xplorin

Has anyone stayed at the Yew Tree Farm near Coniston in Cumbria? If so, what were your impressions? Thank you!!

travel2live2

We stayed there last year and really enjoyed it. The surrounding scenery is spectacular. I would definitely return. Whilst I would not rate it the best B&B I have ever stayed in, it would be up there.

moolyn

xplorin,

We didn't stay there but checked it out last year because of the connection to Beatrice Potter and the movie. It's very lovely, located well back from the road and you can do many walks right from the doorstep. It's location in the central lake district is excellent as you are handy to Ambleside and Grasmere as well as Coniston. It's also handy to the Drunken Duck which has regained its former restaurant status.

Yew Tree Farm features a walkers' tea room at in the afternoon. Tea drinking and cross country walking don't go together in my book! What they mean is that they don't offer parking except for B&B guests so tea partiers must arrive on foot.

xplorin

travel2live2,

Thank you for your input. It appears that Yew Tree has only 2 nights available on the dates in June that we are looking at. If we want 1 or 2 more nights in the south lakes area, is there another B & B you would recommend? (I noticed you said you would not rate it the best B & B you've ever. Does this mean not the most luxurious, etc.?) We're going to spend the rest of our trip in the northern part near Cockermouth. Our friends who live there have recommended The Kirkstile Inn.

travel2live2

I will look up the B&B websites I saved in planning the trip. It is a wonderful B&B - it really is. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it. However, we did find more charming/characterful places (especially in Yorkshire) where the rooms were absolutely chock full of charm. I would definitely choose Yew Tree for the surroundings - it is stunning.

I'll get back to you on others I looked into...

travel2live2

Oh, by the way - we always try to stay in rural, off-the-beaten-path places of around 25-35 ppppn. Is that in keeping with your ideals?

xplorin

We thought we would like more rural, off-the-beaten path places too that are charming and comfortable, yet not too stark or plain. Most of the ones I've been pricing have been comparably priced with the Yew Tree Farm, which is 52 ppppn. But cheaper is even better if they are nice. Other ones in the area I have considered, but aren't as rural, are Raise View House B & B, and White Moss House.

I'd appreciate any info. that you find from your previous planning. This is our first trip over.

travel2live2

You would absolutely love this website, then. They are mainly 4 and 5 star places packed with charm, character, gorgeous gardens, views, etc. http://www.sawdays.co.uk/search/list...9&PropType[]=BANDB&order=&RecFrom=420

A lovely place with a spectacular breakfast is http://www.low-fell.co.uk/index.html. There are tons of choices. It is not quite as rural and not off the beaten path. I'll keep checking for you! My husband and I have been to England 6 times - Scotland even more. We just cannot get enough of it!

travel2live2

We really loved this place: http://www.highhouses.co.uk/.

Will you be spending any time in other parts of the country? As much as we love the Lakes District we honestly found other areas of the country (North Yorkshire - Moors and Dales and Northumberland) to be less crowded, more rural, more off-the-beaten-path, charming and enjoyable. Do not let me sway you - just wanted to let you know. But then we area really rural people and really cherish country living, peace and quiet, etc.

You know what? I just looked at the Yew Tree website and it has really changed since last summer. Wow. The room we stayed in definitely was not that lovely and rustic. Maybe they did some renovating or something! I would choose that place at least for the nights that you can. As I said, the location cannot be beat!

xplorin

travel2live2,

We are flying into Manchester on June 13 and departing on June 22. Part of the purpose of the trip is business for my husband, so we will be spending probably half of our time in the Cockermouth area of the Lake District for that. Have you spent much time in that area, & if so, is there a place you liked there?

We really did not want to feel rushed or stressed, so for that reason we had decided just to stick with the Lake District area. We had even considered going up into Scotland, but our friends said the best part was the Highlands, and might be best saved for another trip.

I would like to see Yorkshire. Not having been before, it is hard to judge distances and times. I see that Yorkshire Dales isn't far from the Lake District. Where do you usually stay when you go there?

I thought the Low Fell Inn looked lovely, even though it is not rural. We would enjoy a quaint small town as well as rural. Would be nice to do some of both. We enjoy peace & quiet, plus good food, some shopping, walking, & being our first time I'm sure we'll have to hit some of the tourist spots, such as Beatrix Potter's home, Wordsworth's place, etc.

Also, what does it mean if your bathroom is not ensuite? And for a double room, are the beds usually a double bed (vs. a queen or king size?) It is hard to tell from the pictures.

I do think that I saw that the Yew Tree Farm had a major refurbishment recently.

Thank you for all of your help!

Londonres

I imagine that Yew Tree Farm is hard to book since Prince Charles said that it's his favourite.

Dalegarth Guest House is owned by Ramblers Holidays, and it's on the Hassness Estate - regarded as having the best view in England. I enjoyed a comfortable stay here a few years ago. See:
http://www.dalegarthguesthouse.co.uk

caroline_edinburgh

Too stark or plain is not usually a problem in British B&Bs - chintzy & old-fashioned (not in a good way) is the danger.

