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5 Guests
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3 Bedrooms
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1 Bathroom
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Pets Yes
Features
- Off road parking
- Ground floor accommodation
- Ground floor bedroom
- Open fire
- Garden / Patio
- Cot available
- Highchair available
- Washing machine
- Broadband / WiFi
Reviews & Ratings
35 Customer Reviews
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"We had a wonderful week, the dogs had a great time running through the woodland ..."
We had a wonderful week, the dogs had a great time running through the woodland walks all around and the big house was beautiful as were the grounds, if your looking for a very quiet getaway this is the place
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"A lovely cottage in a peaceful setting."
Well furnished with a modern kitchen, plenty of crockery and cutlery. It took no time for the heating to warm up on the colder evenings. A shower over a bath is always going to be an issue, sorry the floor kept getting wet. But would choose a National Trust property again.
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"Another wonderful stay at the Hill of Tarvit."
We were pleased to see lovely new sofas and WiFi this time. The garden was well kept and it was great to go and buy some fruit and veg from the newly installed larder on the estate. The cottage was cosy and relaxing as ever. The only downside was no hand wash in the toilet, which would have been nice as other National Trust cottages do this as standard, along with some welcoming dog treats, poo bags and food. Also, the ironing board cover is the same one as five years ago and it’s very thin, so when any clothes are ironed, the diamond metal pattern transfers onto clothes. These are, however, minor details and we all had a fantastic stay. The staff at Hill of Tarvit are very friendly and are always happy to help. It was great visiting our usual beaches and walks at Tentsmuir and St. Andrew’s as well as Culross Palace, up to see the Selkies and an absolutely delicious meal at the Dory restaurant in Pittenweem. We will hopefully be back again next year.
Many thanks for your feedback. We do have plans to refurbish this cottage in December 2024. As you noted we have purchased a new suite for the cottage from a British manufacturer and installed it in July. We have noted the comments about the ironing board. We hope you come back and see all the other changes that we have planned. Holidays Dept National Trust for Scotland. Property Owner
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"Hidden gem."
I wish we were able to stay longer. Cottage is perfect for a quiet stay and surrounding estate is beautiful. We’ll definitely recommend the place to others.
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"What a peaceful place!"
We loved the Estate and enjoyed the privilege of wandering around the grounds and gardens in the evenings - we were blessed with fine weather. It was our first time in Fife but we plan to return - the cottage is ideally placed to explore the area. Our stay was comfortable- I’d read others’ comments and we were happy to work round any minor niggles. Thank you NTS!
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"Our only regret was that the entrance to the driveway was rather awkward but we ..."
Our only regret was that the entrance to the driveway was rather awkward but we managed fine parking at the back of the stables - the overall experience was great being so close to the house and gardens
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"Lovely location and doggy paradise."
Helpful staff.
Many thanks for your comments, we are hoping to refurbish East Cottage over the next winter. Property Owner
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"It was a well equipped cottage, was spotless and very comforting."
First class cottage. I would highly recommend it to anyone.
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"The property was fantastic, great size well appointed with kitchen appliances- to be honest one of the best cottages I have stayed in."
The estate is wonderful, lovely walks in your door step, fire for cold book reading days. And in a great location for local activities, trips to the sea side or Edinburgh. Good train link about 10 minutes away. Such a minor comment but small kettle, only because we enjoyed lots of hot drinks. Fantastic stay holiday -thank you.
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"We have stayed many times at hill of tarvit and at different times of year and we have enjoyed every stay."
We will book again
Many thanks for your lovely feedback, we have just completed the refurbishment of Middle and West Cottages at Hill of Tarvit. Property Owner
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"The cottage is lovely in a nice spot and easy to find , The reason I have given ..."
