Old school house surrounded by countryside

Location fantastic

A few house maintenance things but minor

Beautiful house perfect for a group of friends. Had every possible thing you could ever need. Feels very lived in which we personally liked with lots of kitchen appliances, games etc really loved how the house had been done and the garden was beautiful.

The only issue we had was there was no running cold water upon arrival. The taps on the kitchen and utility only dispensed hot water which is not wise to drink. We arrived late so contacted the owner the following day and they arranged for a plumber to come to the property. One tap was fixed and the other couldn't be. Wasn’t ideal but was looked into promptly by the owner.

The property and setting was chosen for a specific occasion, for my family to gather there to mourn the loss of a close relative. The house had everything we needed and we were prepared to just have a nice relaxing time reminiscing about her. Caroline from Catchpole Stays was prompt and helpful.

HOWEVER, I have to raise a few issues regarding our stay. Firstly, there was a problem with one of the fuses that kept tripping. After the fourth or fifth time of putting it back on, and it tripping again we just left it. Hence, a majority of the ceiling lights (upstairs and some downstairs) did not work including the ones in the en-suite bathroom in the master bedroom. We really could not use this bathroom at night, leaving only the one on the landing upstairs. This became even more problematic on Monday as you will see below. Secondly, we had a honeybee invasion. We realise the house is in the countryside, and wildlife is everywhere. We did not however expect them to be indoors to this extent. Catchpole Stays asked Pat the beekeeper to come around and he confirmed there was a lot of activity in the landing bathroom, in the space between the ceiling and the roof. Using the only bathroom upstairs with working lights became unsafe (and thus, at nighttime we had no bathroom upstairs available with lighting and inadequate lightning to safely navigate down the stairs to the other bathroom). Pat also confirmed that the 4 bees we found in the bedroom adjacent to the master bedroom, could come from the outside perhaps through one of the holes the near the window, outside which there is an active hive (I can attach pictures if needed). We had to be extra cautious when outside in the garden. The fact that my two young grandchildren were staying with us (a baby and a toddler) really did not give us much peace of mind under these circumstances. Pat reassured us that the honeybees would normally leave us alone, but he certainly did not want us to let the kids be anywhere near the bees. We quickly alerted Catchpole Stays about both issues and Caroline was helpful, but the management have since not responded to requests for a partial refund as a measure of goodwill .

This is a lovely house, with plenty of room for a large family or group of friends. Two large lounges. Well stocked, fully resourced kitchen. Nice bathrooms. We had an issue with honey bees on arrival which was promptly and professionally dealt with by the agent , Caroline from Catchpole Stays. Highly recommended

It was very hot during our stay. There is a large garden with two lawns but no loungers or furniture. This would have been lovely to enable us to enjoy the garden and the fine weather. I did spot a mouse in the lounge, but you are in the country!

The house is great - plenty of space/bedrooms for the eight of us. The gardens are lovely and the studio room is really good. The hot water bottles were a nice touch, as were the board games which we had fun playing. Beautiful setting. We would definitely recommend.

The hot water supply was a bit inconsistent. Instruction booklet/notes would be useful and an extractor fan in the toilet in the studio room would be a welcome addition. Also, we couldn’t find a bottle opener, so best to bring one with you.