About this property
Acklington 1 mile. An interesting and imaginative ground floor conversion of a stone-built former station house, just a mile from the village of Acklington and four miles from Warkworth. Comfortably furnished, with a lovely sitting room with large picture window and dining area, a first-class kitchen and two delightful bedrooms both with en-suite facilities, this cottage is ideal for couples or small families seeking to explore the abundance of attractions the area has to offer. The sandy beaches and picturesque villages of the Heritage Coast are within an easy drive, as is the impressive scenery of the National Park, while the proximity of the cottage to the amenities and attractions of Alnwick means Shunting Cottage is an ideal base at any time of the year.
The small rural village of Acklington is located a few miles from the coast and offers a pub with bar and restaurant (open weekends only in the winter). The River Coquet runs past the village, and you can get a good vantage point at Guyzance Bridge. The whole of the stunning coast is within easy driving distance, and there is also a limited bus and train service to Alnwick, Newcastle and Alnmouth. The picturesque village of Warkworth with its sandy beach is four miles away, and is dominated by the impressive ruins of a 12th Century castle. There are many galleries, antique shops, pubs, restaurants, gift shops, and a village shop-cum-post office here. Hadrian's Wall, Bamburgh Castle, Alnwick Garden, the Farne Islands, Holy Island, and some gorgeous beaches are all within easy touring distance.
Accommodation
All ground floor.
Two bedrooms: 1 x double with en-suite shower, basin and WC, 1 x single with en-suite shower, basin and WC.
Kitchen.
Sitting room with dining area.
Note: The bedrooms are at opposite ends of the property.
Oil central heating.
Electric oven and hob, microwave, fridge, washing machine, TV with Freeview, DVD, stereo/CD, radio, selection of books and games.
Fuel and power included in rent.
Bed linen and towels included in rent.
Off road parking for 1 car.
Private, enclosed gravelled garden area with furniture and BBQ.
Two well-behaved pets welcome.
Sorry, no smoking.
Shop 2.5 miles, pub 5 mins walk.
Note: No children under 7, including infants.
Note: The patio doors do not open as they open onto a private garden.
Nearby points of interest
- Northumberland Country Zoo
- Alnwick Castle
Reviews (39)
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Gemma
.. if you like rats. Northumberland is lovely, but you couldn't pay me to stay here again. I stayed for 3 nights instead of 4 as I left early because I couldn't face another night there. Initial impressions were that it was so-so, but in dire need of maintenance. There's no capacity for me to add photos, but the toilet seat is missing from the spare bedroom, the sealing around the oven is hanging off, the bin fell apart (which I managed to fix), and a lamp in the master bedroom was missing a bulb. There is mould in the master bathroom and the toilet is clearly leaking with damp and black mould on the wall. There were cobwebs behind doors and dust on top of the TV stand. I clocked the two rat traps in the poorly maintained and overgrown with weeds back courtyard. Initially I wasn't too concerned as the property is next to a railway so there are likely to be rats in the area. I have photos of all of these things. On day 2, one of my dogs indicated that there was a problem behind the wardrobe in the master bedroom. She began barking and pointing. Upon looking, lo and behold, was a rat trap. Adjacent to the wardrobe was an electronic rat deterrent plug in. I have a look about and find another rat trap hidden behind the bookcase in the living room. I contact the mobile number given by Sykes as a point of contact, initially by text to which there isn't an answer and then I phone. The lady who answered was very pleasant but told me she is the cleaner who manages the place, and the owners live next door but "they don't take to do with the property". Red flags ++. I inform her of the indoor rats traps. She says she's never seen them - this may explain why the cleaning isn't great. She says she will contact her husband and the owner and someone will come round. A few minutes later, there's a knock at the door. The lady next door has appeared and tells me it isn't her property anymore but there are 4 rat traps inside the property as "preventative" measures for the winter time and says there's never been rats in the cottage but there are rats in the garage next door. For reference, the other rats traps are behind the kickboard in the kitchen and the spare bedroom under the bed. I was also not to worry as the traps only contained poison so if the dogs got into them the antidote was Vitamin K and a vet was nearby. She checked the rat trap under the wardrobe and it contained bait only. I was so horrified I was largely speechless, thanked her for her time and immediately googled alternative accommodation options, of which there weren't any that accommodated dogs. For reference, I work in healthcare and Vitamin K is the antidote to warfarin, an anticoagulant that causes animals to bleed to death. My dogs thankfully could not reach either trap visible in the bedroom / living room, but a smaller dog certainly could. I smelt a metaphorical rat - no one has preventative indoor rat traps if they haven't previously or do not currently have an infestation of rats. I decided to leave on night 3 when my second dog joined the first dog at the vigil at the wardrobe and I found chew marks in the kitchen skirting which are consistent with rat chew marks (a photo is available).
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James
Ideal location for exploring Northumberland. Highly recommend this cottage.
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Carole
Well equipped cottage, but in need of some repairs and TLC. The toilet in the smaller bedroom ensuite broke and this was reported to the owner, who advised Sykes be contacted.I emailed and also went on their "help line" and had a live chat stating issues, location and booking reference and a contact number.No help provided, we managed to make repairs ourselves.