Last minute weekend break in the countryside

AUGUST - SPARKLING SPECIAL OFFER ... 

How about a last minute break in the countryside? What would work for you - a romantic break for two or a family escape to Alton Towers? Email or ring us to check availability and reserve your break.

There are lots of things to do. Alton Towers is the most obvious, but there are gorgeous walks, tea rooms and pubs. Our local towns have much to offer, with lots of shops specialising in antiques and collectibles.

And in the evening, you could cook something, better still you could order in or go out to one of the local eateries. See how you feel after a busy day...

Special offer

If you book a short break directly with us as a result of seeing this post we will put a bottle of fizz in the fridge for you. Email us on barks@btconnect.com to book this special offer.

  

A wet week in the Peak District

No big surprise, but it is very wet round here after a week of rain. The river Churnet is in full flow and about to burst its banks. Normally I would feel slightly guilty that our holiday guests were not seeing the area in its full glory.

We have a lovely crew that have come down from Bridlington and guess what... they chose Barks Holiday Cottage because it has an open fire. It's June, so I was surprised that was such an important criterion when selecting a self-catering holiday cottage in summer. If it had been a last minute booking I might not have been so surprised.

Anyway, they chose Barks because it is all on one floor and has an open fire. One of the ladies has restricted mobility so it is perfect for her. She hasn't been able to go out very much with her companions, but has stayed in the cottage and enjoyed a roaring fire and the views across the Churnet Valley.

Self catering holiday cottage, single storey accommodation.

July opening times at Alton Towers

If you are planning a trip to Alton Towers and need to juggle opening times, travelling times and booking accommodation, I hope you find this information useful.

July opening times at Alton Towers

And here is a tip - The theme park is enjoying peak season in July, particularly with traffic approaching from Uttoxeter and A50 in the mornings. Midweek there are school and uni trips, with lots of coaches. Weekends the roads are noticeably busy with cars queuing through the villages at arrival and departure times.

Beat the queues when you stay at Barks holiday cottage which is 2.6 miles away and enables you to approach from the quieter direction,

For the latest availability please check online or contact us.

Single storey, ground floor, self catering

We are having such an interesting year so far when it comes to taking bookings. Everyone is booking directly with us and not through the big booking agents. We love direct bookings - better for us, better for you!

We have recently taken a couple of bookings because people were particularly looking for single storey, ground floor accommodation in a country cottage. I can confirm, the cottage meets that description.

If you are looking for a bungalow in the countryside just drop us a line with your booking requirements and we can get your dates reserved straight away. Email us on barks@btconnect.com or phone 01538 703436. Many thanks

Barks Cottage - single storey self-catering

Alton Towers Easter 2019 Opening Hours

Our guests generally manage to squeeze in a trip or two to Alton Towers! Given that it is only 3 miles up the road it is fair to say that for many families it is the reason for coming to this part of the country in the first place. At least they leave realising that the Churnet Valley has a lot more to offer than merely the nation's favourite theme park.  Don't start me on that subject...😀

... Anyway, here are the opening hours for April 2019, in case you are planning a family self-catering holiday near Alton Towers.

Alton Towers opening times April 2019

Keep the family happy with some thrills up the road at Alton Towers, then drag them for a walk, something cultural or a family meal out on another day. Lot's of family time - that's what it's all about.

Holiday cottage near Alton Towers

This week has seen sunshine and showers - and a fantastic rainbow. This was taken on a walk that we like that is straight from the front door of the holiday cottage and doesn't cross any roads. Hard to believe that you are staying in a holiday cottage near Alton Towers.

Hard to believe sometimes that Barks Holiday Cottage is so near Alton Towers

Snowy

Can you see the little white camouflaged dog?

Lovely walkies from the holiday cottage, and there is something magical about the woods in the snow.

Pet friendly holiday at Barks Holiday Cottage...

Christmas at the Holiday Cottage

Christmas availability at Barks Holiday Cottage from 22nd December

What's your idea of a perfect Christmas? Some people love having all the relatives round, despite all the work that goes into offering hospitality with all the trimmings. Others want to get away, pretend it's not happening at all. Me? I'm probably moving from the first of these, heading slowly towards the latter!

