Byways

35 Customer Reviews

• "A lovely comfortable and cosy cottage in a great location for Ambleside and walking the Eastern/Far Eastern wainwrights!"

  It is well catered for walkers with the back door and utility being vital for our wet gear! It is obvious that the owners have put a lot of love and care into their property. Such a treat to have a well catered for kitchen with plenty of cupboard space for food but could have done with a few more saucepans/steamer of larger sizes if 4 people were staying. Only niggle were the creatures in the roof of the twin bedroom which did wake me numerous times each night. Could be a new thing but definitely worth investigating! This would not deter us staying again and we had a lovely week.

  Thank you for your lovely feedback and we are glad you had a great stay. Apologies you had distrubed sleep during your visit and we are investigating the issue. Kind regards Andrea and Mark Property Owner

  Reviewed by Katy4.7★Feb 2024

• "Lovely cottage, well presented and ideally situated within a five minute walk of the centre of Ambleside."

  It is uphill when returning from the centre. Parking is always a big issue when staying in the lakes and this property has 2 off road spaces should you require them. We had no issues whatsoever at the property and would highly recommend it, ideally suited to couples or families with 2 children. Ambleside has an abundance of dining and drinking establishments to suit all taste's. Thanks for a great stay, hopefully we will one of the many returnees next year.

  Thanks so much for your positive feedback and we are glad you had a great stay. We look forward to welcoming you back to our little piece of Lakeland. Kind regards Andrea and Mark Property Owner

  Reviewed by Michael5.0★Dec 2023

• "Beautiful cottage, perfectly located to put your boots on and get onto the hills."

  Not a long walk to shops/pub but a little steep rise which some no walkers may struggle with. Central heating not working on arrival but Lakelovers were on it quickly and it was fixed within 24 hours. Plug in heaters and a roaring fire got us through the first night, no problem. Only niggles were the dishwasher is a bit battered and not easy to use all of the time. It wasn’t spotlessly clean on arrival and although we asked for a clean and towels change half way through (we were there 14 nights) this was never acknowledged or organised. Thankfully a lovely lady at Lakelovers did get us clean towels say day on the middle Saturday. Small challenges really and overall would definitely consider for our annual trip next year.

  Thank you for your feedback. We are glad to hear that you enjoyed your stay. We are pleased to hear that we were able to resolve the issues with the heating. We are sorry that the cleanliness of the property was not up to our usual standard. We take all comments on board. Thank you- The Lakelovers Owner Relations Team Property Owner

  Reviewed by Simon4.1★Nov 2023

• "A lovely cottage really handily located for the superb village of Ambleside with everything it has to offer."

  Cottage is well equipped and allocated parking is a real bonus in Ambleside. Loved the wood burner and the cottage is very warm and cosy. Ambleside is a great base for the Lakes-we did not use the car all week and either walked or used the bus to go to Windermere / Grasmere / Keswick etc I would recommend bringing torches as it is very dark at night particularly when walking into the village from the cottage. Would highly recommend this place and would love to return in future. (Few maintenance points-gutter outside of main bedroom window need repairing as it leaks and it’s very noisy. The dishwasher seals also need some attention. The toilet was not clean when we arrived and I had to clean it. Also, although the welcome pack was lovely, no milk (either UHT or fresh) was provided. And a suggestion-be good to have some sort of outside light for the parking area as this would assist if you pop out to the car after dark). Finally the information folder did not contain any emergency numbers or who to call if there were any issues during the stay). However, none of the above would stop us returning as this is very good accommodation indeed.

  Thank you for your feedback and we are pleased you enjoyed your stay. Thank you for letting us know about a few maintenance issues. We have now repaired the gutter and installed a rechargeable spot light on the summer house which now lights the parking area. We have highlighted the cleaning issue to our cleaner and are in the process of adding emergency numbers to the information folder. Kind regards Andrea and Mark Property Owner

  Reviewed by Jonathan4.4★Nov 2023

• "Overall facilities were good, comfy beds everything you need in the kitchen and loved the summer house."

  . Bit of a steep climb back from town, not for everyone.

  Reviewed by D4.4★Sep 2023

• "A lovely small cottage in a fantastic, quiet location in an ideal, central part of the lake district."

