Brunt How

Delightful house in a wonderful location , spectacular views and within lovely grounds .

Apart from yet close to all amenities . Perfect for a family or group of friends taking in the Lakes .. Would return , Capt Ian Finley

Beautiful house and gardens are stunning with a very special view; quiet location.

Unfortunately the downstairs was very dirty and had not been cleaned properly in a very long time. The kitchen is old, out of date and tired, also very dirty. Dust and cobwebs everywhere. Infestation of mice that was reported and Sykes ignored. The upstairs is lovely and beds very comfortable. Don’t try to walk to the pub on the road , take the longer route past the tarn. Would return is downstairs is refurbished. Think about re siting kitchen to where the dining room currently is. Dining room is straight im through the front door and again very old , tired and dirty.

We had a wonderful stay at Brunt How.

Such a gorgeous property with beautiful high ceilings and character features. The views from the living room and front bedrooms were stunning. The property was very well-equipped, particularly with kitchen items, and the beds were all very comfortable. Great location with some fantastic walks around the Langdale Valley nearby, and close enough to Ambleside without being in the crowds. We would love to return!

1 Brunt How is a beautiful spacious house with a fine sunny garden (but take care the steps to get to the two levels can be slippery).

Very lovely curtains and other furnishings, comfy beds. The only negative was that on arrival we found some basic things lacking such as only 3 loo rolls for 4 toilets, very little hand soap, and washing up stuff. On the positive side, I rang Sykes in the morning and by the afternoon, the things we asked for had been delivered.

What a stately elegant home!

Absolutely everything we could want (except for better legs for the stairs and sloping paths for us two oldies) especially the large, fluffy white towels and beautifully sharp kitchen knives! Thank you very much!

A lovely property with great views .

The bedrooms were well appointed and the kitchen well equipped with plenty of space for six adults . Considering the weather was chilly and damp ,the heating coming on in the evening was very welcome especially in such a large house . It was spotless and the showers were very good. The approach to the house was rather steep and confusing but once we got the hang of it , it was very well situated for Skelwith bridge, Ambleside and the langdale valley . A great place for the more active..

Firstly I would like to thank the owners for such a beautiful place to stay.

Brunt How does not disappoint in terms of size of property, location and facilities. The family had a lovely time at our favourite place in the country. It’s lovely to see little bits of history scattered around the home and we loved looking at the generations photos too. It is located in such a beautiful place just on the edge of Ambleside. Lovely walks on your doorstep, plenty of lakes, rivers and activities to keep you busy the whole time you are there. The positives:- Very spacious property with beautiful gardens and views. You won’t be disappointed sitting out and watching the evening sunsets and views or opening your curtains in the morning with a big smile on your face. Very peaceful and tranquil. It felt like we was in our own castle with no one for acres around. Lots of wildlife in the gardens, and loved seeing the rabbits each morning. Living Room is a good size and reasonably comfortable. Lots of light and views beaming through the windows. The sofas are starting to wear on the cushions though. Bedrooms are all a great size and very spacious. Plenty of bathrooms and an en-suite in both of the double bedrooms. Kitchen is nicely equipped and reasonably modern. Negatives:- Sadly there are some negatives which for the price of the property should be a must IMO. Cleanliness- Sadly when arriving at the property the cleanliness in some minor areas was disappointing. The skirting boards had not been cleaned in some time. Lots of cobwebs and spiders in the corners of each room. Food splatter marks on walls around bin. We felt the need to clean the kitchen when we arrived and not something you should expect to do on a break away. That being said all the bedrooms, bathrooms, rooms and carpets were spotless. Dining Room- This feels very outdated. Nothing really matched in the room and the blue plastic table cloth didn’t really enhance the atmosphere. We ended up using the room as an extended hallway. Some new chairs and table wouldn’t cost much to make a huge difference. Main Bathroom:- The power shower is unfit for purpose. Very low pressure and hardly any water. That being said both en-suites perfect! Kitchen:- A microwave would be fantastic rather than having 2 integrated ovens. Kettle and Toaster very old and the alarm on the fridge freezer is very annoying after guests have vacated the property. I’m assuming that when the guests leave we defrost the freezer and when you arrive you have to listen to an alarm for hours until freezer has frozen up again. Bin bags:- Apparently you have to use orange bin bags which should have been made available. We hunted high and low, including the dining room but to no avail. We ended up using a black bin bag and the bin men never took the rubbish away so we ended up having to take 2 black bin bags home in our cars. Lastly, the heating….. This felt like a battle of wits. I know this is controlled by the app and guests have a thermostat in the hallway but I’m pretty sure as soon as you turn the heating up someone is turning it back down. Please give guests access to the app. On wet days it was freezing.

