5
Andrew Henshaw 39 months ago
A hidden gem! We have just returned from a lovely stay in Ruperts Stable, one of two cottages in a barn conversion hidden behind a working farm on the edge of the North Yorkshire National Park. I say hidden as if you did not know it was there you would never find it, the directions take you through the working farmyard to get to the holiday lets. The barn has been converted to a very high standard, the photos really did not do it justice.
Our host, Andrea, was lovely, full of information without being intrusive at all. A tasty homemade cake, wine and some chocolates were left on the table for our arrival. Andrea introduced herself later (with her own beautiful dogs), I don’t think anything would have been too much trouble.
The property does allow dogs (one of the reasons we booked) which quite often lowers my expectations as dogs tend to leave some hairs the cleaners just miss or other damage. Not here. Ruperts Barn was spotlessly clean, not a hair in sight. The only obvious signs the property has been ‘dog-proofed’ would be the covers on the sofas that I would guess can taken off between guests to clean. I think the owners really undersell it. Our dogs loved the enclosed garden which also meant we could keep the door open so they could come in and out as they wanted.
The photos we saw are slightly out of date so I have posted some of mine, the property has obviously been updated to keep up with the times, there are flat TVs in all the rooms, free wifi, plug sockets everywhere, a fully equipped kitchen with washer, dryer, dishwasher and every pot, pan and utensil you would want, a large walk-in shower, I could go on. It is a home from home. The underfloor heating had separate thermostats for the different rooms so mum could have her bedroom ‘cosy warm’, while we could have ours nice and cool. It was warm when we stayed so we did not use the log burner, but it looked good!
The cottage had been ‘COVID prepared’ with everything we could think of taken care of, there was hand sanitiser in the cottage as well as a whole range of other cleaning products including dishwasher tablets and liquid for the washing machine.
Ruperts Stable looks out over the farmyard so if you don’t want to see, hear or smell the farmyard then perhaps look somewhere else. For us it was an added attraction, we loved seeing the cows every morning. It is only a couple of miles to Great Ayton and Stokesley which have a lovely set of local shops including butchers and bakers (and takeaways) and about 10 minutes to Guisborough for large shops like Sainsbury’s or Aldi.
Beyond the local towns we ventured out to Whitby which we found a little busy in this current world, so we carried on up the coast to Saltburn by the Sea which is lovely and worth the drive. If you have dogs, driving further up the coast towards Marske there are lots of parking areas so you can take your dogs for a run on the beaches. We also went up to Lordstones which has a lovely cafe and stunning view if you walk to the top (it is not a long walk), and the Guisborough Forest Walkway is a nice little spot.
Overall though I have to give this a 5-star rating, it was a really good break, an absolutely hidden gem. I hope we will be able to return soon.