Yes, double beds will usually be double beds, not kingsize if it doesn't say kingsize. (We don't really have queensize here.)

Not ensuite means you have to go out into a corridor to access your bathroom, it's not directly off your bedroom. Non-ensuite bathrooms may be private (not in the room but only used by you) or shared.

Friends of mine who are both tall & used to an extra large bed prefer to go for 2 singles rather than a double.

I think you'd do better staying in a pub. We quite like the Mortal Man at Troutbeck.

janisj

Ensuite = bathroom in your bedroom

Private = a bathroom for your exclusive use but not IN your bedroom. It could be in the corridor just outside your bedroom, or down the hall (or, rarely, even down a flight of stairs). But no one else will have access.

Shared = a bathroom shared by 2 or 3 or 4, or sometimes more, rooms

moolyn

Another B&B that we would choose if we didn’t have a place to stay in the lakes already would be White Moss House, mentioned above and reputed to serve excellent meals. It overlooks Rydal Water but is set back from the road. The walk around Rydal Water is one of our very favourite walks in the lakes. http://www.whitemoss.com/

Ryelands, located in Grasmere is another highly recommended guesthouse and Grasmere is very peaceful for evenings strolls: http://www.ryelandsgrasmere.co.uk/
Here’s my lake district trip report with lots of photos:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34811293

An old favourite pub that has been revived and serves excellent food once again: www.drunkenduckinn.co.uk

Anna was very pleased with High Fold Farm in Troutbeck, a lovely little central village between windermere and Ambleside: http://www.highfoldbedandbreakfast.co.uk/

Here’s her hilarious report which includes London and Paris as well as the lake district:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35012850

xplorin

Thank you for clarifying the ensuite issue!

Caroline_edinburgh,

I checked out Mortal Man on TripAdvisor. Sounds like a wonderful place, but it is recently under a new owner. They say the rooms are in desperate need of refurbishment, which he is in the process of doing, so it sounds like a great place to stay on a later visit. Do you have any other recommendations? Thank you!

xplorin

By the way, we were unable to get reservations at the Yew Tree Farm, since the were completely booked during our timeframe, despite what their website said. I guess the word is getting out!

caroline_edinburgh

xplorin, sorry, the Mortal Man is the only place we've stayed in the southern Lakes. Our rooms have been fine but the last time we went was about 3 years ago so I suppose they may have got a bit worn since then. And maybe some were nicer than others ? We spent Christmas there one year & it was lovely - we woke up to snow on Xmas Day !

The only other place I've stayed in the Lakes is Sharrow Bay but that's in the north & in a different league pricewise (we went for an anniversary).

xplorin

moolyn,

We had checked out White Moss, but they are booked during our time also.

I am reading your report and it is wonderful! I have only looked at your first couple of picture albums and they are fantastic! I am so excited! It is beautiful, even when it is overcast. I can't wait to read more.

Ryelands looks very nice, so we may check that out. I've seen the Drunken Duck Inn come up alot in reviews, so we're definitely going to have to eat there!

One thing I'm wondering about, and I don't want to sound like a spoiled American, but we currently sleep in a king-size bed and I am a fairly light sleeper. I am 5'10" tall and my husband is about the same. I don't want to limit us too much on where to stay, as most places seem to feature double beds. Double beds seem so small to us now, but do you think we'll get used to them or be so tired that it won't be an issue? Someone recommended going to 2 twins if you are tall and used to sleeping in a large bed, which I might look for, but not all places offer that.

Anna1013

xplorin,

I saw that Moolyn already posted about the B&B we stayed in at Troutbeck(High Fold Guest House). I was just going to suggest searching for some of her great trip reports, as she is one of the first people I think about when searching for info on the Lakes.

There's not enough I can say about Troutbeck - lovely rural little village, with only two small pubs...The Mortal Man and Queens' Head, both of which had great food.

Incredible views, and we loved the fact that we weren't in a big town, but yet, we were only about two minutes away from Windermere by car. Troutbeck was only about 15 minutes away from Ambleside and Grasmere.

Now, the decor in the Guest House wasn't exactly "new", and I think some areas could be renovated, but it wasn't horribly outdated or old. We had a triple room, which was great as it was at the top of the house, and we had a king size bed - you can check the website, but I'm pretty sure some of the rooms have a king size bed. We were happy with our accomodations - it was clean and functional, and in our price range.

If you liked the look of the Mortal Man, and the area around it, I'm positive that you will love staying in Troutbeck - we did!

moolyn

xplorin, double beds are pretty much standard in B&Bs and I believe that what the British term king size is really the same as our queen. Some places do offer the larger size so you can always ask. The four poster bed at Ryelands looks like a queen to me in the photo. Two twins would give you more width but wouldn't be any longer, of course.

Glad your're enjoying my report and photos. I really should write up our trip last June when it was wet, wet, wet but still beautiful.