Gartmore Cottage, West Linton - Sleeps 4

"Beautiful holiday cottage in a sweet village"

We booked this cottage because the location was more or less half way between two parts of the family and it made the perfect meeting place for the weekend. We booked over the phone through the agency after getting a quote by email which was quick and easy. After that we were put in touch with the owner who gave us detailed directions and parking instructions as well as letting us know how to collect the key. The cottage is newly refurbished - in fact I believe we were the fist people to stay there. We were delighted as soon as we walked in, the whole cottage is finished to such a high, even luxury, standard and has everything you would expect in a rental property. There is a lot of wood features and floors and the smell of the wood is wonderful throughout the property. The kitchen has everything you would need (pots/pans/baking trays/tea pot etc) and the bedrooms are furnished with high quality bedding and towels etc. The master bedroom is gorgeous and the cottage would be more than suitable just as a couples retreat, without feeling like you were knocking around the place. The second bedroom is on a mezzanine floor off the hallway that runs between the master bedroom, bathroom and kitchen/lounge, has twin beds and would be perfectly suitable for teens or children who are old enough to go up and down stairs themselves. Its fine for adults as well as long as you don't mind hearing the master bedroom inhabitants tip-toeing to the loo at night. The open-plan kitchen/lounge is also lovely (there is a theme here!). The only dining seating is at the breakfast bar but it seats 4 on high chairs and is more than sufficient. It is light and airy in the day with big sash windows but super cosy in the evenings with the roman blinds closed and the wood burning stove lit (this was set up ready to go when we arrived). A couple of things to note - there is no freezer, not an issue at all unless you are big ice cream fans - and no washing machine, again not a problem unless you were planning on staying several weeks - and no DVD player, again not an issue for us at all but it might be worth noting for some people. We did have a small problem with the hot water (teething problems!) but the owner came straight round and sorted it out within minutes. The village has a well stocked shop where we did all our shopping for the weekend. A well rated restaurant, a tea rooms, a pub, a book shop and a couple of other little shops. It wouldn't keep you entertained for more than a few hours so you would need to look further afield for entertainment (the owners helpfully supply a file of local attraction leaflets). I would stay at Gartmore Cottage again in an instant and highly recommend it.