Smithy Cottage

Rating
Sleeps 6
Bedrooms 3
Bathrooms 3
Pets Yes
View on map

Features

Off road parking
Open fire
Garden / Patio
Cot available
Highchair available
Pub/shop < 1 mile
Washing machine
Dishwasher
Broadband / WiFi

Reviews

10 Customer Review(s)

Sutherland12345
September 2020

“Missing a trick”

As a trip advisor for years reviewing places all over the world, I am always firm but fair. I previously have always used Lakes Cottages, who I personally love, but on this occasion , thought I would give Sykes Cottages a go. Smithy cottage in Tirril is pleasant enough, not that central but handy for the pub the Queens Head, which has fabulous food, (booking recommended), also walks near too. ...

As a trip advisor for years reviewing places all over the world, I am always firm but fair. I previously have always used Lakes Cottages, who I personally love, but on this occasion , thought I would give Sykes Cottages a go. Smithy cottage in Tirril is pleasant enough, not that central but handy for the pub the Queens Head, which has fabulous food, (booking recommended), also walks near too. The cottage it’s self, could be beautiful but it lacks cleaning and TLC, for example dust under beds and round chairs thick and cobwebs around the place. The showers don’t work that well , as the boiler needs replacing and the upstairs blue bathroom is tired, floor is in poor condition and wood needs staining. The other bedrooms are nice and warm, comfy double room. The hallway is un-inviting and tired, as is the side of the house, full of moss on the floor and weeds. The decking at the back is dangerous as it feels like a marshmallow when you walkk on it. No hanging baskets, no outdoor lighting, poor standard of garden furniture, no outdoor maintenance at all, even after a 12 week lock down. Conservatory is dirty inside and out needs power washing, and painting. The kitchen is ok, but tired in parts although a good supply of things like bin liners, toilet and kitchen rolls, cleaning products are in plenty, not sure they get used to be honest. Missing a trick this cottage and owners, could be so nice and achieve a higher rent. So would I use Sykes again, not sure they can deliver and lost trust I think . It should after a 12 week lock down of been immaculate throughout - a shame

- Sutherland12345, September 2020
MaeveC60 August 2020

“Wet week in The Lakes”

Arrived at Smithy Cottage to be greeted by a pile of rotting grass cuttings on the drive! The interior of the house was beautiful and looked clean, initially. When the sofa was moved in the living room, it had not be cleaned and the same followed for the bedrooms, we even found a pair of dusty sunglasses under the bed in the main bedroom! The kitchen equipment was fairly well stocked but lacked any plastic cups or plates for children. The garden was unusable as it was so overgrown and the covered area outside the backdoors were covered in slippery moss so very dangerous to walk on. A down pipe from the gutter flowed directly onto one area, causing permanent puddles. We arrived back to the house on the Thursday (Friday to Friday let) and were surprised to see the grass had been cut, no exterior access could be seen so concerned that somebody had been in the property without our prior knowledge, the rotting grass cuttings at the front of the property still hadn't been removed however! I expected a starter pack of wood for the open fire, but none was provided, however the heating system and hot water worked well. The towels provided in the property need replacing, hard from many washes however the house itself was cosy, comfortable and a good base for exploring the Northern lakes. The local pub in the village was fantastic and served good food, booking a must!

- MaeveC60, August 2020
ToniM84 September 2017

“Fantastic!!!!”

5 adults and 1 Labrador. Couldn't have found a better place to stay! Beautiful cottage with a bathroom/an suite for each bedroom. Huge loving room and stunning kitchen/conservatory leading out to a perfect enclosed garden. The fence at the bottom of the garden is a sou me layered wire fence as there were sheep in the field behind but it was perfectly secure. The sheep were very interested in my dog . Very clean and tidy and comfortable. Location is spot on, 10mins from pooley bridge, 15-20 from Penrith. Will absolutely go back again, Couldn't have asked for better.

- ToniM84, September 2017
Vinpaul B August 2017

“Spacious pet friendly cottage with Spiders”

We spent a weekend in the cottage and it was a nice break away from the hustle and bustle of city life. The cottage is lovely and spacious. On the ground floor, there is a large living room, kitchen with a lovely sitting area that opens up to the garden, a large dining room. The master bedroom is nice and spacious. It was good that the floors were all hardwood on the ground floor as we had brought our dog along. The cottage seemed nice and clean when we walked in. The kitchen was squeaky clean. The bathrooms looked ok. The linen looked a bit dated in the single and double rooms. The reason why I'm only giving this cottage 3 stars is the encounters we had with spiders during the duration of our stay. We spent one evening in the living room just before we went to sleep, we saw a massive spider on the walls. Unfortunately, we were unable to catch it, and that was the last we stepped into the living room. Whilst going to sleep there was big spider number two inside the bed in one of the rooms (future guests are advised to shake the duvet and bed cover thoroughly before settling in). The next day, we found another massive spider in the dining room. Basically, if you are not into spiders, let this be a warning. Additionally, the heating system was a bit difficult to figure out. And we struggled to find out how to get hot water as the heating was off. All in all, it was a pleasant stay, however, there was a constant fear of spotting a spider throughout our stay which was not much fun! Maybe this is what we should expect in a cottage, but we have stayed in cottages before and haven't faced this problem before.

