“The holiday was 5 of us sharing the house (3-10 July 21), a couple in the en-suite room and 3 of us each having single occupancy of the other rooms.”
Striding Home is a lovely big house (up a very steep hill) with plenty of space and lovely, if small, garden. When you enter the front door there's a large entrance area with loads of hanging space and a huge boot rack.
The views, especially from the lounge, are stunning. The bedrooms were lovely and the beds were fantastically comfortable and I had a 6' wide bed to myself! :)
I'm afraid the praise can't go any further than that. I think the owners are doing the house up bit by bit. As I said the bedrooms have been updated, as has the en-suite bathroom, but the other bathrooms are very dated and my friend and I, sharing the upstairs bathroom, had great trouble turning the shower on and off, the knob is sooo stiff. There is also a leak from that shower which comes out at floor level and runs towards the doorway, so be careful you don't slip! We used one of the towels to leave in place to mop it up. There were times when our toilet made an horrendous sound when it was flushed.
The kitchen is not very well equipped. There is a huge stove but it's very very old and some of the rings don't work properly and/or so wobbly you can't put a saucepan on them. The kettle is so old you can't see the water level. the fridge freezer has certainly seen better days and is the old style that freezes the food that gets to the back! There are not many mugs and not much cutlery. If there were 8 people staying there (which it holds) you'd be putting the dishwasher on after every meal!
When the sun was shining in the lounge you could see how the cleaners had dusted ROUND the ornaments on the windowsill - better if they hadn't bothered! Also they hadn't dusted the table behind the tv, or the fireplace. It makes one wonder about the bathroom cleaning. The guy in the en-suite said he had to clean out the drain of the shower for the water to go down - he said it was really bunged up with hairs Ugh! It all needs a really good fettle.
There's a music room downstairs which leads into a lovely conservatory. We would love to have used this more but the patio doors proved so stuck that only the guy could open them, and then with great difficulty. They certainly need looking at.
Coming back to bedrooms - in the write-up it says one of the rooms is a twin. I had rung Sykes and asked if the twin could be made a double, us being single occupancy. Sykes rang me on the morning we were setting of to go there and told me he had just spoken to the housekeeping staff and no, they couldn't do it as double. Lo and behold, when we got there they were all made a double!! I don't know what happened but there was a definite miscommunication there. My room was a zip&link which can be either so beware if you need twin, it might be pot luck what you get.
Ambleside is lovely and we had some great walks with good weather but I'd be wary of staying at Striding Home again.
Thank you for your feedback. We have taken on board your
comments. There is now a new, much larger fridge freezer and the old
gas hob has been replaced with a modern induction hob. There are more
mugs available for use. The leak from the shower has been fixed. There
is a new kettle.
Property Owner
Summary
- Accommodation: Steps to front door at a half level
- Entrance area and plenty of hanging space for outdoor gear
- Stairs to upper floor lead to the main L-shaped living/dining room (flat screen TV, DVD, video, free Wi-fi and wood-burning stove)
- Door to fitted kitchen
- There are two bedrooms on this floor - one king size and one twin, both with views to Wansfell
- Bathroom with large standing shower, basin and wc.
The lower floor has two more bedrooms - master bedroom with zip and link superking-sized bed (twin on request) and en-suite shower room with basin and wc, and further bedroom with king-sized bed - together with a second bathroom having bath with shower over, basin and wc
- Also on the lower floor is the study/music room, with an upright piano, which leads through to a most pleasant garden conservatory with door to the garden
- Separate laundry room.
Striding Home is tastefully and comfortably furnished
- The house has large windows and a light and sunny aspect with a welcoming holiday feel
- Good views from all the main windows.
Outside: Pleasant, though small, rear garden offers a good degree of privacy, with mature shrubs and with patio area and views to Wansfell
- Garden table and chairs
- Parking in the drive for two cars with additional parking space in the garage offers parking for a third car or safe storage for bikes etc.
- Property heating: Gas, other heating sources: Open Fire
- 1 oven of type: electric
- Hobs
- Microwave
- Fridge Freezer
- Tumble Dryer
- Wi-Fi included
- Fuel and power inc. in rent
- Bed linen and towels inc. in rent
- 1 Highchair
- Parking
- Sorry, no smoking
- Shop within 0.25 miles
- Pub within 0.26 miles
The property
A spacious split-level detached house in a quiet residential area on the outskirts of Ambleside. Striding Home has good south and westerly views to the fells and mountains with Lake Windermere in the valley below. The garden backs onto open fields with Wansfell behind. Ambleside village centre is within easy walking distance. Lake cruises can be enjoyed on Windermere and with many walks in the area there is very little need to use the car on a daily basis.
Accommodation: Steps to front door at a half level. Entrance area and plenty of hanging space for outdoor gear. Stairs to upper floor lead to the main L-shaped living/dining room (flat screen TV, DVD, video, free Wi-fi and wood-burning stove). Door to fitted kitchen. There are two bedrooms on this floor - one king size and one twin, both with views to Wansfell. Bathroom with large standing shower, basin and wc.
The lower floor has two more bedrooms - master bedroom with zip and link superking-sized bed (twin on request) and en-suite shower room with basin and wc, and further bedroom with king-sized bed - together with a second bathroom having bath with shower over, basin and wc. Also on the lower floor is the study/music room, with an upright piano, which leads through to a most pleasant garden conservatory with door to the garden. Separate laundry room.
Striding Home is tastefully and comfortably furnished. The house has large windows and a light and sunny aspect with a welcoming holiday feel. Good views from all the main windows.
Outside: Pleasant, though small, rear garden offers a good degree of privacy, with mature shrubs and with patio area and views to Wansfell. Garden table and chairs. Parking in the drive for two cars with additional parking space in the garage offers parking for a third car or safe storage for bikes etc.
Note: This property has a Good Housekeeping bond of £200.
View on map
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 zip & link bed is made as a super king should you wish to be a twin please call the call centre to arrange.
This property offers the following short breaks:
- Winter
- Off-season
- Last minute