  We really enjoyed our stay here and didn't want to leave at the end of the week. The cottage is fairly small so probably best suited to a couple or young family - it's a short walk (down a steep hill) into Ambleside and less than twenty minutes away from a huge variety of walks (the Alltrails app lists over 500 within 20km). The bed was really comfortable and the cottage was equipped with everything we needed, was well looked after and clean. There's a very useful boot room as you come in through the back door as well as washing and drying facilities, and the kitchen is well equipped and has a dishwasher. Like a lot of the lake district, there was no cell phone reception inside the cottage for us, but the WiFi works well and there's a smart TV for very rainy days. Ambleside itself is a good place to spend a few hours with plenty of places to eat and buy outdoor gear; we would recommend the Copper Pot for breakfast if you can get a table! It's worth noting that the cottage is semi-detached and ajoins another holiday cottage - the walls are built of stone, so there was no noise and it felt private. We loved our stay at Byways and would gladly stay again.

  Reviewed by David4.7★Jul 2023

• "General layout of cottage was good with some nice touches."

  Appreciate due to structural limitations the bathroom nevertheless was at the opposite end of the building away from the bedrooms and at a different level? Overall, the place had a relaxed atmopshere and was quiet with nice views. On a constructive note the following observations were noted and require attention in relation to hygiene and housekeeping. *The oven trays were very dirty and covered with thick grease and heavy build up of protein scale from previous occupiers use. We made a concerted attempt to clean all the trays before use however, the build up of protein scale to one tray defeated us and therefore was not used * Build up of cobwebs to corners of kitchen at low level (incuding dead insects), hallway leading to rear door and bathroom * The outside refuse container adjacent to car park and summer house was full from previous occupier(s) use. There were numerous flying insects around the container for obvious reasons. We ensured the refuse container was emptied during our stay aligned to the schedule within cottage information provided * A review should be undertaken on the provision of chipped crockery? Lastly, due to the location of the cottage within Ambelside (top of a very steep hill and periphery of the town) the provision of a parking permit for Ambelside would be helpful. In our experience this is quite common in other properties we have vacated at. Popping out to replenish provisions or visit Ambelside for casual puroposes was the cost of a small mortgage in parking charges. The cost of supplying a permit maybe incorporated in the overall charge. Something to consider.

  Thank you for your detailed feedback, we will pass your comments about the oven and cobwebs to our cleaner who will also check and replace any chipped crockery. The outside bin is a tricky one as we rely on our guests to put the bin out on the set day in the bin schedule, apologies this wasn't done before your stay. Re the provision of a parking permit, we have never had any complaints or feedback about parking, Byways has two parking spaces and is advertised as being on the hillside so most guests are happy to walk into the village or if needing to use the car, use the free disc parking (discs available in the coffee table drawer or in shops in the village). Kind regards Andrea and Mark Property Owner

  Reviewed by David3.8★Jun 2023

• "The cottage was fantastic a real credit to the owners Brilliant directions to get there which were most welcome after a 6 hour drive as was the kind hamper of bits and pieces Cannot fault it and will be back!"

  I’m

  Thank you for your feedback We are glad you enjoyed your stay with us at Byways. We are very pleased that the hamper was a nice surprise for you on your arrival. We hope to welcome you back again soon. The owner relations team - Lakelovers Property Owner

  Reviewed by Rosemarie5.0★Jun 2023

• "Lovely, cosy, clean cottage in a great location."

  The cottage had everything we needed and was very comfortable for a family of 4 ( kids aged 7 &8). We enjoyed our walks up and down the hill to the town. The last bit of the walk back could be steep for some. We would definitely stay again at Byways.

  Many thanks for your feedback and we are glad you enjoyed the cottage and had a great holiday. Yes the hill up and down to the village does keep you fit doesnt it :) Andrea and Mark Property Owner

  Reviewed by Karen5.0★Mar 2023

• "It's very hard to fault this lovely cosy warm cottage."

  Thank you for your kind feedback, we hope you had a great stay and look forward to welcoming you back soon. Kind regards Andrea and Mark Property Owner

  Reviewed by Clive4.7★Feb 2023

• "We had a great week at Byways."

  The cottage was warm and cosy and had everything we needed for a really comfortable stay. Plenty of everything in the kitchen and the boot store / drying room was a big help. Excellent location for us as we could walk from the front door. Hopefully we'll be back again!

  Thank you for your kind feedback. We are so glad to hear that you enjoyed your visit. We hope to welcome you back. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Linda4.7★Feb 2023

• "Very clean, comfortable and ideally located."

  Instead of a welcome pack with sachets, a first night of logs would be more welcoming.

