Middlehope Cottage

Hi Lynn, so glad you enjoyed your break at Middlehope Cottage, the peace, the fabulous scenery and lovely walks. Also great your pup enjoyed the freedom to run around in the two enclosed gardens. Glad I was able to assist you with the TV after you requested help, I fully appreciate technology can feel a bit confusing at times. You are all welcome back anytime.

So glad you enjoyed a return visit to Middlehope cottage Alison. You are more than welcome any time.

Hi Linda, so glad you enjoyed your stay and appreciated how the cottage is excellently located for amazing walks right from the door. As to the loo roll, on the day that turn around took place a workman was putting up safety rails on the stairs and due to the upheaval it simply got overlooked. Sorry that happened on your stay as it has never happened before, as other reviews testify to. Wish you had told us at the time & we could have immediately popped round with some for you. So even if you had not brought any with you we would have saved you a trip to the shops. Glad you found the cottage comfortable, clean and well equipped but unfortunately you still felt to mark us down on all these elements ... puzzling.

So glad you both enjoyed your stay in our Cottage, and furry friend as well lol. It really is situated in an outstandingly beautiful part of the country, with excellent walks literally starting outside the garden gate. Thank you for leaving everything so clean and tidy, much appreciated. You are welcome to stay again any time.

Hi Michael, so glad you had another lovely repeat visit. Hope you managed to fit in some of the great walks near by. You are welcome again anytime.

Lisa, So glad you both had a lovely time and enjoyed what the cottage and the dales has to offer. And thank you so much for leaving Middlehope so clean and tidy, it is much appreciated. You are welcome back anytime and yes it would be great if you could mention us to friends and family :)

Thank you for the lovely feedback Jim. Glad you enjoyed the walks and great scenery. You are both welcome back anytime.

Hi Karen, really glad you enjoyed the cottage and found it was well supplied with the things you needed. Thank you for telling me you were unaware about dogs not being allowed upstairs, that's been very useful. I was told by Sykes that their own policy is no pets on the furniture and no pets in the bedrooms, which I would have assumed they made guests aware of. If this is not the case then I will ensure they put it very clearly on my personal listing. So sorry they did not make you aware of it. The only reason I have had to stop dogs upstairs is due to the damage some guests were causing, who did not respect the property, by allowing their dogs, when very muddy, to be all over the bed, in the bed, and paw marks up the walls. I do allow pets to sit on the settee with their human and provide a large dog throw for them, with note attached, which I hope was helpful, plus a specific dog towel for muddy paws. Many owners like to sit and have their furry friend beside them when relaxing, including ourselves with our two rescue dogs. I am sure you would have caused no problems at all if your dog had slept upstairs in their basket, but I have been compelled to make it 'no dogs upstairs' because of a percentage of disrespectful guests. I am looking into getting a single, comfortable, chair bed for downstairs to try and help guests who need to be with their dog, and will be putting this facility up on the listing when I have sourced a good enough one. Many thanks for your positive and balanced review.

Hi Ruth. Thank you for the lovely review. Glad you enjoyed the waterfall walks with your dog, they are stunning. And viewing the moors either from the cottage or right up there walking on them is truly magnificent. The folk in the village, and the Wear Valley as a whole, are exceptionally friendly and willing to help with anything. Lovely you had that experience while staying at the cottage. You are most welcome to enjoy the cottage again and thank you for the good recommendation.

Hi Tina, really pleased to hear you both enjoyed your stay and the gardens were safe, enclosed spaces for your dog. Thank you for leaving the cottage so clean and tidy when you left, very much appreciated, you would never know a dog had stayed. Happy for any family or friends of yours to stay and of course you both would be welcome back any time.

Hi Michael, great to hear you both enjoyed your stay and found everything you needed at the cottage. The neighbours are second to none and really lovely people. Thank you for leaving the cottage in good order and really hope to see you again, you are both most welcome.

Hi Pippa, so glad you enjoyed your stay at Middlehope Cottage, a walkers paradise and haven for wildlife. As you mention seeing curlews on the high moors, what a treat, as their numbers are in serious decline but are often observable in the North Pennines. Happy your furry friend felt well catered for as well. Thank you for leaving our place clean and tidy and you are most welcome to stay again.

So glad you enjoyed your stay at Middlehope and made good use of the two dog friendly gardens. We always appreciate having a dog safe space as part of a holiday let on our breaks, where we can let our dog off the lead to run around while we enjoy alfresco dinning, glass of wine and enjoy the views. Welcome back any time.

Hi Alison, glad you enjoyed your stay and benefitted from the two dog friendly enclosed gardens. We always look for this facility being provided when we go away with our dog too. We provide two bath towels, two hand towels, T towels and a dog towel but happy to provide additional towels for you if you do stay again, for which you are most welcome to do. Just pop a message in the "guests request" box when booking stating the additional towels you would like and we can do this. Hope to see you again.

Pam it was a joy to have you stay and you left the cottage so beautifully tidy, thank you. Glad you and Harry had a great time, it's lovely to spend time in the garden and taking in the views. Hope you manged to go on the waterfall walk at Slit wood. Please do come back any time you will be most welcome.

