Saturday 5 April 2014

Goseberry Barn - Holmesfield, Derbyshire

When did we visit?
28 March 2014 - 4 April 2014

How much was it?
£396.00

Who did we book with?
Gooseberryfarmcottages.co.uk

What were our initial impressions?
  • Whilst the cottage is situated on a main road, it has a lovely outlook over open countryside.
  • We were greeted by the owner, which was nice.
  • There was a small welcome pack consisting of a pint of milk, a bottle of wine, a home-made Victoria sandwich and tea, coffee and sugar.
  • We were able to gain entry at 2.00pm, the cottage is not normally available until 4.00pm.
  • Overall the cottage was clean and nicely presented - it looked like the pictures on the website.
  • Both bedrooms were en suite with two nice big showers.
  • It did feel cool, so we whacked up the underfloor heating.
  • There was a lovely courtyard with outdoor seating, though you could hear road noise when outside.
Our likes over the course of the week
  • The layout of the cottage worked really well for us.
  • The two bedrooms are at opposite ends of the cottage, separated by the lounge, so would be good for two couples sharing.
  • The log burner was brilliant.  It lasted all night and gave out great heat with just one or two logs.  We have known log burners to eat through a whole basket in an evening.
  • There was really good phone signal (for Orange).
  • The views from the cottage away from the road were lovely, including the stable yard (which is private).
  • The underfloor heating was easy to work and get to the right temperature.
  • Nice powerful showers with constant hot water.
  • Nice big fluffy towels.
  • The location is brilliant for getting out and about in the local area.  The cottage is situated just outside of the Peak District National Park and is in easy reach of lots of local landmarks including Bolsover Castle (English Heritage), Hardwick Hall (National Trust), Chatsworth House and Estate and the Ladybower Reservoir and Dam.  There is also lots of good walking and plenty of interesting villages within driving distance, such as Bakewell and Castleton.
  • An abundance of pubs and tea shops within very easy reach.
Anything that could have made it better?
  • The reliability of the wifi when using I-Pads was inconsistent for us - we could always get on line, but couldn't stay on for long - that said, we didn't have the same problems with the laptop.
  • We would like to have been able to connect our PS3 to the TV, but we just couldn't get this to work, which meant no F1 racing for Martin and no Catching Fire on Blu-ray for me.
  • We would imagine that if you wanted to sit outside in the courtyard, then the road noise may be irritating (not a problem at the time of year we visited).

Would we recommend this cottage to our friends and family?
Absolutely, yes

Would we stay in this cottage again?
Yes, definitely

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