The cottage is lovely in a nice spot and easy to find , The reason I have given it 3 stars for cleanliness is the oven was filthy I had to get some cleaning products to clean it before I could use it , I dont want this published as it could be an oversight by whoever cleans it ,The last people who occupied it before us must of left it like that also the DVD player didn't work ,
Thank you for your comments, the team at Hill of Tarvit will check with the cleaners to ensure that the oven is not missed on the changeover day. Property Owner
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"WiFi would have made difference, and being able to leave later and get in earlier now we do not have to do covid cleans"
Thank you for your feedback, we have embarked on a project to install wifi at as many NTS cottages as we are able to. The reason for the check out and check in times are to allow the housekeepers time to service all four properties at Tarvit. Property Owner
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"Our 4th visit to hill of tarvit, just enjoy the peace and quiet."
The cottage is well placed for visits to Ceres, Cupar, St. Andrews and other national trust properties within easy travelling.
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"When arriving at the cottage we were really surprised at how lovely the cottage and the grounds were, that we decided to stay another 2 weeks and would of stayed longer had the cottage been available."
The cottage was clean throughout a really lovely place to stay. We had a issue with bathroom sink (sink plug would not release) when phoned to report the issue maintenance was out to fix the problem within 5 minutes. The only thing that we could say is the tv reception was intermittent but not a big deal. Really great location for shopping, eating out and recommend Lorna at M&M Taxi's for getting us out and about the area. Thank You for a great holiday will be back.
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"Excellent it was so good we stayed for 2extra weeks"
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"It would have been very useful to have seen an inventory before hand."
We only had 3 forks between the four of us and therefore one of us had to use a spoon
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"Cannot fault this cottage, everything was just as you would want."
If I had to be really picky i would say the TV is a bit small and the parking space is very tight, however this is just nitpicking. A lovely, tranquil and cosy cottage.
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"The photos did not do the cottage justice, they should be improved."
The cottage was very clean, warm comfortable and cosy, the location was so peaceful and the grounds were beautiful to walk in. The Hill of Tarvit Mansion House was well worth a visit, fascinating history, and Dan the National Trust representative was very attentive , checking in on us to make sure everything was ok , Will definitely recommend
Thank you very much for the kind comments about East Cottage at Hill of Tarvit. We have passed on your lovely comment to our team member Dan . Property Owner
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"A superb cottage in a beautiful, tranquil location."
Highly recommended! The cottage is very clean, tidy and spacious with everything we needed. Had a warm welcome from members of staff when we arrived. The mansion visit was fascinating, the grounds are stunning and the location is perfect for exploring the area.
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"The 5pm entry means a lost day of the holiday, with a 10am exit gives 7 hours for cleaning, excessive."
The cottage is nice inside surrounded by tree making it gloomy and cold in the evening. Despite fabulous sunshine our entry was cold and it took time to get the chill off the place. Tastefully furnished. Spent matches from a previous user on the hearth. The mat on the main doorstep is a disgrace. The outdoor table is filthy. Thankfully the grounds were a delight. A gloomy place due to the proximity of trees. The price for two people using two thirds of the available space is robbery, some kind of stepped pricing would be fairer. When the Trust had their own holiday Department one felt part of the organisation with a welcome from the Property Manager, now there is a disconnect from the Trust.
Many thanks for your feedback about East Cottage at Hill of Tarvit. We do have a number of properties at Hill of Tarvit and the check in time of 5pm does give us the time to prepare all of them. If anyone wishes to check in earlier if they have had a long journey or need access to the facilities we do try to accommodate those wishes. The cottages are still managed by the teams at each of the NTS properties and they do endeavour to make contact with the guests. We also have details of the local contacts in case you need assistance or wish to report something. The property is listed as being within an enclosed garden on the estate but as the photos show the cottage doesn't have any over hanging trees by the windows. Property Owner
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"We thoroughly enjoyed our holiday to East Cottage."
