Olde Farm Holiday Cottages: The Borrowers

When I was a child ‘The Borrowers’ were one of my favourite sets of books. Telling the story and following the adventures of the Clock family: Pod, Homily and Arrietty, the primary theme of the books is the interaction between the tiny Clock Family and the ‘human beans’ who share their homes. I like to think that this cottage allows our guests to have their own interactions and adventures here at Olde Farm. I thus ‘borrowed’ their name for the theme of the cottage and you will find lots of clocks and other time related items in the rooms. You will also find a set of the novels if you wish to reacquaint yourselves with the books (or indeed discover them for the first time) whilst you curl up on the sofa or sit out in the garden. Enjoy!!

How wonderful that you are bringing your pets with you and they are very welcome, we have spare bowls, towels, beds, leads, toys and even some food, so don't worry if you forget to bring something, and we will make sure there are some treats available for them also. Being dog lovers we do try to keep rules for pets to an absolute minimum and basically these are that they are not allowed in the bedroom(s) or on the living room furniture - but we do provide throws because we know from our own pugs that dogs always prefer to sit on the sofas!

Our model and baseline is that our cottages are the ones that we would want to find on arrival and stay in. Our prices are the same all year round, with no increases for the Summer, Christmas, New Year, Easter or half term breaks. We offer total flexibility and your short or long break can start on any day of the week with the only stipulation that you book for a minimum of two nights for most of the year (three in August and at Christmas and Easter). Check in is normally 3pm and check out 10.30am – if you require an early check in or late check out these can be arranged dependent on availability. Our mission is to have initial guests arrive as strangers and leave as friends; repeat guests we hope will next arrive as friends and leave as ‘family’

The Borrowers offers high levels of quality in a luxury oak furnished and well equipped cottage. There is a Smart TV with SkyTV and Boxsets, a Blue Ray DVD player, panasonic sound system – or you can choose your own choice of music via Alexa and Amazon Prime. In the kitchen area you will find a ceramic hob, granite worktops, combination microwave, full sized electric oven, fridge, freezer, Nespresso coffee maker, slow cooker, food mixer, blenders/choppers and laundry facilities. There are facilities for you to make everything from a simple toasted sandwich to a full roast lunch – but with excellent local pubs serving delicious food you might just want to relax and take a break from cooking. With underfloor heating in the living room and bathroom we make sure you are cosy on the cold evenings and there is also a fabulous ‘log’ fire to sit by in the evenings together with an independent thermostatically controlled electric radiator in the bedroom. In the en-suite bathroom you will find a luxury free standing deep bath with waterfall tap to soak away the strains at the end of the day and a separate double power shower cabinet to wake you up in the mornings if you can tear yourself away from the depths of the super kingsize bed and the snugness of the duvet. There are complimentary toiletries for you to use and we always have a stock of spare disposable toothbrushes, toothpaste, razors and shaving foam, etc should you forget to bring yours – just ask. We make sure that the bird feeders outside the cottage are well stocked for our regular feathered visitors – sparrows, swifts, yellow hammers, all manner of tits, collared doves, wood pigeons, gold finches, wood peckers and robins and you will also find various additional feeding stations dotted around the gardens. Pheasants, rabbits and Muntjack Deer often visit and wander around the garden and the resident moorhens and ducks raise their broods in the floating houses on the pond. Oh and do look out for the owls at dusk as they emerge – magical!

The Borrowers is ideal for couples and babies and toddlers are welcome – we can provide a cot and highchair – but as there is only one bedroom it is not suitable for older children. It has the facility to be booked alongside our other cottage The Bee’s Knees (4* Gold rated) offering accommodation for larger groups. We also positively welcome your pets, of any kind, at all our cottages.

In a nutshell The Borrowers consists of:

Rooms – 1 bedroom with super-king oak sleigh bed, 1 en-suite bathroom with free standing bath and separate double shower cubicle, large vaulted kitchen/diner/living room

Luxuries – Smart TV with Sky TV and Boxsets, BluRay/DVD player, surround sound theatre system, Panasonic Sound System, bluetooth speaker, Alexa and Amazon Prime, ‘log effect’ gas stove

General – underfloor heating, Telephone, Free Wi-Fi

Standard – Kettle, Toaster, Iron & Ironing Board, Hair Dryer, Nespresso Coffee Maker, Slow Cooker, Toasted Sandwich Maker, Smoothie Maker/Blender, Kenwood Chef food mixer

Utilities – Dishwasher, Ceramic Hob, Fan Oven, Combination Microwave, Fridge and separate Freezer, Washing machine

Furniture – Super King Bed, Cots, Dining table and seats for 2, large sofa and seats for 4

Other – Hypoallergenic Duvet/Pillows and all Egyptian cotton linens provided, Towels provided, High chair

Outdoors – Private decked patio, Private Garden Area, Dedicated BBQ, Garden Table and Chairs, Umbrella, Swing Seat, bicycles available, Communal Gardens with gazebos, swing seats, picnic tables and a BBQ hut

Access – Dedicated parking for several cars