For a number of years the holiday cottage was booked by family members coming up to visit local friends. They could just about walk across the fields for their family get together. I was slightly nervous at the idea of them staggering back across the moorland after a few glasses of Christmas cheer, but it seemed to work out OK.

This year our booking agents took a booking for Barks Holiday Cottage back in August for a couple and their dog. That's organised, I thought, well done them! Very, very unfortunately, they weren't quite organised enough to take out holiday insurance. This bit is rather sad - one of them has been involved in a bad accident and so they can no longer go away at Christmas. Their deposit, taken by the agents, is non refundable which reminds me to stress the importance of taking out insurance on UK holidays, something people seem not to want to do.

Anyway, the cottage is back on the market for Christmas. It is available for 5 days from 22nd December for £475. There is some flexibility in those dates (however we are already booked for New Year).

We can also be very flexible as to how much we decorate the cottage for our Christmas guests. This year we are thinking we might put a tree on the terrace. We generally do some indoor decorations, unless asked not to, and give our guests a box of chocolates.

Halloween at the holiday cottage

The holiday cottage has entered its orange phase, in perfect time for Halloween and Alton Towers Scarefest. A season highlight in the Alton Towers calendar.

A young family are staying in cottage and their friends are joining them for a couple of nights in the Annexe. They've come up from London, equipped with their Merlin passes, to make the most of the season.

They even stopped en route at Sudbury Hall, as they didn't get there last time they booked the cottage. I wonder if they'll find a moment to carve our pumpkins!

Meet Issie

Issie is an important dog! Obviously all dogs are important, but this lovely lady has responsibilities and jobs. I love it when dogs have a sense of purpose and enjoy their work. Issie is a companion dog, which I gather is similar to an assistance dog but without the formal training and accreditation. She picks things up and fetches things for her owner. I've so enjoyed chatting with her people and finding out about her.

This week she has looked earnest when she's on duty, and joyful when it's fun time. She loves to fetch the ball thrown in our field.

Isn't she gorgeous? Truly a good girl.

Autumn days

This lovely lady was sunning her bones on the holiday cottage terrace this morning and looked such a happy picture that I nipped off to get my camera. Standing around photographing her was clearly very suspicious behaviour that required her to get up and investigate. A polite woof alerted her people, so then we had a jolly chat about the important topic of unmissable walkies destinations in the Churnet Valley  - the list is long!

Holiday cottage in the pink

The terrace garden goes through different colour phases throughout the season. It is  in a pink phase right now, with a strong splash of bright magenta from one rose and a contrasting white from another.

I am glad we took the hebe down and opened up the view down the valley. A hyacinth is now in its place, adding more pink to the mix. You would almost think we'd planned it!

Blooming June at the holiday cottage

We came back from holiday to a jungle. Out came the mower and the strimmer and now we have a jungle with clearings.

The holiday cottage terrace is buzzing with activity. Not from holiday guests but from the bees that are loving the pyracanthus flowers.  I have been pruning it a little to keep it in shape.

Flowering pyracanthus being lightly chopped.

And so a decision has to be made...
... is this the year to chop back the hebe? It had a major, to the ground, chopping when we put in the terrace a few years ago. Since then it has pleasantly regrown and reformed. Suddenly, it is a giant bush that is obscuring the view over the valley from the kitchen window. The other factor in this decision is that my husband is in outside mode with garden implements in hand. He just needs directing towards the hebe....

Hebe - about to be majorly chopped??

... today could be the day to chop the hebe. I'll let you know!

For those that actually know something about gardening and are planning a holiday in the Churnet Valley or near Alton Towers, may I suggest Consall Hall Gardens and the National Trust's Biddulph Grange.

Merlin passes

Our half term guests have Merlin passes and made good use of them by all accounts. They built a holiday around daily family trips to Alton Towers. Having said that, they also made daily outings to local attractions - walks, tea rooms, browsing local towns. A good time was had by all, according to their feedback. Personally, I think this is the framework for a brilliant family holiday - something for everyone with never a dull moment. I have just come back from my own family holiday and reviewing it in the light of our departing guests' comments, I can see that we fell into a framework for our time too. Funny how that works out!

