Self Catering in County Durham - Gainford

Run down, poorly maintained, nice bed, disappointing not worth the money
?Beautiful area, lovely views, great sized bed, nice bath and floors. Hot tub nice to relax in although we booked for 4 nights and were only supplied with enough wood for 2 nights use (More is available at your own cost). Great base for exploring the area by car although described as paths in all directions this isnt true as there is only one. Wallpaper is peeling and held together with curled sellotape or just left. Tea towels look well used and grubby although they did appear to have been washed. The patio door frame and double glazing unit are broken. A pillow on the bed has stuffing bursting out. The patio chair seats are about ready to split so we ended up buying our own. The back wall is part smooth part pebble dash as if incomplete. The paving in the yard is full of moss with weeds breaking through. The wooden fence at the back has broken lats which have been blocked off by a random metal gate rather than matching wood. The fridge door is dinted, the microwave door handle is coming off, the electric sockets are loose in the kitchen, the light fitting in the main living area is loose and the chandelier is dirty, the toilet roll holder is hanging off the wall. (Owners response was microwave & loo roll holder now fixed & no one had told them before, so presumably they aren?t cleaned!) The fencing and wood around the tub are faded. The front window frames have peeling paint. When we arrived there was no welcome pack not even a token coffee, tea, milk to put us on until we could get to the shops bearing in mind it is very remote, although apparently this is a Covid measure we weren?t informed of this in the list of recommended things to take. No kitchen cleaner to wipe the worktops with (not on the list). There was also only 1 loo roll for a 4 night stay (owners response was you are expected to take your own, again not on the list) The information book only has instructions for the hot tub, not the fire or radiator, it also only has details of several varying sized walks all in one village a few miles away nothing else re points of interest or nearest supermarket etc. (Owners response was that in her experience people google these things) we did of course google but it raises the question why bother putting an information folder there in the first place. All in all we get the concept although its a shame as a bit of tlc and it could be so much better, it is sadly lacking in the little things, general maintenance and upkeep. Not quite what we were expecting for £650 for 4 nights and not quite as described. I booked this as a surprise for my husband for our anniversary but we left a night early, the owner didn?t enquire was this anything to do with the property when I asked where to leave the key but later responded she thought it was due to the weather! The weather was dry and fine so I?m unsure how she came to that conclusion. Don?t waste your money if you don't want to be disappointed
Emsi2715
2021-08-22

A romantic retreat in leu of a COVID postponed wedding
?Barforth Hall Cottage is 'as it says on the tin'; read the listing and this what you get. We chuckled after a brief worry after reading reviews post-booking... however, future parties, please have some common sense when reading the reviews. Of course it is on a farm, which means you need to access it via a farm track and not a dual carriageway. As for cow noises of a "deafening volume"- never heard any of the animals really- maybe the odd neigh when in the hot tub! As for someone's disgust at the smells... could not smell the animals and that is surely part of the rural experience. Paula and Jason are fabulous hosts and it was such a shame to see people disrespect their business lands and cottages; most holiday cottages will not have owners nearby whereas we were lucky to meet Jason and his dog after they had a hard day on the farm, as well as be able to get some tips about the local area. Jason and Paula were extremely friendly and helpful; whilst running their farm they are happy to stop for a chat but will also leave you to your own privacy but equally are on hand should you need them. We went for a wander following their advice and we are so pleased they recommended the local pub, The Brownlow Arms- a three mile walk. The hot tub is a wood-fired hot tub; it does NOT leak... wood expands and contracts with moisture and heat, and these guys know exactly how to operate these effectively! We had plenty of wood to enable a hot tub session every evening and still had wood to spare. Easy to operate, quiet and with scenic views to boot. We took LOTS of extra bits as previous reviews had said items were lacking in the kitchen! What a waste but luckily we had the car. This is NO disrespect to the owners but us being prepared based on reviews. There is enough to cook basic meals for two- if you want to be Gordon Ramsey on holiday then yes you will need to bring some equipment! We used bulk cooked frozen meals from home, the Brownlow Arms which we could not recommend enough and the nearby supermarket. They do have teapots, cafetieres and even a champagne bucket! We did find taking plastic wine and gin glasses highly beneficial for using in the hot tub!!! The cottage is well situated to accessing a number of great areas of interest! We visited Barnard Castle, Beamish - The Living Museum of the North, White Scar Caves to name but a few! There are llamas who we met...Rafa enjoyed his daily apple but prefers the ladies and apparently bananas! He can spit so be warned, but I still found this amusing when he did it to Tim! Paula and Jason (I presume) own a number of cottages which are grouped together, so you could come as an extended family (which we hope to explore as this is the half-way point for us in Norfolk and my brother in Scotland). Cottages are dog friendly and the views are beautiful. A great break from busy life! Thank you so much for our experience on what should have been our wedding week and start to our honeymoon. We loved our time with you and cannot wait to revisit (maybe with more family members!).
SherryG72
2020-10-30

Not as described, or expected.
Arrived late at night and left the same night! Walked in and left straight away, awful. The place was full of flies. The cottage was very tired and run down. It is in the middle of nowhere and on a run down farm. The furniture and bedding has seen better days. The so called hottub needs some care and attention. Definitely not worth the money. We found a hotel nearby and spent our weekend there. Very disappointed!
KennethandMunki
2020-09-01

Just Beautiful
Just come back from a 3 night stay for a surprise birthday treat for my partner and it was fabulous, I asked Paula if she could get some Prosecco and chocolates on arriving in the cottage which she did, we went with our 8 month old son and there was a high chair and cot which was brill, a carton of milk in the fridge ready for us, the on look in the morning is picturesque horses and pheasants, our son loved seeing the alpacas and goats, on the night time we went in the hot tub it couldn?t have been more better just chilling relaxing while there's just fields to look on to, thru the day we went into Barnard castle about 15 minutes in the car lovely town which has a beautiful Bowes museum that we visited, and had lunch, on the Sunday we went to the fox inn restaurant for Sunday dinner and the meal was great best beef ever, all a can say is Paula and her husband are lovely and that we will definitely be back great little place to visit
93sammy
2019-11-11

Lovely relaxing break again!
This is our second stay and we really enjoyed it as last time.. We would return. Reading the reviews I wonder what people want from a country side stay. The hot tub leaked a little and within five minutes of telling the owners they came and rectified it, and left us a lovely bottle of prosseco.. People need to actually ask for assitance. The hot tub gets red hot, so unsure what the people reviewing were doing. If your not careful it can end up too hot. For us it's all part of the being away from it all, heating the hot tub and enjoying sitting under the stars in it at night, in the middle of no where. Everything you need In the cottage, towels, kitchen items etc. It was clean and tidy on arrival and the heating and water had been put on. The water pressure is a little low, but it doesn't make it difficult being there. Yes it's down a lane, however you hardly ever meet anyone and all the locals are very friendly and helpful at manoeuvring thier cars to assist if needed. If your looking for a peaceful country setting then lanes are expected. The owners Paula and Jason could not be more helpful and friendly and are there always when needed. Lovely big four poster, romantic retreat and bonus of dog friendly with a fenced of yard. Very peaceful and tranquil surroundings, with horses, llamas, sheep and cows. Both times found lots of great places to visit, High Force Falls, Raby Castle , Bishop Auckland. Thank you for a lovely stay again, and we will return.
manne87
2019-11-09