Blencathra Barn

Absolutely fantastic

Nice cottage in general but misses the mark with maintenance. The oven was broken and wouldnt switch off so we had to switch it off at the main socket. Very dangerous if you forget to do that. When we arrived the top floor bath was wobbling and leaking. To be fair to the owners the maintenance guys were out the same day and patched that up. The TV was basically useless as it runs off an indoor aerial with no signal. The WiFi was patchy at best and not secure as it was shared with next door. The taps in the main bathroom seem be plumbed in back to front and the hot one was loose and went from cold to scolding in 2 seconds to the point my mother in law burnt her hand. The beds arent the best and mattress on one or the single beds had springs poking through. The bed on the top floor seems have sunk a bit as well. One of the chairs in the garden also has a loose leg which again nearly caused and accident. Not all negative though. The hot tub, garden and location were all great and the local pub is brilliant. It wouldnt take much to get this place to the right standard but there were just too many small things which put a cloud over the holiday. Wouldnt recommend unless these maintenance of the place is massively improved.

When we arrived the cleaning lady was still there finishing up next door, just as well she was as we couldn't gain entry as the key was not in the lockbox but in the door on the inside of cottage. She had no knowledge of us arriving as said it had not been cleaned! When she gained entry with her keys it was a left in right mess by previous customers. She told us to come back in couple hours by this time it would be 6pm not her fault but a break down communication either with booking agent & owner. When we finally get in on first glances the ladies did a fab job in a short space of time to clean and prepair it for our stay. It was during the stay we started to find little bits not so perfect, the cottage could do with a little TLC and money being put back into it and bring up to date with current times. The kettle could do with replacing as has rather alot scalling init. The TV Ariel is no use at all, everytime you want watch TV you have to retune and lucky dip what channels you pick up. There is an outdoor ariel socket on wall why there's no extension into this instead the crappy plug in ariel?? Luckily the TV is a smart TV so can use your Netflixprime accounts if you have these. The WiFi is shocking slow, the router is next door and you piggy back off that, it was hit and miss alot the times. The bathroom door handle needs attention, no one dared locked the door incase it came off and you got stuck in there! The shower in main bathroom is a cheap of the cheapest ones going and pointless for double shower that size, plus there's not alot hot water it runs cold and tepid, so don't think if having a bath. Cheap plastic toilet seats. The hottub man comes Friday & Mondays. We noticed He doesn't empty them at each change over but simply wipes the seats, fish out the bugs, cleans the filters and replaces the chlorine tabs. So not sure how many guests have used same water before us? He was there just finishing when we arrived Friday the tub was 40 so obviously not been emptied and refilled These may seem little things but when your paying 1200 these little things do go a long way to making your stay more comfortable. The garden is good size, enclosed so dog friendly. Overall its a lovely cottage, ideal place as base while you explore the beautiful lakes have to offer.

Nice sized house and garden only draw back with this property is fences arent high enough. So if you have a large dog who likes to jump they will need to be on a lead in the garden.

A great property in a nice quiet location. Plenty of room in the property and a large enclosed garden. The only improvement I would recommend is that the hot tub maintenance person knocks before entering the property. Having a large dog it was a surprise to see someone opening the gate and walking in.

Little jobs need doing loose cooker button, and toilet roll holders. Floor sills dirtydusty. Needs better attention from the cleaner purfume bottle under the bed. Fire Alarm went off, and unable to switch off, owner unable to help as 2hrs away, eventually stopped after 2hrs, we were about to give up and leave as was our last night. Still we enjoyed our stay and would come again, as cleaning can be sorted and loose things overlooked for a short stay.

The cottagebarn was lovely, very homely and lots of space. The only downside for us was the hot tub was not ready for use until our second day so we weren't able to make the most of it.

Cottage was lovely and clean. Great welcome pack when we got there. Pub down the road was lovely. Great food and really friendly. Lots of space for 4 adults and a dog. Great location near to Penrith and ulswater. Will stay again if visiting the area. Thank you

Gaps at the bottom of the fence needs addressing at the back and to the side, as had dog escape needed to be out with them at all times, could do with new bbq because it had no grills, but part from that location was lovely.

A little underwhelmed at what could be a lovely holiday let. The oven was a disgrace, swimming in grease and dirty. I forwarded pictures to the contact number in the information folder but did not receive a reply. The dials on the cooker was loose and need attention. A very basic kitchen, disappointing as I like to cook. The barbecue was similar, the skeletal remains of a large black bird didnt help.

We had a lovely stay & would love to return. Good base for the area & the hot tub was a bonus.

3rd time using the barns everything great as usual , hope to be back in the future .

Blancathra Barn is a lovely place to stay it's got everything you need facilitie wise and the hot tub is a lovely place to to relax after a long day walking. Stayed there at the end of March 2022 for a week and had great holiday and would definitely recommend. The only negative is the time's you can enter the property 4.30 pm and leave 9.30am you loose a day's holiday?. But would definitely return to this property again Ian

A lovely very clean barn. I would not hesitate to stay here again. Lots of things to do close by or just relax in the hot tub! Will be back.

Really nice well kept property welcoming of dogs. Nice big garden good location. Lovely hot tub only downfall is you have to be out of the tub by 10pm, and the hot tub maintenance men let themselves in and out as they please, regularly

This was my second visit and I will definitely be back! Such a spacious house with everything you need and plenty more! The hot tub is an added bonus. Not far to explore the Lakes either. Would love check out time to be slightly later but I know covid plays a role in this, it just feels like you lose a day effectively. Great stay!

We had a wonderful weekend at the cottage. It was a cosy place to stay during the storm. Everything we needed was there. Would definitely go back.

Great cottage with everything you might need for your stay, very comfortable, warm and spacious. The Sun Inn just down the road was very welcoming and does brilliant food.

