Welcome to our beautiful holiday cottage Cotterill Barn in the beautiful but also unapproachable countryside of the North Pennines.
Cotterill Barn was a barn of Cotterill Farm, the ruin next to the barn (which was built in 2021 and transformed into two new houses), and was supposedly built in the second half of the 19th century. The barn is depicted on the map from 1901, which hangs near the stairs. In 2009, the barn was built as a holiday home.
Description of the Barn
The ground floor consists of an entrance hall with stairs, a large room with open kitchen, which is equipped with a 4-burner electric comfort and a dishwasher. In the room is a sofa bed for a possible 5th person. On the other side of the room is a utility, where the refrigerator, washer/dryer and microwave are located. This utility also has a door to the outside and gives access to a toilet with a "butler" sink.
Upstairs there are two bedrooms "en-suite". One bathroom has a toilet, sink and bath, the other a toilet, sink and shower. Both bedrooms have a double bed.
There is parking for two to three cars in the Barn's yard.
The range for the mobile phone is reasonable. There is internet connection. You will look in vain for a television, but you probably won't miss it.
The area
The Barn is located in the North Pennines, declared an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1988. It is an open landscape with heath and grassland, on which sheep graze in late summer to spring and hay is collected in summer. Characteristic are the "dry stone walls" and the remaining structures of the lead and silver mines. Nenthead was the center of mining and has an interesting museum about it. The village was built in the middle of the 18th century by the Quakers for the miners. The community shop in the village was the library, where education was also given. Nenthead prides itself on being one of the highest villages in England (1500 feet) and the village with the first street lighting. It is also an important stopping point for the Coast to Coast (C2C) cycle route.
Weather
If you choose the North Pennines as a holiday destination, you choose nature, hiking, wind and silence. Because the Barn is high (1500 feet), it can be colder than you might expect. It is therefore good to take this into account with clothing.
The groceries
Down in the village is the Community Shop (5 minutes walk). Here you can go for the basic necessities of life, including a newspaper. For more extensive shopping, Alston (10 miles) is the first opportunity. Here are also the tourist office (diagonally opposite the church) and an Outdoor Shop. Larger purchases are possible in Hexham (40 miles) or Penrith (50 miles). And of course in Newcastle and Carlisle.
Meals away from home
There seems to be a good restaurant in Overwater (on the other side of the road), diagonally opposite The Miners Arms that is for sale, but this was always closed (only open in the summer ?) when we were there.
From our own experience we can recommend: Nenthall (on the road halfway Alston), Alston house (in Alston at the market left, T-junction left), and Allendale Inn (market square Allendale, 12 mile). But for other experiences we are recommended.
Out and about.
In the house there is a folder with all kinds of tips and ideas. Close to home, the High Force waterfall, the train in Alston, the Killhope mines, Hadrian's wall (the wall of Emperor Hadrian) of which large parts can still be seen between Newcastle and Carlisle and the Roman camp 'Vindolanda' are recommended.
Hexham and Corbridge (about 45 minutes' drive to the north-east) are nice little places. The first has a beautiful Abbey and also a few superstores such as Tesco and Waitrose.
In the other direction (to the West) is Penrith. Also a nice place (with a castle ruin). The descent (Hartside) is worth it in itself with panoramic views towards the Lake District. From Penrith it is about a 15-minute drive to Lake Ullswater.
To the east is Durham with its impressive cathedral. North of Durham is Newcastle, the largest city in the region. To the north west of the barn is Carlisle, an industrial town with a beautiful cathedral and a large castle. Closer to home is Langley Castle where you can enjoy delicious tea in a medieval setting.