- Vinpaul B, August 2017
stooross August 2017

“The Good, The Bad & The Ugly”

This could be a really outstanding cottage to use as a base for exploring the Lakes. It suffers from poor management, which ultimately (as you can read from our comments in the visitors book in the attached photo) resulted in a highly unsatisfying stay. A real shame.

- stooross, August 2017
Mke500 May 2016

“Could be a great place”

Location and size of cottage is really good for exploring north lakes. The rest... The place feels tired dirty and a bit un cared for.the main bathroom with the bath was not cleaned so started our holiday cleaning that. We didn't use this bathroom cause it was obvious from the water marks on the floor that it would leak. The curtain is part falling off and the plaster above the window flaking. The bedroom next to that had a spider 2inches big under the quilt probably due to the window not being able to close well. The second bedroom lacks curtains meaning the people sleeping there woke up at 5am when the sun came up. Main bedroom window locked shut and bathroom blinds broken and window doesn't open. Kitchen was generally ok even if lacking certain essentials such as a large pan to boil pasta for 6 people. Kitchen bin is broken but this seems to have been like that for a while. Internet.. Well in 2016 you would expect that to work for 24hours a day.. Not this. Very intermittent, blocks most social pages including Instagram and is slower than the old 54k dial up modems. Back garden is great but the area where the shed is all needs a good clean. It feels run down and un cared for. Called emergency number on the Sunday to try sort out the internet but no one answered the phone or called back.

- Mke500, May 2016
658tfs May 2016

“Great Potential to be a lovely cottage”

We had high hopes of Smithy Cottage and I had hoped to give it at least a 4 star rating. First the good points for us - spacious, 3 bedrooms, 3 bath/shower rooms, open fire, internet and the location (5 minutes from my mother in law). We stayed with our 2 grown up sons. However there were so many issues . Windows - many of them are just there to let light in and do not have a facility to open them - for instance in our double bedroom which is not satisfactory at all not being able to open a window. It would have helped had we been able to open the window in our en suite, however the mechanism was broken. In all the bathroom/shower rooms there were patches of black mould - no doubt due to lack of ventilation but again unacceptable. Many lights and lamps either had light bulbs that did not work but also some did not have any bulbs in at all - totally unacceptable that the housekeeper had not checked all these fittings (as I do in our own holiday let). The state of the decoration of the whole house is very poor - lots of marks and scrapes on the walls and large patches of worn paint and patches of damp (for instance round the window seat in the sitting room). Considering it is early still in the season you would expect the decoration to be in good order! In the bathroom with the bath in is a leak to outside. I see this was reported in the visitors book in October and then November 2015 and has still not been fixed. In the kitchen the brabantia bin lid was open when we arrived. I assumed the cleaner had left it open but it was open because it is broken. Also in the kitchen there are big chunks out of the side of the worktop going back to bare wood again - again lack of care and you get the feeling the owners are not really bothered as to the standard that guests should expect. Heating. The underfloor heating works well downstairs. However upstairs are radiators and this is where issues arose. When we woke up on the first morning the radiators were not on and indeed did not give off any warmth untll after 10.00 a.m. - not nice to wake up to cold bedrooms when there are plenty of radiators. Again in the evening the radiators were cold. We "turned" the control up on the landing to 25 but still the radiators were cold. In the end by the 3rd night we found we had to turn the heating control up to 30 to get the radiators to work properly - and then turn the control down to 25 once they had reached the right temperature. We are used to and have always lived in old lake district cottages so are used to old buildings and the cold but were radiators are advertised we expect them to work. The heated towel rails never worked. Towels - we had not expected that towels would not be provided! In the advertisement it does not mention towels so we had not thought to check since it is rare nowadays to rent a property that does not provide towels. It was fortunate that we were only 5 minutes away from my mother in laws so that we could go and get some towels. Many people in the visitors book have complained at arriving to find no towels and having to go out into Penrith on arrival to buy some. If towels are not to be provided then that should be CLEARLY stated on the advertisement. Finally the cottage was not very clean - cobwebs on the landings and layers of dust on the surfaces and television. It is a great shame because essentially this is a lovely cottage with potential to be very good. I was not going to leave a review as I have emailed the Agents - Lakes Cottage Holidays of Carlisle and had expected they would have responded to at least say they had passed my comments onto the owners but have not had a reply.

