Scandale Bridge Cottage

3.9★

6 Guests
4 Bedrooms
2 Bathrooms
Pets No
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Features

Off road parking
Garden / Patio
Cot available
Highchair available
Pub/shop < 1 mile
Dishwasher
Broadband / WiFi

Reviews & Ratings

Accuracy of the listing

Cleanliness

Comfort

Facilities and Maintenance

* Based on a combined average customer score

14 Customer Review(s)

Tim
October 2024

“Good location and practical size for a family.”

Heating is warm with plenty of hot water so no complaints about comfort. Some of the previous comments are borne out which do detract from what otherwise is a very nice property. Key points - The ensuite shower is leaking (between tray and wall and comes through in kitchen ceiling) although the new curtain does stop splashing onto floor. The kitchen is suffering from wear and tear (if you did cook you would be limited in utensils, pans etc) - dishwasher lower draw has broken wheels, fridge ...

Heating is warm with plenty of hot water so no complaints about comfort. Some of the previous comments are borne out which do detract from what otherwise is a very nice property. Key points - The ensuite shower is leaking (between tray and wall and comes through in kitchen ceiling) although the new curtain does stop splashing onto floor. The kitchen is suffering from wear and tear (if you did cook you would be limited in utensils, pans etc) - dishwasher lower draw has broken wheels, fridge has no trays in the door which restrcits ability to store milk other than in salad draw. Overall a spacious and comfortable property that needs some TLC to bring it back to an excellent standard.

- Tim, October 2024
Judith October 2024

“The property was nice and spacious downstairs but the bedrooms leave something to be desired.”

The en-suite was nice and the double was fine but the other 2 bedrooms were small with one of the twin beds needing a new mattress or total replacement. There was very little space for clothes and bags and all but the en-suite room being cramped. Downstairs was very nice and comfortable with plenty of space. The fridge door hinges were dirty as was the cooker grill. There looks to be a leaky or damaged ceiling which doesn’t provide confidence that the house is well maintained. It was fine for the 2 nights we were there as 4 adults with a bedroom each but I wouldn’t have wanted to share with anyone else due to the lack of space.

- Judith, October 2024
Sarah October 2024

“Lovely holiday cottage, perfect location.”

We were initially worried about the road noise when booking but couldn’t hear anything other than the bubbling stream when inside. Cottage was well stocked with kitchen equipment- we managed the oven no problem. Showers were warm and powerful. Beds comfortable,

- Sarah, October 2024
Richard September 2024

“Scandale Bridge Cottage - Overpriced I wanted to take my Son on holiday to the Lake District and Scandale Bridge Cottage looked like the perfect base, great location and safe, exclusive, off-road parking for my car.”