This is the third time we’ve been and it is always clean, tidy and very relaxing. It’s also a great base to visit the rest of Fife. The facilities were great-the oven, tv and shower are easy to use and the cottage was very cosy and comfortable. The only downside was a note on Thursday about a PAT test on the plugs and all the electrical equipment on Friday. We weren’t given a time either, so we felt we needed to be out of the cottage as our dog is very nervous of strangers. We got up early on our last full day as we didn’t want to be in our pyjamas when they arrived. The PAT tester arrived at the adjacent cottage around 10am and was there for over an hour, by which time we had left for the day. However, it made us feel like we had to be out and really this should have been booked for the Saturday morning changeover. We had paid an awful lot of money for a week and felt like we couldn’t be in the property.
Many thanks for your kind comments about East Cottage at Hill of Tarvit and we hope to welcome you back to the estate. We are sorry you were inconvenienced by the PAT testing being done. As you can probably appreciate it is very difficult to get an electrician to come out to a property on a weekend and also tie them down to an exact time. We have the same issues that a domestic house would do trying to tie in tradesmen with our timings. We have to ensure that all the properties have had the small appliances tested and will have to prove this when new legislation comes into force in October for the licensing of all short term letting properties. Property Owner
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"I would not even give this cottage one star, however I was afraid anyone reading my review might think I had just forgotten to rate this cottage."
It was filthy dirty and not just areas that had been missed on the last changeover!!! The bathroom was filthy and a disgrace to be rented out in the condition it was!!! There were dead flies on the carpet and window sills and cobwebs and spiders everywhere!! I appreciate the cottage is in the country but there was no excuse for the conditions we found!!! I was brought up in the country and our house was never ever in this condition! This was meant to be a very a special family holiday that was definitely marred by the awful condition of this cottage.
Thank you for your feedback, we always appreciate the feedback we receive about our cottages and we are sorry that you had to give us negative feedback. We have reviewed your comments with the Property Manager at Hill of Tarvit. The property was cleaned by a commercial cleaning company on the day of your arrival. The Property Manager then carries out a management check of the property to ensure that the standards set by us have been maintained. They check all surfaces, ledges, cupboards etc and they were satisfied that the property was ready for the new guests. We are not sure how cobwebs could have appeared in the numbers you note within a few hours of the management check. East Cottage has also had a thorough spring clean in the past few weeks as we had to carry out emergency building work to the utility room where we had a leak, so that room has a new floor, new flooring, new skirting etc. We felt the spring clean was essential as the work was so disruptive. We would always encourage guests to contact the property management team during their stay if the guests felt there was an issue rather than wait till they have returned home. Property Owner
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"3rd visit to hill of tarvit."
Excellent stay only slightly marred by leaking kerosene from central heating boiler. National trust staff in particular Claudia couldn’t do enough to help us with the problem. Won’t put us off going back, love the area. Plenty to do in surrounding area and lovely tranquil setting for the cottage to just relax in garden our walks around the main property.
Thank you for leaving a comment and for your understanding about the leaking pipe. we certainly wasn't expecting such a leak. We hope to welcome you back to Hill of Tarvit or one of the other NTS cottages in Scotland. Property Owner
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"What a Beautiful location."
Excellent accommodation with everything you need and lots of space. Great for dogs as plenty of walking right in the doorstep. Close to amenities you would need and a 20 min drive to the coast. Highly recommend and will be back.
Thank you for your feedback and we look forward to welcoming you back to Hill of Tarvit or one of the other 40 add properties we have at the National Trust for Scotland. Property Owner
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"Lovely stay in this cosy cottage."
Set in beautiful grounds of mansion house. Private garden and parking. Great walks from the doorstep. Short drive to local villages. Would certainly stay again b
Many thanks to your kind remarks, we look forward to welcoming you back to Hill Of Tarvit. Property Owner
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"Lovely cottage, will definitely stay again."
only minor criticism the sheets were bobbly! The extractor fan in the bathroom wasn't working
Many thanks for your feedback. We have passed on the comment re the sheets and the bathroom fan to the team at Hill of Tarvit for their investigation. Property Owner
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"This is a very sweet cottage in a lovely quiet location."