We had a fantastic week at Brunt How.

The home and gardens were beyond our expectations and we were so lucky with the weather that we were able to sit out and enjoy the wonderful views ever day. We were able to walk from our door joining some challenging and less testing walks. We were a couple in our mid 50s and found it all perfect. Thank you

1 Brunt How is a beautiful house, and despite a few issues, the fact we will come back shows we loved the place.

A lot of the issues were with the administration, especially now Sykes seem to have taken over all the rental companies and decided not to offer any support. The listing is true to life, and the house is as gorgeous as it looks in the pictures. I’ve wanted to stay somewhere really special in the Lakes for a while, and after giving up on the rubbish Pullwood booking site, found 1 Brunt How. My daughter, whose 10th birthday we were going away for, called it The Castle, and it was worth the booking cost just to see her excitement when we decided we could go. Initially we had just peeked at the listing to see what it would be like if you had a fancy holiday in the lakes, but we were so taken by it, we went ahead and booked. Also worth the fee was the shower in the zip bedroom, it’s awesome, and I want my bathroom redone at home with that exact shower. The kitchen is the best equipped I’ve seen in a holiday cottage. There’s almost everything you need, including nice oven dishes, a really good oven and a combi microwave. I was able to bake a birthday cake while there, with a little help from Lakeland. The underfloor heating in the kitchen is lovely. It should be a given nowadays, but it often isn’t, and Brunt How’s internet was reliable. The wildlife and the views are amazing. So many birds, deer, rabbits and even a stoat came to see us. The view from the living room and both main bedrooms is just awesome, rain or shine. I can’t do it justice by describing it so I won’t try. Although close to Skelwith Bridge by road, I don’t recommend trying to walk there along the A593 as there’s no path and it’s too narrow. Ellers Brow and Foulstep is steep but not far. Even nicer is the bridleway 10 yards up Ellers Brow, as it takes you up towards Loughrigg and either back round to Skelwith Bridge via Loughrigg Tarn or over the saddle to Ambleside. They’re both wonderful walks with great views. If you get to Skelwith Bridge, Chesters is awesome. If you like seeing aircraft (my inner 9 year old loves it) Brunt How is brilliantly placed. If you take one of the walks above then it’s even better. The front of the house is also brilliant for stargazing. Be aware the drive to the house is steep. I was glad I’d recce’d the entrance on Google streetview, as I’d have missed it in the dark otherwise. My van bottomed out turning onto the steep base of the drive, but the in-laws’ SUV didn’t, just for reference. If you’re walking in or out, the steps from the front of house are easier. Hopefully helpful if you’re tired or less mobile. Badmin. As I noted above, a lot of the problems with the trip were outside the owners’ control, but should absolutely be within the scope of Lakelovers / Sykes / Heart of the Lakes / whoever the heck is administering the holidays, probably an AI hedgehog. Beware badly notified road closures. I’m pretty good with maps and have been to the Lakes a few times. The various councils in charge of the roads clearly have an aversion to notifying Google and Apple about road closures, so don’t rely on those maps to warn you. You could check the various Lake District, Westmorland and Cumberland websites for closures, but they’re blooming difficult to follow with reference to local names, and you’d easily miss a vital closure. I still haven’t quite processed how frustrated I should be at a road closure at Rydal, 3 miles shy of Ambleside, that was first notified by road signs in Grasmere. After doubling back to Grasmere, the first almost hidden diversion sign brings you back round to Rydal, but before the road closure so that was pointless. It’s also not like it was 2AM, this was just after 7PM. I contemplated taking Red Bank, but with a bike rack on and it being dark, decided against it. The fact the diversion signs began at Grasmere and took you back North is mind boggling. They had someone drive all the way to Troutbeck putting out diversion signs from Grasmere around Helvellyn via Troutbeck and Patterdale, but couldn’t be bothered to go 7 miles further to Rhegged and put out a sign saying no access to Ambleside via Keswick after 7PM. The reason I’m so cross about this is partly to try and stop anyone else having to go through this at the start of their holiday, mainly because my poor little autistic 10 year old had an extra 2 hour journey on winding dark roads late at night, partly because everyone else in the world notifies mapping agencies of this stuff, and partly because this is absolutely within the ability of tourist companies like Sykes running accommodation in one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, and who send directions to their customers in the multitude arrival emails. These agencies have local knowledge and understanding of council websites and local roads. This is rubbish service. Contacting anyone. Also rubbish service was the inability to contact anyone at the overlapping agencies. When you book you’re told the heating is set by the owners or Heart of the Sykeslovers so you don’t turn it up, to save energy. Fine, but I wanted to ask for the heating to be turned down or at least for us to be allowed to turn it down, as we’re sensitive flowers and don’t like too much heat. The Lakelovers contact phone numbers were for when you arrive. The website via logged in booking number just kept taking you round in circles, saying there were no amenities with options to change, so you could either add people to the booking or cancel it. The only way I could try and reach anyone was by the Sykes / Lakelovers WhatsApp, which got no reply despite repeated attempts, until I finally just asked why I hadn’t had a reply. Even after that they said they’d find out if the heating could be lowered, but I heard nothing further, so we just had to put up with eyeballs becoming raisins. At least the AI hedgehog probably would have told me he could only help with hedgehog related enquiries and had I thought of hibernation. Postage. We’d been let down by a local seller before the holiday so I ordered something online to be delivered to Brunt How. Not detailed in the blurb from, yup, Lakelovers / Sykes / Heart of the Lakes is a block on deliveries to the house. Thankfully it was Royal Mail, so I could have it delivered to the post office in Ambleside, but be aware if you’re going there for a birthday or something. Spring cleaning. One of the reviews a couple of years ago noted cleanliness. Brunt How needs a spring clean. I’m sure housekeeping do their very best with the surface clean turnaround of multiple properties. We dropped a piece of spectacles and needed to hunt around on hands and knees under the beds and drawers, and it was a bit grim, with lots of dust, cobwebs, a few uneaten crisps. You then start noticing more grub and don’t actually want to put your stuff down anywhere. Crockery had bits of stuff in, some of the cookware in the cupboards had cobwebs on, extractor fans and radiator backs were very dusty. Just needs a deep clean. I didn’t want a review to put anyone off staying as it’s an amazing place. I hope this is useful feedback. I’m very cross about the badmin at Sykes, but it looks like they’re here to stay as they’ve taken over everyone, even Sally’s I think, and I’ve seen them on some AirBNBs. I imagine owners are over a barrel as with the amount of competition you need an agency for exposure. It might be that only the owners can put pressure on Sykes to improve. There’s currently a very low bar. If the house is cleaned and you’re ok with a warm house and you’re not unlucky with the roads, I think you’ll have one of your best holidays ever staying at 1 Brunt How. Thank you to the owners for sharing their beautiful home.