We paid £697 for 4 nights for 2 people. We needed to turn on the heating and this was straightforward, just turn the thermostat. We didn’t need access to the boiler controls as a previous guest had to. There was clean bedding and towels. The WiFi works well and reaches bedrooms. The TV is a little dated but we were able to connect a phone via HDMI which was good. But here is the down side. First impression, there’s no hand soap for the hand basins. I know a minority of guests will take away items from a holiday stay, but that shouldn’t discourage the owners from providing a few essentials. During the week we found other things lacking: No tea towel No dishcloths No washing up liquid No cleaning products (You’re meant to leave the cottage clean on departure, which we managed to do in spite of this, apart from the fridge which was long overdue for a proper clean around the vents - see photos). We didn’t use the oven or hob and only a few items of crockery and glassware, the rest remained unused though some of those were a little grubby. There was one dishwasher tablet and one water blown tablet, maybe left by a previous guest? - see photo. I have stayed in some places where there are complementary toiletries and at the very least, some soap for the hand basins, some go as far as to provide a bottle of wine, chocolates or a mini hamper. I don’t expect any of these but the basics would be nice. Looking at the reviews on the website, back in August 2023, Gavin reported a blind was broken and inoperative, we found the same blind still with no chain or cords - see photos. The ensuite bedroom door doesn’t close and it is presumably a fire door as there is an automatic closer and a fire action notice attached (see photo). The ensuite bathroom door doesn’t fit well either but can close with a heave. The clocks didn’t work (no big deal). When we started encountering problems, I read back through other reviews and noted the response of the owners. The responses seem to be quite dismissive so I may be wasting my time giving further feedback, which is intended to be constructive and helpful. Standard excuse seems to be “if you had phoned…”, well no, guests should not have to disrupt their holiday to report maintenance issues that have previously been ignored. Response to “M” from July 2023 “you should have reported it via the telephone number in the information file in the Cottage” and “cannot understand why you would give a 50 % rating based on the two adverse points you have erroneously raised” Guest Nigel in January 2023 reported some issues which have since been fixed, thankfully. He said “Only 5 plates in house for 8 people”, to which the response was “We do not advertise the house to sleep 8 guests hence we provide the necessary amount of utensils and crockery for the number of guests the house is advertised to provide for” The cottage is advertised for 6 guests so should one go hungry or wait for 2nd sitting? I’d love to know Nigel! The availability of utensils was fine but the quality and cleanliness, less so. We had no such problem as there was plenty of crockery, but we chose to eat out. Nigel also said “Bath / sink leaked through to the lounge”. More on this later. The ensuite shower is badly designed. Granted there’s not much that can be done about this other than replacing the shower tray. The problem is that the rim of the shower tray is flat, so any water running down the walls of the cubicle then run along the top of the rim and out onto the floor. I found a way around this is to direct the monsoon shower head to the opposite corner and lay a piece of toilet paper across the rim of the shower tray to direct the run-off into the tray. There was nevertheless a lot of condensation on the walls outside the cubicle as the extractor fan is inadequate and the ensuite is not heated. The ensuite is not heated as the small towel rail doesn’t work, it’s currently switched off, but if you try to open the valves to turn it on, one of them leaks (see photo). There is nowhere to put toiletries in the ensuite shower cubicle, a small shelf and/or soapdish would be good. Our biggest concern was the leaks, one from the main bathroom down to the lounge. It’s obviously a long-standing issue as it was reported by Nigel in January 2023. You can see the damage to the ceiling and you can see the attempt to paint over that damage as there’s a subtle difference in the shade of white (you may be able to pick it up from some of the photos). When we noticed we also looked under the ensuite and there was a leak there too (See photos and video). Neither leak produced torrents (yet) and we placed containers under to catch the water, reported it to maintenance and decided not to use the bathrooms for shower or bath after that. The response to Nigel in January 2023 was “Occasionally, leaks happen”. This is true, but as a property owner, I’d be scared the ceiling might come down and I’d make sure that the leak is fixed, not painted over. We did not call out maintenance until the last night because: I found workarounds for most of the problems and had taken everything but the kitchen sink (and cleaning materials) to the cottage. We only discovered the leaks from upstairs to downstairs late in our stay. By the way the one from the bathroom is only when the tub is draining so it is likely to be a leak in the waste pipes. The reason I don’t hold out much hope that this constructive feedback will be listened to, or acted on is that some of the issues reported previously are still unresolved and the parting shot to Nigel was “We … sincerely hope that you find a cottage more to your liking and requirements, for your next trip away together”. Which is easily interpreted as “go stay somewhere else”. My Son and I certainly will and if you're looking for holiday accommodation, maybe you will too? The constructive criticism from others was somewhat rudely dismissed, so I expect the same for my review. The review mechanism doesn’t allow guests to reply to owners’ feedback, so I won’t be able to contest any owner responses or rudeness either. Full review here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WcGMGjynlt2_ZrKIY-q-XLujzsbkVSVK8v009Q66o_4/ Photos and video here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2yPjjGiaoN2Ccnb36

- Richard, September 2024
Richard April 2024

“A lovely spacious cottage in a fantastic location for access to the centre of Ambleside.”

Very clean on arrival , and a well kitted out kitchen made eating in the property an easy option. Would certainly use again

- Richard, April 2024
Julie March 2024

“A really well equipped and comfortable cottage perfectly located for walking with plenty of parking space.”

A welcome pack would have improved our stay but overall a nice relaxing stay

- Julie, March 2024
Mary Christina December 2023

“Lovely clean and warm cottage.”

Very comfortable for a family of 6, ideally situated for walking into Ambleside, lake Windermere and for longer walks round the beautiful countryside. Large kitchen table to seat up to 8 people. All the kitchen appliances worked, plenty of glasses, cutlery and crockery although the oven took a while to get going.

- Mary Christina, December 2023
Maxine September 2023

“Lovely cottage , 10 min walk into centre of Ambleside.”

We missed the turning 1st time as it’s a sharp right turn just at the the National speed limit sign, plenty of parking space. Cottage fitted out with good quality furniture / furnishings. Cottage was clean and beds made up on arrival , large bath sheets provided for each person. We didn’t really use any of the cooking facilities as we ate out most of the time. Kitchen is large and spacious. Lovely bright sitting room with good quality furniture. Only one small detail is showers not that powerful but it wouldn’t stop me from returning as it was a lovely cottage with everything we needed .

- Maxine, September 2023
Adrian September 2023

“Lovely clean property.”

