LANERCOST HOLIDAY COTTAGES

ACCESS  STATEMENT

Pre-Arrival

Our six Lanercost Holiday Cottages are set around a courtyard development.  The buildings were originally a farm steading, rebuilt about 1860, which were converted by the Naworth Castle Estate and completed in 2009.  They are listed and within the cartilage of a Scheduled Ancient Monument.  This led to planning constraints in terms of the design and resulted in restrictions to what we could do in respect of access. Lanercost Holiday Cottages has its own website www.lanercost.co.uk, which gives details of each of the six holiday cottages.

Enquiries and bookings can be made by e-mail;  bookings@lanercost.co.uk and by telephone;
016977 3229

Location

The Lanercost Holiday Cottages are situated approximately 13 miles north-east of Carlisle and within 10 miles of the M6 motorway, junction 43. 

Road access off the A69 is via a B road, which is accessible by car and coach towards Lanercost.  The cottages are located just immediately south of the turning into Lanercost Priory.  Lanercost Priory is marked from Brampton by ‘brown on white’ Lanercost Priory signs.  As it is a rural location the best way to access the cottages is by car.  The nearest regional train station is Carlisle, which is 13 miles away.  There are taxis at the station that can take you to Lanercost holiday cottages.  Lanercost is not on a bus route although there is a local service called the Hadrian’s Wall Bus that stops in front of the Priory gates.

Arrival

The Lanercost Holiday Cottages are located in a rural location and a car is pretty well essential.  To access the holiday cottages – when you turn into Lanercost there is a 60 metre private tarmac road - at the end of the road on the left hand side the six holiday cottages are located around a courtyard.  On the right there is a level, part gravelled and hardcore car park, which is exclusive to the holiday cottages and forms the last bay of the big car park in front of the Lanercost Tea Room.  The holiday cottage car park is named “Lanercost car parking for holiday cottages only please” and is exclusive to the six properties.  Holiday cottage users are asked to use the car park for parking of cars during their stay, however, guests are allowed to use the gravelled part of the courtyard for ‘dropping off and unloading’ and removing their possessions at the beginning and end of the holiday.

The properties are all located around the courtyard.  The courtyard is level and is predominantly gravelled, although there are non-slip flagged pathways leading to all of the properties.  Four of the properties have to be approached through steps but two of the smaller two single storey apartments, De-Moulton and Dacre, have ramp accesses, which are suitable for wheelchairs. 

All of the cottages are equipped with detailed information books about the property, the appliances and what to do.  They also include mobile phone numbers for the housekeeper and the estate owner.

In the adjoining courtyard is the Lanercost Tea Room, which is open every day, except Christmas, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the winter).  Guests are normally encouraged to pick up the keys for the cottages from the Tea Room, although if a guest is arriving after hours then we will make alternative arrangements for collection of keys.

The courtyard is fully lit with automatic safety and security lights that are timed to come on during dusk to dawn. All the properties are named:- 

De-Vaux

This is the first property you see on entering the property on the right hand side.  There is a 6” step.  Inside the property all the rooms are all on the same level.  The sitting room/dining room area has an oak floor with a kitchen area tiled.  Both bathrooms are tiled and are not suitable for wheelchair access.  Both bedrooms are carpeted.

De-Moulton

This is the second property on the right hand side.  Access is by ramp and there is no step into the property. Inside the property all the rooms are all on the same level.  The sitting room/dining room area has an oak floor with a kitchen area tiled.  Both bathrooms are tiled and are not suitable for wheelchair access.  Both bedrooms are carpeted.

Dacre

This is at the far end of the courtyard. Access is by ramp and there is no step into the property. Inside the property all the rooms are all on the same level.  The sitting room/dining room area has an oak floor with a kitchen area tiled.  Both bathrooms are tiled and are not suitable for wheelchair access.  Both bedrooms are carpeted.

Howard House

There are three access doors into Howard, the main one being from the courtyard, which is up two stone steps into a large flagged hallway.  On the other side of the hallway there is access out down a step onto The Garth, which is a large field, which fronts onto Lanercost Priory.  There is also vehicular access to the rear door of Howard House via the Priory Garth, along a tarmac roadway and then across the grass there is a gravelled pathway, which runs behind all three of the houses.

Inside from the hallway there is a step down into a large open plan sitting room/dining room/kitchen.  The sitting room is oak flooring with the kitchen area tiled.  There is also a 4th bedroom with en-suite facilities off the hallway and a separate W.C.  There is a staircase leading up to the three first floor en-suite bedrooms.  The bedrooms are fully carpeted with the en-suite bathrooms having tiled floors.

From the ground floor bedroom there is also access out to the side of the property.

This property is not recommended for guests with mobility issues, although Howard House has a ground floor bedroom and if a guest with mobility issues could cope with the first two steps into the hallway and the step down into the living area it would be possible to use the ground floor bedroom.

Greystoke House

From the courtyard there is a 4” step and large double doorway leading into the sitting room.  The sitting room and dining room are all on one level with oak floors, off which there is a utility room and also a cloakroom/W.C.  There is a 6” single step between the dining room and the kitchen and the living room.  The kitchen area, utility and cloakroom are tiled. A second doorway from the kitchen leads out to the flagged patio area with a 6” step. There is a staircase leading up to the two first floor en-suite bedrooms.  The bedrooms are fully carpeted with the en-suite bathrooms having tiled floors.

There is also vehicular access to the rear door of Greystoke via the Priory Garth, along a tarmac roadway and then across the grass there is a gravelled pathway, which runs behind all three of the houses.

This property is not recommended for guests with mobility issues.

De-Brotherton House

Access from the courtyard is by a large double doorway into the dining room/kitchen, all on one level with oak floors.  There is a 6” step between the dining room/kitchen and the living room, a ground floor W.C.    The living room, dining room/kitchen have oak floors and the kitchen floor is tiled. There is a staircase leading up to the three first floor en-suite bedrooms.  The bedrooms are fully carpeted with the en-suite bathrooms having tiled floors.

There is also vehicular access to the rear door of De-Brotherton House via the Priory Garth, along a tarmac roadway and then across the grass there is a gravelled pathway, which runs behind all three of the houses.

This property is not recommended for guests with mobility issues.

Additional information

All the courtyard cottages have broadband access but do not have telephones.  In some cases, due to the thickness of the walls, it is not possible to get mobile phone reception in the cottages and it may be necessary to go outside in the courtyard or even in the car park, although mobile phone reception is much better on the first floor of all three houses. 

Each property has its own laundry facilities.

Each property has detailed information booklets on all aspects of the cottage set up and equipment.