Hi Matt and Sue, so pleased to hear you enjoyed your stay at Middlehope. You were fabulous guests and many thanks for leaving the cottage so clean and tidy. You are most welcome to stay at anytime.

Hi Sharon, so glad you enjoyed your stay and thank you so much for leaving the cottage in such good order, it is very much appreciated. Yes the walks are great aren't they. I particularly love taking our dog on the one that goes up through Slit Woods by the waterfalls. You were really lovely guests and are more than welcome back any time.

Hi Aiden, I am so sorry to hear the sitting room heater was not working. I really wish you had let us know while you were staying, instead of now, and I could have done something about it. Thankfully the electric radiators are only for background warmth and the main source of heat is the multi-fuel stove which was in full working order, as were all the other radiators. As explained in the listing we always leave the fire made up ready to light, with a good supply of paper and sticks to hand as well as logs for our guest's first night. Thereafter guests are able to purchase fuel at various local outlets for further fires. It is regrettable that having read the listing you simply didn't use the stove as intended. If you had you would have been more than warm enough, as testified by a review by a previous guest who stayed in January this year. Also if you had let us know we could have brought you an extra sack of logs, but as I have only found out through your review you sadly did not give me the opportunity to help. It was also regrettable that you ruined the duvet set, bottom sheet, mattress protector and bed fleece in such a way that they could not be restored to use and all the items had to be purchased anew. You did not make us aware of the damage at any time. Having sent proof of this damage to Sykes they sent the photos of this on to you, which required you to pay the replacement costs. In conclusion; I feel your review of our cottage, having come immediately after this, may have coloured your views

So glad you both enjoyed your break in Middlehope Cottage and kept nice and snug with the multi fuel stove on which boosts the back ground heating so well. Its great to cosy up in front of after a day exploring the area. Thank you for leaving the property so clean and tidy, it really is very much appreciated, and you are more than welcome back any time.

Hi Gillian. Thank you for your lovely feedback. The cottage was left in immaculate order and you are more than welcome back anytime

Really glad you enjoyed your stay in our cottage and the beautiful walks so close at hand. You are more than welcome back anytime. Our cleaner has just said you were "marvellous" guests .... which translates as leaving the place in apple pie order ... many many thanks, we hugely appreciate it

Glad you enjoyed your stay and walking and exploring the area.

Hi Marianne, hope your husband is feeling much better now and so sorry when we heard you needed to cut your break short, you are welcome back any time. Thank you for the heads up about the vacuum. We thought it was not working last time because the charger was inadvertently locked away in the cleaning cupboard but it must be because it is not now holding it's charge. Have hopped straight onto eBay and purchased a new one. We have always left bathroom cleaning gel, cloths, sponge, washing up liquid and liquid detergent available in the cottage. In the past we did not want to make people feel they had to do a full top to bottom clean but just to leave it reasonably clean and tidy. But we have taken on board the desire for more cleaning materials and will be suppling these both in the bathroom and kitchen. Its lovely to think people actively want to leave the cottage really clean, much appreciated. Glad you found the mattress really comfortable. This is an item we decided was well worth investing in to ensure our guests had very good restful sleep.

Really pleased you both, including furry friend, had a comfortable and happy stay in our cottage. The bigger garden is great, isn't it, for al fresco dinning and just sitting to take in the fell views and the sun setting over the trees. Come back any time, you are welcome.

Hi, thank you for your positive comments about the cottage, always good to hear when guests have enjoyed their break. A bathroom cleaning gel is provided in the bathroom & jay cloths are to be found in a draw in the kitchen plus a sponge. Also washing up liquid & liquid detergent for the washing machine, both in the kitchen. We did not want to make people feel they have to do a full top to bottom clean but just to leave it reasonably clean and tidy. We will provide more cleaning materials and it's lovely to think people actively want to leave the cottage really clean, much appreciated. When you messaged me during your holiday about the hoover I was able to deduce the cleaner had inadvertently left the charger in the locked cleaners cupboard, for which I apologised & said I would let her know. Again sorry for the oversight. As to outside space; there are two gardens belonging to the Cottage. We agree, the small garden at the front is adjoining the neighbours. Middlehope adjoins a small group of houses by its gable end. Because it’s not sandwiched in a row, you get stunning views out of three aspects sunrise, sunset as well as a south facing aspect over the fells. Most of the old, characterful, village properties in the Wear Valley tend to cluster around each other so are considered quaint, attractive & of another era. Middlehope, built in 1640, does not disappoint in these respects but also has a card up its sleeve in the fact that it has a second garden. It is larger than the front one & enjoys privacy with a sturdy bench & garden table to sit & enjoy the views, undisturbed, over the North Pennine fells. It directly joins the cottage's private parking area, then straight through to the cottage. Again sorry you only wanted to use the smaller front garden and not the attached larger more private one, but glad this didn't stop you from having a pleasant stay.

So glad both of you, and furry friend, enjoyed your stay in our Cottage. You are most welcome back any time.

So pleased our cottage provided you with a place you were happy in and could enjoy the local area from. Welcome any time.

Glad you both enjoyed your stay in our cottage. The neighbours are great and glad you found them to be so welcoming and helpful.