- Adrian, September 2023
Gavin August 2023

“Overall absolutely loved our stay, setting beautiful, plenty of space, great location, pretty much everything we needed for our family of 2 adults and 4 children Couple of suggestions would be to brighten the lighting in the kitchen and bedrooms, include a small knife for preparing vegetables and a set of kitchen weighing scales and adapt the listing inventory online to reference the freezer and tumble dryer which would have been useful to know about prior to arrival (although we couldn't get the tumble dryer to work during our stay but was not a problem) We also tried to report a leak which came through the landing ceiling after a heavy downpour using the number given and left a message although no one got back to us.”

Luckily this leak only happened on one occasion. A little more attention to detail with cleaning and ongoing maintenance could be improved if we're being picky (there were cobwebs in the bathrooms, loose window handles which could benefit from attention and a blind with no cord to be able to close both.) Despite this, we would definitely recommend this cottage to others and thoroughly enjoyed our holiday.

- Gavin, August 2023
M July 2023

“Upstairs bedrooms far too small to sleep 5 adults and 2 children comfortably.”

Wardrobe’s difficult to access. Toilet in master bedroom needs urgent attention. No evidence of recycling which was amazing due to being in the Lake District. Overall we enjoyed our stay and the location was ideal for Ambleside

- M, July 2023

If there was an issue with one of the toilets during your stay, you should have reported it via the telephone number in the information file in the Cottage. Our maintenance team would have attended, as normal with an incident of this sort, immediately. We are glad you enjoyed your stay, but cannot understand why you would give a 50 % rating based on the two adverse points you have erroneously raised. Property Owner
Justine March 2023

“Beautiful, warm, comfortable cottage in a perfect location.”

The only very slight issue was how long the oven takes to warm up- extremely slow!

- Justine, March 2023
Jillian January 2023

“A large, well appointed , traditional Lakeland house, set in extensive gardens ( name) is ideal for a group of friends or family planning to get away into the Lakeland countryside.”

There is good parking. A large kitchen , cosy lounge and four bedrooms give ample space to sit around and relax. The beds are comfortable , and the furniture is of good quality. There is a tv , but we didn’t use it so can’t comment. It is a possible to walk into Ambleside and pleasant enough. Any minor issues were sorted out promptly. All in all , we have been very content with the house . We have cooked most evenings rather than going out and enjoyed the ambience of the setting.

- Jillian, January 2023

Thank you so much for your kind comments regarding Scandale Bridge Cottage. We are delighted that you enjoyed your stay in the cottage and the beautiful Lake District. It was a pleasure to meet you and your party during your stay and we hope you had a smooth journey home to the Isle of Man Property Owner
Nigel January 2023

“I want to say how disappointed I am with this cottage.”

It shouldn’t be let in current state Here is a list of some of the many issues we have had Oven not fit for purpose. Had to leave on for 5hrs to get to just warm enough to cook something. Then didn’t cook it properly. House freezing cold and bedrooms won’t get warm Shower in smaller bathroom doesn’t get to heat and makes so much noise Bath / sink leaked through to the lounge Only 5 plates in house for 8 people Toaster doesn’t work well Only 2 small pans for frying Fire heater in lounge useless Wi-Fi doesn’t work in bedrooms Plastic bowl with holes and cracks in cupboard There is so much more…. It was a shame as the cottage was in a good location. For 8’people there just wasn’t enough facilities and utensils in the kitchen.

- Nigel, January 2023

We were sorry to read that you were disappointed with your stay at Scandale Bridge Cottage. We thank you for your feed back -both positive and negative - and have taken action where appropriate and where necessary. We saw you both on two occasions during your stay. You engaged with our maintenance engineer / plumber on his visit to the property and we spoke to you at least twice on the phone. We do find it slightly surprising that you and your friend, did not point out at least some of the issues that you complain about, which would have been easily rectified during your stay. This may have made it a happier stay for you both.. We would like to make the following points 1. You arrived on Friday 20th January and we met you on site to ensure you were comfortable. We gave you access to the boiler cupboard so you could override the heating settings, as we were experiencing a very cold spell in the Lake District, with night time temperatures dropping to -4 degrees.This allowed you to have the heating on constantly if you required. The heating system and all radiators were all working at maximum. The system and radiators had been serviced by British Gas three days before you arrived. We know that it is not possible that the house was ‘freezing’ - in fact we observed how warm the house felt after your departure. 2. You reported a leak from behind the sink in the bathroom at 7pm on Friday evening. This had manifested between the last guests staying and your arrival. As soon as you reported the issue we brought out an emergency plumber the next morning, Saturday by 8.30 am. to rectify this issue. Occasionally leaks happen. 3.We understood you to be a party of two. We do not advertise the house to sleep 8 guests hence we provide the necessary amount of utensils and crockery for the number of guests the house is advertised to provide for. 4. Thank you for bringing to our attention that one of the ovens on the Esse electric cooker was not coming up to heat. We have had the thermostat adjusted. 5. The electric stove in the lounge has three settings - we assume that you did not change the setting to high as this is an extremely effective unit. We will ensure that the settings are explained in more detail in the guest information file. 6. We provide two frying pans, (along with a full range of all cooking utensils) one small one medium- if you had wanted more, you had our telephone number, and had you let us know your requirements we would have been more than happy to bring you further frying pans. We are sorry that you did not enjoy your stay in what is really a beautiful and well maintained and appointed cottage, in a wonderful area. We acknowledge your comments and constructive criticism (where appropriate) , and sincerely hope that you find a cottage more to your liking and requirements, for your next trip away together. Property Owner