  Thank you for your feedback and we are glad you enjoyed your stay. We have spoken to our cleaner who will now be providing a starter pack of logs to future guests. Kind regards Andrea and Mark Property Owner

  Reviewed by Patrick3.8★Jan 2023

• "Lovely cozy cottage, convienient for the town and well equipped."

  Reviewed by Fiona5.0★Dec 2022

• "The location was incredible."

  You could walk into Ambleside (if you don't mind a big hill) and even take the bus to nearby towns, which is great when the family wants to split up for diff activities. Everything was exactly as listed. It may have been a little small for a family of 4 for a full week, but hey--it's a cottage. Only things to consider: - French press (only coffee maker that we saw) had a chip in it. - Only 3 dishwasher tablets, 2 toilet paper rolls, and one garbage bag for a full week (we managed, but could have used one more of each) - Pillows and duvets could have used an upgrade Overall, very nice overall experience. Thank you!

  Thank you very much for your feedback and we are glad you and your family had a great holiday. We have replaced the french press with a stainless steel model which should hopefully last longer than the glass version. Also upgraded all of the duvets and bed linen in the King front bedroom. We reported the lack of a spare garbage bag to our cleaner who now leaves a spare. Kind regards Andrea and Mark Property Owner

  Reviewed by Laura4.1★Oct 2022

• "We had a really good time at Byways."

  The cottage is very cosy with all modern amenities. Very comfy beds with memory foam mattresses, shower with good water pressure and a stunning view from the bedromm window towards Wansfell Pike. It was a very quiet neighboorhood, but only a short stroll to Ambleside. Ambleside is a very convenient location for hiking from the door and exploring the area. We would happily return.

  Reviewed by Sandra4.7★Sep 2022

• "Lovely property, very well maintained, clean and a well stocked kitchen."

  Comfortable bed, only used one. Overall we loved our stay at Byways and would recommend it to anyone.

  Reviewed by Sharron5.0★Sep 2022

• "Excellent little cottage and we had a great holiday."

  Our only issue was that we couldn’t find the recycling box; other houses put blue boxes out!

  Reviewed by Max5.0★Aug 2022

• "Information needed on how to recycle plastic and glass etc."

  The property book doesn’t say anything about how to recycle just to bin everything in the black bin bag. We took our recycling to the recycling centre in Ambleside which could be recommended to guests.

  Reviewed by Matthew5.0★Jul 2022

• "Very well equipped house, including lots of good sized mugs and bowls (yeah!"

  ). Great location (and we assume it is ok to walk through the private Falls estate to get to the centre rather than walking down the main road). I won't list all the positives as hopefully you know them by now. So only things you might find useful in terms of improvements on what is a really great holiday home (which we'd certainly recommend and return to) would be: 1. Clear instructions how to change the heating programme - the instructions in the folfet don't relate to the thing you have on the wall outside the bathroom and we struggled and gave up trying to change things - as heating was on and not needed and heating/water came on at about 7:30am in the morning which led to some noisy clanking coming from (it seemed) the main bedroom cupboard. We were up before then but it would have woken us up if not. We turned down the main bedroom radiator to zero (from 5!) which stopped it being so hot at night. 2. It's a lovely summer house structure but it's a bit lacking 'something' inside. Very bare apart from the table and chairs. Maybe some cheap pictures or mirrors just to break it up a bit. A couple of loungers would be ideal but not sure if you'd have room to store them (folded up in boot room?). 3. Could be us mis-reading it but looks like the dates given for bin collection are wrong. It said it should have been black bin our week but it wasn't. Thanks very much! As said would very much recommend to others and will hopefully return!

  Reviewed by Richard4.7★Jun 2022

• "We'd stayed quite a few times at Fellside next door and was staying there when Byways was going through its upgrade, so we were keen to stay there and experience the improvements."

  And we were not disappointed. We have just a few observations: the access from the road straight into the boot room is a big plus but the yale lock is not that secure so a deadlock in addition would be useful for peace of mind going out all day. The central heating controls was a bit unfathomable. We had good weather and only used used it in the cool evening, but if you wanted to set it so you could have it come on for when returning then that would have been a real challenge. Also that rear section of the house is very warm and turned off the heating before the other parts of the house reached the required temperature, so relocating it might be a consideration. On balance, we had a good time and a lot of thought has gone into the renovation (usb sockets, for instance) making it a really nice place to stay - and the summerhouse as a replacement for the old concrete garage was a super touch and something we used quite a few times.

  Reviewed by Steven4.7★May 2022

• "What a great little cottage!"