We thoroughly loved our stay.

Beautiful house in great location - the two main bedrooms are huge and very comfortable, and that opulent living room was fabulous to spend the cold evenings playing monopoly with the boys in front of the fire. You should make sure people know more about the beautiful views from the house! The garden is immaculate - and flowering in February! We'd love to come back some time :-)

A wonderful character-full house with huge rooms and fantastic views from the sitting room and main bedroom.

Very well situated close to Ambleside with wonderful walks striaght out of the house. It's also very well placed to get to the more adventourous hills in the Langdale valley. We felt like welcome guests of the family who owns the property with their photos on the walls and a good supply of kitchen essentials. Kitchen just a little small in comparison to all the big rooms - but only a problem if you want to do lots of cooking!

This is an exceptional property.

Comfortable, extremely clean and a well stocked kitchen ( a few more baking trays might be helpful ) beautiful views in a very quiet and secluded location. The elegant rooms are large with high ceilings and traditional details. When the week came to an end we were extremely sad to leave our home from home. A top class residence.

This is a great home we have returned to many times now.

While the house and gardens are wonderful, the furnishings have become shabby. The quilt cover is stained in the main bedroom, lounge chairs have their stuffing escaping from torn arms, carpets in need of cleaning. Flys in bed 1 window casement that come into the room in their 100’s if you want to air the room. We love this house but would like to hear that the owners are planning to update the ageing furnishings. Just a suggestion, could the property provide a clothes horse so washing and damp coats could be dried without having to use the tumbler?

Brunt How is a nice early 1900s cottage rental in walking distance from the lovely and secluded Loughrigg Tarn.

