THIS year was the second we visited The Lake District and we opted for a cottage in the heart of Ambleside, writes Camilla Chafer.
Having previously stayed at a cottage in the hamlet of Troutbeck Bridge, this time we decided we'd much rather be in the thick of things.
We whittled down our choice to Cornerstones, a charming cottage built in traditional lakeland stone. Crucially for Ambleside, our town of choice, it came with private parking. If you've tried to park here during peak season, you'll understand why parking came high up in our criteria!
You go into the end of terrace cottage through a tiny enclosed porch and sitting room. This had which had two sofas, TV, DVD and a small music player along with a collection of books and DVDs and a wood-burning stove which looked very cosy for winter stays.
Two doors led off the living room, one to the kitchen diner, a spacious fully fitted kitchen with a farmhouse style table and enough chairs to seat six. Further to that was a laundry/boot room with washer and freezer and the back door, leading out to a small paved courtyard. Walkers might find going in and out through the boot room particularly to their liking…
From the living room, the second door concealed a flight of stairs leading to the first floor where there was a spacious, modern bathroom, a bunk-bed room and the master room with a pretty patchwork counterpane on the bed and a new en-suite with a walk-in shower.
Another staircase led from the landing to a cosy attic room with twin beds, pine wardrobes and, something the children were particularly delighted with… a TV, games console and a stack of toys in a wooden trunk. However, we did bump our heads at the top of the stairs due to the roof pitch – we should have read the little sign that told us to mind our heads.
Accessibility was no problem with this cottage. The parking (for two) was in the passageway to the side that was shared by the house at the end of the passage, though we were also able to get a permit to park on the road too. A two minute walk took us to Zeffirellis, and due to the size of the town we didn't have to walk more than 15 minutes to reach other places from the delicious Apple Pie cafe to the supermarket and some particularly fab sweet and fudge shops.
Would we stay here again? Absolutely. It was further than we had judged from the boat so we didn't make any boat trips from here, but with the private parking, we were happy knowing that we could park after day trips. There are lots of amenities nearby whether you want to shoot off to the cinema, go to a wine bar or get Wi-Fi in a nearby cafe. The furniture and fittings were good quality and there was a good selection of things for the children to do come a rainy day.
Factbox:
Prices and availability: £750 peak rate
Booked via: Cumbrian Cottages (ref: 123138)
Don't forget to take: Groceries inc. tea, coffee, sugar, cereal, milk (Tesco also deliver here).
Nearby facilities: Shops, cafes, cinema, supermarket all within a few minutes.
Any issues: Some chancers tried to park in our parking area and we gather that it will have a lockable bollard in the future to prevent this.
Images: Camilla Chafer
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