Sale Fell - Bassenthwaite, The Lake District

Hi there everyone 😀

Well, after having Martin at home for 3 weeks he is back at work today, so I am trying to get back into some kind of routine, starting with my usual Monday morning blog post.

As you will know we are not long back from spending a week in The Lake District. We stayed in a lovely period cottage in the tiny hamlet of Scarness on the edge of Bassenthwaite Lake. We really loved Sale Fell, I think it is definitely one of the nicest cottages we have stayed in and it certainly ranks as the prettiest.
When did we visit?
24-30 March 2018

How many does it sleep?
4 comfortably, though there is the option to have one of the bedrooms set up as a triple

How much was it?
£550.00

Who did we book with?
Sally's Cottages

First impressions ...
We arrived in bright sunshine and the cottage really did look like it had come straight out of a fairytale. The grey stone, frilly white wooden eaves and balcony really stood out against the backdrop of a clear blue sky.

We had a lovely warm greeting from Alison, the owner, who made us feel very welcome and showed us around. 

There was a lovely big old wooden front door and and entrance porch with an old stone floor leading through to an inner hallway and we couldn't wait to get inside and have a look round.

The cottage felt nice and warm, very bright and spacious and looked spotlessly clean.

Off the hallway was a very spacious lounge with two large comfy looking sofas and a pretty cream coloured log burner, with a basket of logs all set and ready to go. The room was flooded with the evening sunlight and looked just the kind of space that would be lovely to come back to after a long day out ...
Then there was the kitchen, with plenty of room for a dining table and chairs and, off the back of the kitchen, a small sun room with two comfy looking chairs and a wall of bookshelves filled with old and interesting looking books.

There was also a handy downstairs loo.

A beautiful wooden staircase led upstairs to two bedrooms and the bathroom ...

 

The master bedroom had a door opening onto the wooden balcony with views to just die for. This is what it looked like when we arrived ...

So first impressions were very good, there was just one thing we were a little nervous of and that was the fact that, in the main, the cottage was heated by way of storage heaters. We've had bad experiences of managing with this type of heating in other cottages we've stayed and were a little concerned that they may not be quite up to the job of keeping us warm. We really hoped it wouldn't prove to be an issue.

So after such a good initial impression, how did we get on ...

Our likes over the course of our stay ...

• Our initial impression was that the cottage was very clean. It actually ended up being the cleanest cottage we have ever stayed in. It was spotless with not a speck of dust or a cobweb to be found, even in the bottom of the cutlery drawer.
• We had no problems with the heating at all. We were able to manage the temperature so that we were plenty warm enough all of the time. In addition to the storage heaters there are a number of independently controlled panel heaters that can be used to give a boost if needed, and there was always the log burner.
• The cottage was incredibly comfortable, bit squishy sofas and seriously comfy beds.
• The kitchen was very well equipped and we managed to find everything that we needed and didn't end up using the majority of stuff we'd taken with us just in case. There was plenty of 
  
  empty storage space for our own bits and pieces and no cupboard full of previous guest's half empty jars and packets, which is never something that we want to find.
• We absolutely loved the sun room with its comfy chairs and shelves full of old and vintage reference books. We spent many an early evening sat here in the warmth of the evening sun just chilling after a big day out.
• The location was perfect for exploring a part of the Lake District that was new to us and it was easy to get to the coast too. There was a good mixture of things to do right on our doorstep and as well as a little further afield.
• The cottage has been renovated really well. There is a good combination of modern day comforts, but not at the expense of the original period features and quirky bits and pieces that are seemingly just lying around waiting to be discovered.
• I must include the view from the balcony here. I took photos every single morning and during some evenings as well. It is something that we would never tire of. Here it is again ... in the evening and then my absolute favourite shot.

Anything that could have made it better ...

Whilst I am struggling a bit to come up with things that could have made it better, which is most unusual for me, there was one thing ...

• Nice big fluffy bathsheets would have been lovely. There were bath towels provided, but not the kind that cover all of your modesty! It wasn't a problem for us as I have learned to take my own bathsheets, but with the overall level of comfort of the cottage, this would have been a nice touch.

Would we recommend this property to our friends and family?

Absolutely. 

Would we stay in this cottage again?

Definitely, though I think we would try and avoid high season, as we did this time. I say this as the cottage neighbours a lakeside holiday lodge park and, whilst this didn't bother us one bit, I guess it could be a bit less peaceful in peak holiday season.

All in all we had a really lovely week staying in Sale Fell. We were lucky with the weather, we got to see lots of new places and really enjoyed relaxing evenings just enjoying the comfort of the cottage. 

It was the perfect Spring break 💛💛💛