Warren Cottage, Assington

This little cottage and it's land, which is tucked away down a long lane in its own clearing, is an ideal way to escape the stresses of life and properly relax. Here we were completely surrounded by nature – when you pull up in your car and turn the engine off all you can hear are the leaves in the trees, birds and maybe the sheep that graze nearby. At night time there is no light pollution, other than that of the cottage, so a clear sky is great for star gazing. If you enjoy the countryside, you really can’t fail but to fall in love with Warren cottage and the nature reserve around it, with its woods and streams waiting to be explored. There is plenty flora and fauna to discover, as you’d expect from an area that is designated as being of special scientific interest – we saw a Woodcock, which was a first for us! The cottage itself has a charming rustic feel. The large entrance hall is ideal for leaving muddy wellies, or rubbing down a wet dog if it’s been raining. The beds were super comfy and we slept really well during our stay. It was handy to have two bathrooms and we really appreciated the lovely large shower, which has excellent water pressure – big thumbs up from us. We did a little cooking in the kitchen, but 'The Shoulder of Mutton' and 'The Assington Country Kitchen' in the centre of the village are great food/drink stops and can be easily cycled to from the cottage if you’ve brought bikes, or it's walkable in around 35-45 mins. Using the footpath just up and across from the end of the lane to head into Assington is a nice alternative to the road, but either way there’s very little traffic and it’s mostly single track, so isn't like walking along your average road. We found the farm shop next to the County Kitchen was handy for some supplies and stocked some really nice local produce. Help was at hand within no time at all from the friendly Reserve Warden when we couldn’t work out the heating on arrival and this was resolved very quickly. It wasn’t long before we had the log burner lit too, which made it very cosy. Sykes sent out all the information needed for an easy check in/out and the booking process was straightforward. I cannot wait to stay here again.