- 658tfs, May 2016
gardenangel895 August 2015

“lovely comfortable convenient”

We were a party of 6 . Grandparents, two daughters, granddaughter (14 years) grandson( 6months) Plenty of space for us all. Village offered opportunity to meander with baby and young dog. Walked along small roads to Pooley bridge , we also walked back but could have caught the bus if we had wanted to.. Took the all day steamer to Glenridding and onto Airs force ( think there could have been a concession for parking at Pooley Bridge if taking the all day ferry ). Visited Penrith ; Birds of Prey and Keswick . There was just a couple of things neglected eg a tap and toilet in main bathroom, blind in double bedroom & back twin bedroom , chairs in conservarory and front door lock. nevertheless a lovely relaxing week Thank you

- gardenangel895, August 2015
A FlipKey verified reviewer November 2013

“Excellent stay at Smithy Cottage”

We really enjoyed our stay at Smithy Cottage. The location for our requirements was excellent, as some of the party wanted to climb mountains and some wanted to stay local. All the facilities at the cottage were excellent. We had a meal at the pub down the road which again was excellent, and would certainly recommend this.

- A FlipKey verified reviewer, November 2013
A FlipKey verified reviewer June 2013

“Nice cottage”

We had a lovely holiday staying at this cottage,spacious with private garden(despite the weather). The local pub served very nice food although probably more expensive than further afield. Good location for getting to most areas Just a couple of niggles...No towels are provided and there is only one tiny wardrobe in the master bedroom, no others at all!

- A FlipKey verified reviewer, June 2013
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The property

Smithy Cottage is a traditional Cumbrian cottage ideally located to explore Lake Ullswater.

With beams and cosy open fire for cosy nights in and garden for summer relaxation the cottage is an all year round home from home.

Keswick and Penrith are within a 20 minute drive and Ambleside is half an hour away. Tirril is located mid way between Penrith and the bustling village of Pooley Bridge on the shores of Lake Ullswater.

Nearby is Rheghed Visitor Centre and Lowther Castle with its restored gardens.

Keswick is a 20 minute drive and a trip over Kirkstone Pass leads to Ambleside or Windermere.

The market towns of Penrith and Keswick have shops, bars, restaurants, a cinema and swimming pool to amuse children on rainy days, or fell walks can be enjoyed straight from the door. Smithy Cottage is a refurbished 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom cottage located overlooking the village green, only 100 yards from the award winning village pub, noted for its excellent meals.

Retaining traditional charm with a beamed lounge and open fire the cottage is cosy for winter nights in and the cottage garden provides a relaxing haven to enjoy al-fresco dining or a glass of wine on a summers evening. The oil centrally heated accommodation comprises: Beamed lounge with open fire, TV and DVD player. Dining room with patio doors leading to the garden. Kitchen with electric double oven and hob, fridge/freezer, dishwasher, washing machine and microwave opening out to Conservatory with delightful rural aspect over the rear cottage style garden. First floor: Double bedroom with plasma TV with en-suite shower room with hand basin and WC. Twin bedroom with en-suite shower room with hand basin and WC. Children's twin bedroom. Superb bathroom with freestanding roll top bath, hand basin and WC.

Summary

Three bedrooms: 1 x double bedroom with en-suite shower room with hand basin and WC, 1 x twin bedroom with en-suite shower room with hand basin and WC, child's twin bedroom, family bathroom with roll top bath, wash basin and WC
Sitting room
Dining room
Kitchen/conservatory.
Oil central heating plus open fire
Electric double oven and hob, fridge/freezer, dishwasher, washing machine, microwave
TVs, DVD, Wifi
Oil, electricity
Bed linen and towels provided
Travel Cot and highchair available
Off road parking for 2 cars
Enclosed lawned garden
Three dogs welcome
Pub 100m
Fell walks in the neighbourhood
Penrith, Ullswater 10 minutes drive
Logs are not provided.

About the location

POOLEY BRIDGE

Penrith 6 miles.

The picturesque village of Pooley Bridge sits on the northerly edge of Lake Ullswater in the Lake District National Park. The name Pooley came to be due to the forming of a large pool, which was left by the fast flowing River Eamont, and the word Bridge was later added when a bridge, which is now 250 years old, was built over the river. Pooley Bridge has many traditional inns and tempting tea rooms, plus the Ullswater Steamers depart from the village, from where a tranquil cruise down the lake to the villages of Glenridding and Howtown can be enjoyed. There are numerous walks with breathtaking views nearby, plus a short walk up to Dunmallard Hill reveals fascinating Iron-Age remains, whilst the towns of Penrith and Keswick are within driving distance. Pooley Bridge is an ideal base for a cottage holiday stay in the stunning Lake District.

This property offers the following short breaks:

Off-season

Smithy Cottage

Tirril, Cumbria & The Lake District (Ref. 972439)

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Features

Reviews

“Missing a trick”

“Wet week in The Lakes”

“Fantastic!!!!”

“Spacious pet friendly cottage with Spiders”

“The Good, The Bad & The Ugly”

“Could be a great place”

“Great Potential to be a lovely cottage”

“lovely comfortable convenient”

“Excellent stay at Smithy Cottage”

“Nice cottage”

The property

Summary

About the location

POOLEY BRIDGE