Beautiful place to stay but tv and WiFi signal very hit and miss much to annoyance of kids. That apart really enjoyable holiday home ,will definitely be back.

Excellent, well presented property, comfortably housing 7 people and 2 dogs in a great location. Very well equipped with large comfy sofas recliners being an unexpected bonus and brilliant hot tub. A pre arrival note to inform that pool guy arrives early on Friday morning to change the water in the hot tub to enable it to be usable after 1900 by next guests on arrival day would help to set expectations.

This was our second time staying here and we were very happy with everything at the barn and would stay again

We couldnt get into hot tub till 7 as the water had just been changed, that should have been sorted for our arrival, then when we got in the neighbour decided to cut his hedge with electric hedge cutters, we are key workers and when we do get away we like to chilax, not possible with that racket going on, also the hot tub was never hot, it said 38 degrees but no way was it that, and also there were no fizz flutes , plenty of other glasses but no flutes, I also thought it was overpriced 15,00. 00 for a weekend cant get in till 4.30 and out by 9.30

Kitchen was very dirty,we had to clean the oven before we used it. ..The flies in the whole cottage were horrendous we had to go out and buy lots of things to try and get rid of them

Twice I rang Sykes Cottages with questions for the owner. You never did get back to me The window sills were covered with dead insects. Very disappointed that the owner would not consider refunding us fully or for the one night we missed due to my sister dying.

Simple booking and plenty of information emails. Love the app so its easy to log in and check details

Lovely spacious barn conversion, 4 bedrooms sleeping 7 people. Very well stocked with crockery, pots, pans, dog essentials etc. Very comfortable, warm and cosy. Hot tub brilliant. Couldnt really fault the Barn apart from maybe a larger tv. Comment from my boys and husband!! Great garden at the rear too. Sun Inn pub 1 minutes walk were very accommodating also plus great food. Lovely trip to Pooley Bridge and Ullswater for two country walks. Would definitely recommend.

The cottage was really comfortable. We had terrible weather but were able to enjoy the cottage and spend family time together. We had a couple of good days out and the cottage is central for travel onwards. Well equipped. We had no problems at all. The hot tub was really nice. In terms of improvements just a chair in the dressing area would have been really useful. I used that room as a study area and this was really helpful. We improvised with a dining chair so this was not a problem. It was a lovely quiet place to read. The cottage is really quirky and has real character and is really worth a visit. I loved the ensuite bedroom and appreciated the unusual layout. We really had a lovely time and the cottage was better than expected. We were all comfortable and refreshed after our stay. We hope to book again.

Very central

Very pretty wellfurnished dog friendly place. ideal location for exploring the lakes. hottub was great. would stay again

The property was grubby. The foolrs had not be cleaned and felt sticky and were filthy. The kitchen was dirty, even after the reclean it was still grubby. The units felt dirty and sticky. The chopping boards were dirty. The tiles were full of food splats. The curtains are hanging off in the lounge. It appears the bear minimum of cleaning is taking place. I scrubbed a white wooden coffee table in the lounge with a white cloth, soap and water the cloth was black afterwards. Same with the dining table. For what we paid for our 4 nights, the place was dirty, unkempt and tired looking downstairs. This is the 2nd cottage I have had from Sykes and it will be my last. Regards

Lovely property but would benefit from some improvements. Washing machine not working and bed in twin room wooden slats broken. No communication relating to when hot tub was being cleaned, a maintenance man showed up at 7.30 on two different days. Poor communication from property manager, issue with burglar alarm spontaneously setting off. Property manager took 2 hours to respond to textcalls.

The barn could be a great place to stay but needs a little love downstairs ! It looked like it has been decorated with white paint, with no dust sheets down. The floors downstairs were covered in paint, so made it feel grubby. Sofas, rug & coffee table all need renewing. It really let it down. The first morning I got the Hoover out as one rug appeared unohoovered, but the Hoover was full & smelt terrible, the tumble dryer was was thick with lint & water dispenser not emptied. Mirror on the wall at bottom of top staircase had to be cleaned as was filthy. Just no attention to detail. On a positive note the kitchen was well equipped, great quality cooker etc Plenty of hot water Upstairs was good the bedrooms & bathrooms & plenty of space. Top bathroom needs a smal storage unit as no where to put toilet makeup bag so these had to go on the floor Garden well fenced in & good jsize. Needs attention to detail wouldn't take much to smarten up.

Fantastic cottage which was perfect for a gathering of friends. Beds very comfortable and hot tub was brilliant. Only slight annoyance was the early check out time of 10am, which there is no flexibility on. 11am would be a kinder time to choose, like most hotels do.

Please refer to my trip advisor review to see how many issues we encountered. What really disappoints me is that all our issues are all touched upon in previous reviews yet neither Sykes or the owner obviously cannot be bothered to rectifyact upon the obvious issues with this place. Obviously as long as both parties are getting their monies everyone is happy except the customer. In summary, I find it deplorable that Sykes refused to bring any pressure to bear onto the owner despite me supplying photos of all the various issues, people vote with their feet, you will never have another penny from me again.

Really lovely barn! Would definitely use again. Great range of facilities, I was even more impressed with how kitted out the kitchen was. Normally when were hire a homecaravan the kitchen has such a limited amount of pots, trays and utensils! The only thing that was a small downfall is that the hot tub took a while to heat up, by the Sunday it was up to temp and we enjoyed a dip! The garden is fenced in very well, so good for the pooches. My partner and I stayed in the top mezzanine bedroom and it was a dream! All in all enjoyed very much.

House wasn't very well cleaned downstairs we found peanuts and sweet wrappers in the main seating area. Internet needs sorting out. we couldn't get signal most of the time we stayed there.