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Summary

Four bedrooms: 1 x double with en-suite shower, basin, heated towel rail and WC, 1 x double, 1 x twin, 1 x single
Bathroom with bath, shower over, basin, heated towel rail and WC
Kitchen/diner
Sitting room with electric fire
Gas central heating
Esse Traditional range cooker, microwave, fridge, dishwasher
TV, DVD player, WiFi
Fuel and power inc. in rent
Bed linen and towels inc. in rent
Travel cot, stairgate and highchair available on request
Off-road parking for 4 cars
Enclosed patio
Sorry, no pets and no smoking
Shop 0.6 miles, pub 0.5 miles
Please note the occupancy of Scandale is 6 guests including infants
Please note the maximum age of children is 3 years

The property

This 18th-century, stone cottage rests in a quiet position on the northern outskirts of Ambleside.

With a beautiful interior and exterior, Scandale Bridge Cottage is a magnificent choice for families and friends, with easy access to the amenities of Ambleside and the surrounding Lakeland regions.

Upon arrival you are greeted by off-road parking for three cars; take a moment to appreciate the views over Scandale Beck before getting to know your new home-from-home.

Step into the kitchen/diner, complete with original flagstone flooring and a great assortment of appliances, including an Esse traditional range cooker, microwave, fridge and dishwasher, so you are well-equipped for a week away.

Carry the conversation into the lounge, where everyone can curl up beside the electric fire and agree on a favourite film to watch.

On warmer evenings, step out to the enclosed patio and relax on the table and chairs, or wander around the mature gardens and take in the magnificent setting.

Whisk away upstairs, offering four neatly presented bedrooms, including the master with double bed and en-suite shower room, along with a standard double, twin and single.

Awaken from a deep slumber with a refreshing rinse in the bathroom, complete with bath and shower over so you can best decide how to prepare for the day.

Ambleside makes a fantastic holiday base, with a wonderful selection of specialist shops from which you can purchase a gift to take back home, plus a range of restaurants, cafés, ice cream shops and pubs to indulge in before you continue exploring.

From Ambleside, follow the river up to the stunning Stock Ghyll Force, a 17-foot waterfall with a viewing bridge, before continuing up to Wansfell Pike for a challenging but rewarding climb.

Two excellent cinemas, a famous pizzeria and jazz bar playing live music provide entertainment late into the evening.

Whether you’re cruising on Lake Windermere’s waters or whiling away the hours in the town centre, a break at Scandale Bridge Cottage is sure to bring fond memories.

Note: This property has a Good Housekeeping bond of £350.

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About the location

AMBLESIDE

Grasmere 4.4 miles; Windermere 4.7 miles; Keswick 16.7 miles.

Lying at the northern tip of Lake Windermere, England’s largest lake, Ambleside makes a superb base for touring the central Lakes, with Grasmere and the Langdale Valley just a short drive away. There is plenty to do here - cruises, boat trips and watersports on Lake Windermere itself and numerous shops, restaurants and pubs in the village to suit all tastes. On the lakeside at Waterhead, the parkland offers lovely views down the lake and a short stretch of beach, whilst a walk in the other direction, following Stock Ghyll through woodland, will bring you to the entrancing waterfall of Stock Ghyll Force. Along with the Lake and the great walking on offer, Ambleside is also famous for its annual rushbearing ceremony and the diminutive 17th century “Bridge House” - one of the most photographed buildings in the Lake District and now the National Trust Information Centre.

Please note the occupancy of Scandale is 6 guests including infants.
Please note the maximum age of children is 3 years

This property offers the following short breaks:

Winter
Off-season
Last minute
Christmas

Ambleside, Cumbria & The Lake District (Ref. 1123990)

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Features

Reviews & Ratings

“Good location and practical size for a family.”

“The property was nice and spacious downstairs but the bedrooms leave something to be desired.”

“Lovely holiday cottage, perfect location.”