I will also mention the other bit of feedback we just received as it is something we were pleased to hear. Our holiday cottage guest was pleased to be able to comfortably accommodate her three children in a bedroom by themselves (so that she had a room to herself) in a sweet cottage that is close, but not too close, to Alton Towers ST10 4DB... all within her budget.

Family time, that's what we believe in.

Holiday cottage change over in spring

It is so much more satisfying to dry the holiday cottage linen and towels in the sun than stuff them in the dryer. Fresh sunny linen, lovely for our guests and better for the environment.

Pegging it all out has to be worth the extra effort. My guard dog will hopefully notify me if it blows away to another county. It's sunny today, and a bit breezy.

Mac

We so enjoyed having Mac and his people staying in the holiday cottage last week. Mac spent the day with us while his lovely family spent a full day at Alton Towers.

Mac didn't understand posing for the camera, but his manners were splendid. Such a cheerful chappie.

Teenagers on family holidays

What do you do with teenagers over the holidays? If your family doesn't have to make compromises to keep everyone happy then please write a book and give the rest of us the secret!

I was having coffee with another school mum while our teens 'interacted' over a computer game and we discussed how to keep teenage boys interested in family time. She has three boys, I just have the one. They have taken up sailing - making it a family holiday that everyone will enjoy. My friend has fingers crossed that her oldest son might even forsake his girlfriend for a week and turn down travel options with friends to sail with the family this summer. They are lucky enough to have the money for this kind of dream holiday. But even on a lower budget, the theory applies. Find an activity or a destination that will appeal to everyone in the family.

Alton Towers new ride - Wicker Man

So that is where a Alton Towers fits in. Some parents love the rides at Alton Towers more than their kids do, others stand around holding the bags and coats. The bag-holders do this because the promise of a few days at Alton Towers meant that teenagers raised a bit of smile at the prospect of a family trip together. Maybe additional promises of being able to take a friend were added. We love to see our families having a great time.

Perfect family walk

So that is where Barks Cottage fits in. Family time. You lure the kids on holiday with the fun of a day at a theme park and maybe even the extra perk of Alton Towers waterpark. And then on other days, everyone actually spends time together on a family walk, maybe via a local pub, and explore the local attractions.

These are activities that too rarely happen at home because everyone has 'better' things to do, but when you go away everyone's priorities change. And that's the magic. You get to explore, chat, eat together and have fun times.

Holiday Cottage insights

There's never a dull moment running a holiday cottage! This week we've had to replace the rug in the sitting room. So we've invested in a bigger and better one. Probably a factor of making that purchase decision when there was snow all around!

I think we'll leave this week's guests in peace and put the new rug down tomorrow.

New rug for Barks holiday cottage

Snowy round here - proper Peak District

Feb 2018 - we were checking the road conditions

We've had a lot of snowy days this winter. The Churnet Valley has been looking spectacular, particularly from the vantage point of our hill top.

This morning I wasn't sure about getting off our hill as it is 16% descent in all directions! We have a 4x4 but it is rubbish at this sort surface - just a heavy old car that slides towards the ditch given half a chance. Anyway, we made it after a bit of effort throwing grit around. My son was only and hour or so late for school. Oh well.

Cockadoodle doo

Say hello to the handsome new addition to our little flock. We can't decide what to call him. He has a lovely crow and seems to be good natured. But he has a hard act to follow...

New cockerel struts his stuff outside Barks Holiday Cottage

We said a very sad farewell to Stewart our cockerel of about 9 years. We had raised Stewart from an egg and he had been a good fellow to have around. Very friendly indeed. He used to come and hang out near us if we were sitting in the garden. He was starting to get a bit tired and was clearly feeling his age, but sadly it wasn't time that did for him but either a fox or a neighbour's dog. Truly not a fitting end for such a fine bird.

Our new chap is not very confident and is a rather short of hens following a second attack, this time definitely by the neighbour's dog. He is on the mend and re-growing his tail feathers, but dare we name him yet???

Just in case you are thinking that you don't want a self-catering cottage where you are going to be woken before dawn by a cockadoodle-doo, fear not, the hutch stops him stretching his neck and getting full volume and they are not kept on the bedroom side of the cottage.

You may however wish you were woken at dawn so that you can get to Alton Towers and be first on the rides. The early bird catches the worm and all that.