It was well appointed and cosy. Great for dog walks straight from the front door and a nice garden for them to run around in. We had an enjoyable week in Fife. My only real gripe was the mattresses in the cottage. They were far too hard for me and I didn't sleep that well as a result. If they changed the mattresses or put toppers on I would definitely stay here again.
Many thanks for your feedback, we are pleased to read that you enjoyed the location and the cottage was well supplied. It is always difficult to provide a mattress that suits everyone's comfort, we have taken note re the hardness. Property Owner
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"We had a amazing stay."
The property was really easy to find and everything was in working order when we arrived. It was quiet and peaceful with beautiful views and walks near by.
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"Beautiful cottage and surroundings."
Had a very enjoyable stay. Would highly recommend.
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"Charming"
Thank you very much, glad you enjoyed Hill of Tarvit Property Owner
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"Lovely walks straight from cottage."
Able to visit mansion house and very interesting, volunteer very knowledgeable.
Many thanks for your positive feedback, and we hope to welcome you back to Hill of Tarvit. Property Owner
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"Lovely cottage, excellent grounds and great walks for the dogs."
Thank you very much, great to read you enjoyed your stay. Property Owner
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"Hi. The cottage was ideal for our family of five's summer holiday."
Nice peacefuk location. The only issue we had was the washing machine sounds like it needs repaired.
Great to read you enjoyed your holiday in East Cottage. The washing machine is new so we are not sure why it is making a noise, we will check it. Property Owner
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"Lovely cosy cottage in beautiful surroundings."
Everything you could possibly need in the kitchen to cook a proper meal! We would all like to visit again!
It would be great to welcome you again at Hill of Tarvit. Property Owner
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"It’s ungenerous to give such small jay cloths in the kitchen."
We would rather a big cleaning cloth and full dishwasher liquid and machine tablets, than the dog treats. We couldn’t make the towel rail work. You need more cutlery and plates and some coffee mugs, rather than those too - cooling cups Where were we meant to put our compost? BUT we love the location and for that we will return. Also like the key safe system. Sincerely Sue
Summary
- All ground floor
- Three bedrooms: 2 x double, 1 x single
- Bathroom with bath, shower over, basin and WC
- Kitchen/diner
- Sitting room with woodburning stove
- Oil central heating and woodburning stove
- Electric oven and hob, microwave, fridge, freezer, washing machine, TV, and DVD player
- WiFi
- Fuel, power inc. in rent
- Starter pack for fire provided from October to March
- Bed linen and towels inc. in rent
- Travel cot and highchair available
- Off-road parking for one car
- Enclosed private garden
- Two well-behaved dogs welcome
- Sorry, no smoking
- Shop and pub 1.6 miles
- Holiday guests have access to the estate grounds outside of the regular opening hours
- The opening times, visitor facilities and entry prices of all National Trust for Scotland properties and attractions can be viewed on their website here
The property
A charming single-storey cottage nestled on the grounds of the National Trust for Scotland’s Hill of Tarvit Mansion, East Cottage is the perfect choice for a tranquil family holiday to the region of Fife.
Originally built for the estate workers and gardeners, this Edwardian dwelling is set within its own enclosed garden near to the estate's original stable block, offering historic excitement around every corner.
Be welcomed into this traditional home from home after a day outdoors and settle within the sitting room, where two sofas rest alongside a warming woodburning stove, perfect for a winter's eve with loved ones.
Come together around the dining table within the kitchen/diner, where you’ll find a fitted kitchen holding all the appliances needed to rustle up home cooked meals.
The single-storey layout of the cottage lends itself well to those with limited mobility, with all three bedrooms resting on the ground floor; choose from either two delightful double bedrooms or the equally attractive single room, all served by the family bathroom, which includes a bath and an overhead shower.
Enjoy a family holiday to Fife in the wonderfully scenic setting of East Cottage at Hill of Tarvit Mansion.
