Having a getaway in the UK is often overlooked. To forgo the razmataz of jetting off to far-flung places like Anchorage, Muscat and Palau, means where ever you go domestically there’s a hell of a lot to live up to. How can a rural AirBnB retreat The Courtyard Cottage compete, when the odds are stacked against it?
Location
First up, the rurality. Situated in an Area Of National Beauty halfway between Harrogate and Skipton. A little hamlet consisting of a handful of houses, a pub and a farm, oh, and a mini-library.
You’d be forgiven for thinking it was straight from the set of Emmerdale. The quaint country life feels with quiet sweeping cottage lanes hemmed in by historic cobble walls. If ever there was a place to indulge in sheer romance, Timble is it.
If for some reason unbeknownst to me country life is all a bit too much for you (why would it ever?!) Leeds city centre is about 40 mins away by car.
Cost
There’s a minimum of 2 nights stay required and is priced:
| 2 Nights | 3 Nights | 4 Nights | 5 Nights | 6 Nights | 7 Nights |
| £180 | £270 | £360 | £405 | £480 | £560 |
I’d recomend booking directly by dropping Dawn an email: meeksdawn@hotmail.com
First Impressions
Pulling into the courtyard at the top of the gravel drive, you’re flanked by traditional Georgian dwellings that have been tastefully brought into the 21st century. If not by choice, then by necessity conforming to strict building regulations.
WiFi
If you have to scratch that itch of being offline, the internet connection is quick when you consider you’re in the middle of nowhere. Another stand out is the strength of the WiFi signal. Given the walls are the original 1890’s half-meter thick, the signal strength doesn’t drop no matter where you are in the cottage.
The Living Room
Through the front door, straight into the homely open planned living/dining room.
Immediately to your right, you’ll see the dining table by the window with fresh roses
Looking at this photo is the first time I’ve noticed the TV isn’t that big. I think we watched 1 movie over the course of a weekend. It’s just that kind of setting that coerces you into talking away and putting the world to rights over some cheese and biscuits and quite a few beverages.
The comfy sofa coupled with the log burner and everything that comes with it; the smell of fresh burning wood, the faint crackles, the orange flickering glow and the warmth all lure you into a truly romantic state.
Kitchen
The kitchen is fairly small however there isn’t one bit of wasted space. There’s:
- A half-size built-in dishwasher.
- A full-size built-in fridge
- A 4 burner hob with a full-size electric oven and extractor fan.
- A built-in microwave, should you want to make popcorn.
- There’s even a 6 bottle wine chiller just out of frame to the right.
With size being the limiting factor compromises had to obviously be made. The dishwasher, for example, isn’t in the best place. When you’re unloading it, it gets in the way of the cupboards where the plates belong.
What’s not to love about freshly squeezed OJ in the morning?
Another issue which is throughout the cottage, all of the windows are screwed closed. This is probably to prevent burglaries when unoccupied but when it comes to making your own fresh pizzas and a bit of Mozzarella melts off the side and burns in the oven, you need said windows to be open to bypass the rather loud smoke alarm.
The Bathroom
It’s plenty big enough and with little things the likes of the uncalibrated tiles that surround the bath and wooden blinds, it keeps in well with the character of the cottage.
Unlike most large double-ended baths, this one didn’t take 30 minutes to fill. Just enough time to mix up a couple of cocktails and it was full, so about 5 mins. Unless you want a scalding experience, be careful if you go to top it up with hot water. The hot water tap may as well be a kettle tap kicking out boiling hot water!
A nice mini collection of Cole&Lewis never heard of them but they’re handy if you forget your wash bag.
The shower is okay for 1 but probably a very tight squeeze for 2. Unless you’re wanting to relive your uni’ days it looks a no go.
What really lets the bathroom down is the whole electrics situation. The lights and fan are on a sensor and not a switch. problematic when you want a candlelight bath. You have to be frozen in time for a couple of minutes before the lights go out.
The Bedroom
As stated earlier, 200+ year old brought tastefully into the 21st century. You still get the charm of the creaking floor boards and the exposed beams but then you have the luxuries of Velux windows and fitted built-in wardrobes.
The soft king-size bed is more than ample and leaves you waking up refreshed and ready to venture. Yes, you probably could have fitted a super king, as is though the free space left over to walk around is well appreciated.
One thing worth mentioning are the windows. There 3 in the bedroom and 2 on the stairs which you can see from the bedroom. This goes for the whole cottage actually, they’re all roller blinds and god does it take a bit of time going around opening and closing them of an evening or morning. One of the few times I’m in favour of technology in a property.
Sould you be the type to spend a few hours getting dolled up, i’m led to believe the vanity table is fairly good and has power sockets close by.
Conclusion
It’s an absolute blinder of an AirBNB! The people who own it are very nice, it’s properly secluded yet within an hour you’re in a major city and the views are unreal. There are only 3 niggles (Bathroom Lighting situation, bolted windows and manual blinds) that prevent me from saying a perfect retreat.