It should be clear(er) in the description that you're actually getting one third of the house. The other two thirds are separately rented out as "Brunt House" & "Tarn Cottage". It's important that, unusually, you cannot obtain the keys at the property but have to obtain & return them to managing agents "Heart of the Lakes" a drive away in Ambleside. We found that Tesco will not deliver directly to the property due to the step access road. Internally, Brunt How is nice, although 'tired'. There was a lot of live spiders in their webs all over the house. The kitchen, although well equipped, was not clean. We spent significant time cleaning it before use. The bedrooms & upstairs bathrooms were clean and well presented. All facilities required for a large family were there. The big selling points are the view facing South, towards the valley and the river Brathay, and the lovely, kempt multi-levelled gardens. If you're into birds, you'll find many species including Buzzards. The views of the night sky are excellent with the Milky Way visible on a clear night. If you rent Brunt How you get private access to all the gardens and the greenhouse. The greenhouse's Table Tennis table was so dirty the kids avoided it. Nonetheless, we felt the beauty of the gardens with nice outdoor furniture made up for it. On a bright summer's day, the views are really special & relaxing. Overall, it's a recommended stay for the secluded quiet, views, lovely garden, proximity to Windermere and Ambleside and abundant local walks. We had significant plumbing and electrical issues marring the comfort of the stay. These were well handled by polite Lake Lovers & Heart of the Lakes staff, albeit taking several days to remedy. Brunt How's in a lovely part of the Lake District and would make a good base for exploring the local towns and tarns. Despite issues, we'd still recommend stating there and would consider rebooking.

A beautiful home in an amazing location.

It was very clean, beds were comfortable and showers good. The kitchen had all the equipment we needed. We didn't use the table tennis table as the glass house was full of mosquitos but I'm not sure that could be helped. The garden was beautiful and the views stunning. We would definitely book again.

A lovely property with spectacular views.

Not suitable for anyone with mobility issues insofar as the garden in levelled. Beautiful location.

Overall a great property, the views are incredible!

However, one of the showers didn’t work the whole time we were there. We were in touch with Heart of the Lakes regularly. It was inconvenient. Some cobwebs around the ceiling that hadn’t been cleaned. Lock on the downstairs toilet needs fixing.

Just got back from the most amazing week in the lakes.

Perfect weather really helped, but the cottage was awesome. The property has very large rooms, tastefully furnished (super comfy beds!) and a small but well equipped kitchen. One of the bedrooms was small and didn’t have much natural light but we weren’t in there much! The garden is stunning, beautiful flowers and lawned areas. Would definitely recommend Brunt How, and would definitely love to return! Ps one little teeny tiny thing - the property would benefit from a clothes airer!!!

Amazing property, stunning views, lovely garden, in all a very enjoyable weeks break,without sat nav directions not that easy,could also do with having 2keys for the house.

Love the house!

Elegant, well fitted out, with such lovely views and garden. So relaxing, lovely walks and food, we slept so well. Very restorative! It’s our second time here. First time was in the summer with fab BBQ’s is in the garden with recipes from the Nigella book in kitchen (which we have since bought!) This time candlelit suppers and log fires. Hope to be back. Thank you so much.

This house is beautiful!

We loved the gardens, the decor, how spacious it was and the level of comfort was amazing. It really helped us to have the perfect holiday. The location is quiet, but close to all attractions and I would stay here again happily. Some points to note. There was a smell of "wet dog" downstairs which we reported. I would suggest regular carpet washing and the option of plug-in air fresheners. The cleanliness of sinks, toilets, hoovering and mopping was as I would expect so the smell was not due to poor cleaning. The cleaner needs time for a deep clean every few weeks basically, as there were a few dirting skirtings downstairs, again due to muddy dogs from the looks of it. Prior information regarding the fire would have been helpful as we needed to buy coal, fire starters etc whilst we were there, so this is something worth knowing in advance as the property does get quite cold at night.

Lovely location and generally well appointed cottage.

Good kitchen and dining area, and lovely large lounge (though a squeeze for 6). However, dishwasher was clearly not cleaning when we arrived, so we had to clear out all the filters to get it working properly (not a nice job when not done for so long), there is relatively limited larger glass wear and crockery (OK for 4, would not be for 6), and the inability to open the back door fully was tricky when coming in with wet walking gear.

Overall, a lovely property in a truly stunning setting.

Highlights include the generous and beautifully furnished family room, as well as our daily walks to nearby Loughrigg Tarn (we will bring swimming costumes next time!) Constructive feedback- We slept in the (massive) yellow bedroom with our toddler and would have really appreciated blackout curtains/ blinds to help with bedtime. (We also did notice a fair bit of mould on the curtains that are present.) Hooks on the back of the bathroom/ bedroom door would be useful, as well as a full length mirror. I was also surprised that hand soap wasn’t supplied in the bathrooms and we had to buy some. It is worth noting that the garden is well maintained with the most incredible views, but the steps/ tiered layout mean it is not toddler friendly. Also, our dog easily jumped the low wall to the neighbouring property to make friends!

House is amazing, garden sets it apart from other properties.

Only downside is the small bedroom with 2 singles is cramped and beds not that comfortable for an adult to sleep on.

