stays who wants to be 'close to amenities' then this isn't for them as it is quite remote. Keen walkers will love it though as there are plenty of walks from the front door. Look out for deer and red squirrels. The cottage benefits from all the basic requirements - hot water, heating, wood burning stoves, an extremely well equipped kitchen (although there were no oven gloves and only 2 or 3 decent teaspoons). The heating/ hot water controls have a mind of their own - the hot water never came on when it should have done so we had to keep setting it to constant and then turning it off when we didn't need it. As there were only 2 of us plus dog we lived in the cosy dining room - and never used the lounge. We couldn't work out how to use the TV and there were no instructions - nice to have a rest from the TV anyway! We left the biscuits and (long life) milk provided as we came with all our food - a nice touch might have been locally produced biscuits rather than Viennese creams! A flick round with a feather duster wouldn't go amiss but other than that the cottage was clean and welcoming.

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• Alan - Verified booking

  This is a nice quiet property with walks from the door.

  However, describing it as 9 miles to Keswick is a bit of an exaggeration as it's not in Mungrisedale as stated, but in Mosedale, which is further north. The true distance is actually 12 miles. We all found that the pillows (feather, I believe?) provided compressed easily and were very poor in support. The beds were adequate, though. The kitchen was very well equipped but the cleanliness was not up to usual HOTL standards. It's also worth noting that the internet is via 4G, not broadband. Whilst fast (60Gb) when it was working, it was intermittent and we lost the connection for 2 days totally. The modem required a reset; unfortunately, that is in the adjacent property which was unoccupied at the time. The HOTL maintenance dept. provided the keycode access for the property so we could reset this ourselves.

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• Pauline - Verified booking

  My husband and I (plus our collie) had a most enjoyable holiday at Townhead Farm - it was lovely to stay in what was once a typical Lakeland Farm and which still retains much of its historical character and charm!

  As we were there just as a couple it was really cosy and warm to just use the fire in the dining area in the evenings, however Townhead is obviously also a perfect place for a family to be able to share a very special and unforgettable holiday together. Townhead Farm is situated in very quiet and peaceful area - the location is amazing and the local scenery is stunningly beautiful - it is wonderful to have direct access to the higher fells and beyond as well as having Ullswater within walking distance. We were also lucky to see the local red deer however it was even more magical to hear the roar of the stags echoing through the dale late at night - an awesome sound! We thoroughly enjoyed outstay at Townhead and look forward to returning to this very special place.

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