I’ve been writing about Kate and Tom’s amazing holiday homes since 2005. Plenty more where this comes from: kateandtoms.com.
Intro
Join the shepherds
Life here on the edge of England’s Lakes is a heady stew of high hills, hearty comforts and dog-friendly pubs peppered with shepherds and rat-race escapees. Walk the fells, fire up the Aga, get the logs crackling, play some snooker, sink some fizz. Retire to delicious bedding, rolltop baths and the heavy silence of the northern hills.
Expanded copy
Hearty comforts and high hills
Come to the edge of England’s most beautiful National Park. Life here in the Northern Lakes is a wholesome stew of luxury living, country walks and pubs with bulging specials boards. Sink the dark ale. Stroke the dogs that sprawl by the fire. Climb the fells, track down the waterfalls, guzzle the biscuits from the local bakery.
Eden Valley Hall Farm sleeps 12 in the shadow of towering Blencathra, snuggling tightly against the North Pennines and the upland trails that lead to Aira Force waterfalls. In sleepy nearby Melmerby, shepherds, farmers, writers and artists sit by the Shepherds’ Inn’s well-stoked fire, quaff stiff beer and down hearty food.
Back at base, there’s a sense of cosy luxury that begins beneath your feet, warmed by wonderful underfloor witchcraft. The crackle of burning wood from two homely stoves adds to the wholesome comfort. Stock up on seasonal stuff from the Melmerby village store, fire up the Aga or Weber terrace barbie, feed your flock and get reacquainted.
After dinner, pile the pots in the Bosch dishwasher, pick a wine from the cooler and convert the table into a half-size snooker table. Chuck some more wood on the fire, top up your glasses and make a night of it. Retire to deep, delicious bedding, rolltop baths, ensuite bathrooms and the hefty silence that hangs over England’s northern hills.