This property can be booked with Refs. 1060390, 1060391, 1060392, together sleeping up to 18 guests.
EPC Rating: Band E
Short-term Holiday Let Licence No: FI-00070-F
Hill Of Tarvit Mansion Cottages
Resting just outside of Cupar in the region of Fife is Hill of Tarvit Mansion. Owned by the National Trust for Scotland and one of Scotland's finest Edwardian mansion houses, it offers an exceptional stay like no other. Originally built in the 17th century and later remodelled in 1906, it is now home to four beautiful properties awaiting your arrival for your Scottish adventure. The main mansion house boasts lavish furnishings, a Chinese porcelain collection and paintings by acclaimed artists, making this a truly unique choice for your Scottish escape. Staying within these stunning grounds offers guests access to explore all of the beautiful gardens, woodland, open heath and parkland, perfect for morning walks and picturesque afternoon strolls. Delve into the history of Hill of Tarvit with a traditional game of croquet on the lawn, or delight in one of the property's popular attractions, the original 9-hole hickory club golf course (charges apply), restored so you and your loved ones can enjoy the game as it was played in Edwardian times! Just ten miles from St Andrews, you can soak up the esteemed heritage of Scotland's oldest university and visit the world's most famous golf course, while the St Andrews Aquarium is a must-visit to see the black tip reef shark, seals and penguins, not forgetting to take a scenic stroll along West Sands Beach, before you find one of the many wonderful restaurants or cafés. More wondrous coastline awaits at East Neuk of Fife, with quaint harbours, pristine beaches and plenty of eateries offering freshly caught seafood on the menu, while another National Trust for Scotland property, Falkland Palace & Garden, rests within easy reach and is home to an impressive formal garden, awe-inspiring Renaissance architecture, and one of Britain’s oldest tennis courts, wonderfully placed next door to the Lomond Hills Regional Park. Kellie Castle & Gardens (NTS) is also just a scenic car journey away, here you can roam amidst the Arts & Crafts garden, observe one of the oldest ornamental plaster ceilings in Scotland in the library, and visit the sculpture studio of Hew Lorimer in the stables! Embark on your next adventure around Scotland from the enchanting Hill of Tarvit Mansion Cottages.
About the location
CUPAR, FIFE
St Andrews 9.7 miles; Kirkcaldy 17.8 miles
Enveloped by rolling hills, positioned alongside the babbling River Eden, in the historic county of Fife, is the picturesque town of Cupar. It retains much of its medieval character including a number of historic buildings; the Hill of Tarvit, an Edwardian mansion being well worth the visit. Owned by the National Trust for Scotland since 1949, the house contains an impressive collection of 18th-century Chippendale and French furniture, as well as Chinese porcelain and lovely Dutch paintings. The Scottish Deer Centre nearby covers over 55 acres of greenery, with 13 species of deer from around the world, Fife's only wolf pack, otters and other rare Scottish breeds. The park is simply beautiful and makes a superb day out with guided tours, woodland walks, nose-to-nose sessions and birds of prey demonstrations, along with so much more! The town offers a bustling hub of shops, pubs and eateries as well as an interesting mix of old and modern buildings. There is an excellent Golf Museum, aquarium, cathedral and a beautiful botanical garden. The Fife Coastal Path also beckons with so much to discover along its 117 miles of dramatic scenery. You can start at the Forth of Tay and journey on a wonderful walking experience to the Forth of Firth in the south. Pass through small fishing villages, across award-winning beaches and rugged cliffs on an adventure you won't forget in a hurry. Further afield you also have the town of Kirkcaldy and the riverside city of Perth. Choose Cupar as a base for your next holiday in Scotland, for a much-deserved break.
Mobile phone signal is intermittent.
The National Trust for Scotland do not permit BBQ's on their properties - due to fire risk.
This property offers the following short breaks:
- Winter
- Off-season
- Last minute
- Christmas