Had a great stay at Brunt How.

What a lovely house which was spacious, comfortable and well equipped with all we needed for a week’s stay. The view from the house was spectacular and it was a great base for some lovely walks.

I think that this property needs more investment to justify the price.

The legs of two of the chairs in the dining room have been strengthened with raw bits of plywood, with the edges left rough. The oil cloth on the dining room table looks old, and is not what you expect for a property of this standard. The wifi on the first floor is patchy to non-existent. There may be a knack to making the TV work, but we never found it – the picture was good for a few minutes, then there was a warning about the aerial. On our first night the sheets were too small, and did not tuck into the mattresses, but at least the managing agent replaced them the next day. The bed in the main bedroom was uncomfortable, and another bed had a broken slat (not unusual, according to the cleaner). On the last day our son was trapped in his bedroom by a defective catch, but eventually we managed to release him by dint of running a piece of plastic between the door and frame. Otherwise, we would have called the Fire Brigade. It would be useful to have more crockery. The boiler settings are low. To begin with, we were only given one set of keys. The property has good views, but sitting outside you hear a fair amount of traffic noise from lower down the valley.

Such a well needed break in a beautiful location.

Really appreciate that we could bring our dog to such a lovely house. Going to re-book.

Fantastic property with stunning views.

1 week in the Lake District.

We saw some amazing things - Striding Edge and the Old Man of Coniston. We saw great birds, paddled on Windermere and swam every day in the tarn. The house is really cool - we like the high ceilings, thick walls and solid feel. We would gladly come back and hope that you all have a fantastic time in this beautiful place. We have been privileged and lucky.

Wonderful house, superb large rooms and comfy beds.

Children, dog and adults all slept well. Beautiful views and we made the most of walking when the sun shined. Sadly it was a rather wet, cold week. We will need to come back in the summer! Thank you, a lovely family home.

Seven gentle spring days of low level walking and minimal driving in the magical Langdale landscape.

A very comfortable and convenient base to enjoy this unique place.

A very welcoming house!

There were seven of us here, two from the United States and I loved it. The views are beautiful!! Wish we had some more sunny days to explore. Overall we had a wonderful family holiday! Hope to return in the future.

A truly wonderful place to stay on our honeymoon.

We've enjoyed so many enchanting walks right from the doorstep - Loughrigg Fell, Loughrigg Tarn, Ambleside, Skelwith Bridge and Elterwater. Brunt How has also been the perfect base from which to set out on our longer hikes. We have visited many locations in the Langdale valley, North Lakes for a swim in Derwent Water and a venture up High Seat, Bleaberry Fell and the oh so pleasing Walla Crag. We've been blessed with fine weather and soaked up the beauty of the garden, making the most of any opportunity to dine al fresco. We've basked in the peace and quiet tranquillity of both the indoor and outdoor space, reading and enjoying the picturesque views. We've been fascinated watching a nest of tree creepers and the spotted fly catcher. Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful home. We hope to be back soon.

A wonderful two weeks spent in this superb house.

The views, location and peaceful surroundings all contributed to a fabulous stay. We expected all types of weather, and we were not disappointed. However on the whole, we were very lucky and walked for miles every day. Our four legged companion has been living her best labrador life - water and sticks galore! We have been visiting the Lakes for many many years and can honestly say this is one of the best properties we have rented, and would not hesitate to come back soon. With many thanks

Back at it again, another great stay at Brunt How.

We enjoyed lots of great walks when there are breaks in the weather as well as making the most o the ins9ide space on rainy days. Also managed to fit in a decent run most days in training for the Lakeland 50. Good grub from Chesters. We love visiting Colwith Force and Skelwith Force in the winter months. Can’t wait to be back again.

A lovely stay in this beautiful house.

The weather has been kind, lovely walks and adventures with the family and Barney. Stunning views! Thankyou

A lovely stay, made more enjoyable in 1 Brunt How!

We’ve had fair weather compared with many and enjoyed both time spent inside the house and of course outdoors. We haven’t ever been to ’The Lakes’ before and was truly amazed at just how beautiful it is and this coupled with your comfortable home, made a very happy memorable stay.

Another fantastic holiday at Brunt How.

Lots of adventures in the Langdale valley and many walks from the doorstep. The senior members of the party explored the Wordsworth trail with visits Allen Bank and Rydal Mount and they enjoyed seeing the confluence of th Breathy and Rothay guarded by a very confident heron. We paid our respects to Joss Naylor at St Olafs church yard at Wasdale Head. Thanks again for sharing your wonderful home.