  Fitted 2 adults and our 2 teenage boys perfectly. Fresh decor & comfy beds. Very cosy lounge with TV & normal Wi-Fi streaming services - actually better reception than our own at home in Sussex. Well appointed kitchen & laundry/boot room and pleasant shower/bathroom. There’s also a nice summer house adjacent to 2 parking spaces which provides decking & outdoor table & chairs if you wanted to enjoy the evening sunsets in relative peace & seclusion from the cottage. Location is just far enough from Ambleside centre to make it feel like you have earned a drink when you arrive on foot. There’s 2 local pubs on the way so you could even stop off and do a smally pub crawl on your way to & from Tesco Express to get your bacon & eggs. And the weather was great for April - bonus. Really nice property - I expect it must be awesome with the log burner going in winter. Idyllic & comfortable. Highly recommended.

  Reviewed by Jonathon4.7★Apr 2022

• "We had a lovely stay at Byway cottage a true home from home will certainly recommend."

  One small issue but was dealt with very quickly

  Reviewed by Jill4.7★Mar 2022

• "Beautiful Lakeland cottage in a fantastic location."

  Ideal for fell walks from the door. The cottage had everything we needed and was warm and cosy. We would happily return.

  Reviewed by Paul4.4★Jan 2022

• "We really enjoyed our stay at Byways, the cottage was cosy and warm - we appreciated the underfloor heating in the bathroom and the boot room with the dehumidifier."

  The cottage was well equipped with everything to self cater and the parking space. We were a bit disappointed with the cleanliness of the cottage, it didn’t look like the upstairs carpet had been hoovered, there were a lot of cobwebs in the bedroom and above the stairs. When we first arrived the utility and bathroom area smelt strongly of damp which faded a bit over the course of the week but did linger. The dishwasher looked like it had been stacked and then emptied without being cleaned. Once we’d settled in we were really happy with our stay but these first impressions make a difference! The cottage was an easy distance to walk to ambleside in the evenings and the log burner was lovely after a wet walk! (It would also be good to have a starter pack of at least one nights wood for the log burner) - we bought our own from the garden centre. Overall we would stay again and really enjoyed our holiday.

  Reviewed by Lily3.4★Dec 2021

• "The cottage was really cosy, quiet and well equipped."

  It would have beennice to have a small bundle of logs to start you off with aswell as maybe a welcome pack i.e. milk, bread etc. The pillows were a bit hard but thats maybe our preference. Would stay again if we were in the area again.

  Reviewed by Sharon5.0★Nov 2021

• "An excellent property with everything needed for a comfortable stay."

  The log burner was a bonus and the walk up the hill from town kept us fit!

  Reviewed by John4.7★Nov 2021

• "Beautifully presented cottage ideally placed."

  Really appreciated all the instruction manuals for the appliances and loved the Bose speaker. Two very very minor things and one ultra minor thing: knife block in kitchen needs a sharpener to go with it! Touch lamp by front door not working. Need black bin bags as we were stuck with emptying and te-using existing one. Would come back tomorrow!!

  Reviewed by Richard5.0★Sep 2021

• "We had a fantastic holiday home from home"

  Reviewed by Sue5.0★Aug 2021

• "The cottage is lovely."

  Though the pictures make it seem a bit more private than it actually is (the drive serves 3 properties, one that's attached). The location to Ambleside is very good. On the whole a great week away, would certainly come again to this cottage

  Reviewed by Leigh4.4★Apr 2021

• "Cottage was spotless and beautiful."

  Ideal location to walk into the town. Will definitely be returning. Thank you for an amazing holiday. Would 100% recommend this cottage.

  Reviewed by Clair5.0★Dec 2020

• "Beautiful cottage."

  Great location. Really well equipped. Had everything we were looking for in a Lakeland Cottage. Hope to return in the future.

  Reviewed by Steven4.4★Dec 2020

• "We love the lakes."

  Cottage was very relaxing home from home, Clean , perfect location,parking, it had everything you need Definitely will be returning.

  Mrs KirbySep 2019

• "Perfect Location."

  The cottage was homely and had everything we needed for a wonderful week away in the lakes.

  Mrs FarnfieldJun 2019

• "A lovely cottage!"

  A real home from home with all of the mod cons. Well furnished and tasteful design. It is clear that the owners take pride in the property and have listened to and acted on guest feedback. Ambleside is the perfect centre for touring the lakes with plenty of good eateries

  Mr FranklinApr 2019

• "Home from home accommodation."

  High spec property. Spotlessly clean. Excellent location.

  Mrs LindseyApr 2019

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