Fair Rigg

Our second visit to Fair Rigg and we will definitely be back again.

We love the house and its situation. We enjoyed a pre-Christmas get-together with all our family. Walks from the doorstep, ferry to Windermere just a 5 minute walk or 2 minute drive.

We had a lovely family holiday at Fair Rigg - the house is spacious, comfortable and well equipped.

We had an amazing family holiday.

The house had everything we needed and more and we’ve created some amazing memories at Fair Rigg. We would definitely return and we highly recommend staying here. Thank you.

Beautiful, large and very well equipped cottage with excellent accommodation.

Thoroughly recommended.

Great house for a large family gathering, the house is in very good condition and it has all the conveniences you require.

Short walk to the nearest pub or a couple of miles walk into Bowness. We had a great tikka..

This was the second time we have visited after a gap of 7 years and the new layout was superb.

Our party of 11 had plenty of space and the kitchen was very well equipped. Everyone had a fabulous week at Fair Rigg. The feedback from everyone was that we could not have found a better property or location to celebrate a family Christmas. Some very minor feedback was that the information booklet was missing a couple of items such as thermostat and timer instruction, which took us a while to figure out. The external door to the "Sawrey" room had become a little stiff to close and lock and needs some attention. Everything else was perfect!

Lovely cottage in a fantastic spot.

Really enjoyed our stay

Another lovely extended family holiday stay, our third.

We’re slowly getting used to the different ovens in the Aga. Special thanks go to Orion Property Services who answered our call at after 10pm when we had no hot water, we had a work around based on immersion heater override that worked, and they came the next morning and fixed it. Hope to be back again soon!

This was our second stay at Fair Rigg and it is a really lovely house with tasteful decor and a real home away from home feel.

The house has been finished to a high standard and nothing beats sitting in the lounge with a coffee looking out at Windermere. All the bedrooms are comfortable with their own little personality. We stayed for Christmas and it was a lovely spot for us as a retreat over the festive period. The issue we have had with both stays at this property is a distinct lack of hot water (not enough for everyone to shower in the morning) and sporadic heating. It seemed to swing from one extreme to another, either extremely hot or no heating at all. Luckily it was very mild so didn’t cause much of an issue but still a bit frustrating to have the same issue 2 years on from our last stay. We would happily stay again, just with the hope we could ensure the hot water was better available throughout our stay. Definitely pop to Claife Viewing Station just a short stroll from the house and grab a coffee from Joey’s Cafe! They do great pasties and sausage rolls!

Earlier this year we stayed at Fair Rigg for the third successive year but we will not be returning.

As a premium property with a premium price it is only right to expect a corresponding level of customer service which this year was not the case. The general lack of cleanliness has been mentioned in other reviews and this year we saw it for ourselves (cobwebs on light fittings and an old newspaper and other bits under the sofa). But the main issue was a blocked shower drain that flooded making the shower unusable. Despite reporting this the owner made no attempt to fix the problem during our stay so bathroom facilities had to be shared. When we returned from holiday I took the matter up with the letting agents (Sykes) because I felt, not unreasonably, that compensation should be paid to us due to the loss of facilities. The owner refused to offer any compensation but did suggest a discount off a future stay at Fair Rigg. I declined this offer which I considered to be just a ploy to make us return. Sykes also refused to help saying they are only the booking agents. As renters we have to commit to a Housekeeping bond in case we don’t keep to our side of the contract yet this owner and, on this occasion Sykes, can get away with doing nothing when things go wrong. This is a very sad end to what had previously been some great family holidays at Fair Rigg.

We had a fabulous stay in Far Sawrey at the Fair Rigg.

From the moment we walked in, it felt like a real home from home. The only downside was, this was Christmas and we had to go about putting up our own decorations, even if a small Christmas tree had been provided, that would have been fine. Comfortably furnished and very well equipped, the open plan kitchen, diner and sitting area with wood stove was excellent. We spent some time working out the operation of the Aga but that added to the fun. Two further sitting rooms were available, with one being utilised for the Christmas tree and present opening on the day. All the bedrooms and bathrooms were comfortably furnished, just one minor "niggle" – the walk-in shower floors were very slippery, perhaps a mat or ‘grab handle’ would assist. The house was very warm and clean with only one spider to act as an annoying pet. We had good mobile reception in the house and the wi-fi worked very well. A short walk brings you to the Cuckoo Brow Inn, with good food and beer, and there are plenty of longer walks direct from the house leading up to Hawkshead or down to Windermere by the car ferry. Overall, a great venue, with wonderful views, and all interiors finished to a high standard, we would definitely visit again.

We stayed at Fair Rigg for 3 nights and we absolutely loved it.

The house is amazing, very cosy, with an open fire and log burner.Beautiful grounds and a little tree swing which was great for us as we had a 7 and 4 year old with us. On arrival the property was very cold and we were unable to turn the heating up so had to contact maintenance who rang the owners. Thiss was rectified quickly and the house was lovely and warm after that. Just a couple of things that are not complaints but simply things to work on/think about. Check in is at 4pm and by the time we got in, read how to work the AGA and waited hours for it to heat up we were all very hungry and had to cook 8 pizzas in the combi oven which meant we could not all eat together. I would suggest someone turning the AGA on in the day so it is ready for arrivals at 4pm. Also, I noticed on previous comments they have mentioned the cobwebs. We found this had not be rectified and there were a lot of cobwebs especially on the lamps and the clock above the AGA looks like it’s never been cleaned, it was thick dust. However, the overall cleanliness was fine and we liked the decor. We have already recommended the house to friends and we are looking to book again for later in the year. Thanks.

A lovely spacious house in a great position with beautiful views, as advertised.

But when a house looks perfect, as the payer\organiser, one is drawn towards its few negatives. An Aga that tries to save energy is sensible, but not when it takes 3 hours to reach its full heat, which is a bit of a shock when you get back in after a walk and need to cook a meal for 10. The only alternative is to use the combi oven \ microwave; the house needs a dedicated microwave. Also the second fridge is outside in the outhouse, it is best to tell people that. There were cobwebs or dust webs in every room. Biggest shame was the absence of a clothes airer and a laundry basket; many of our walking clothes can’t be tumble dried and I wouldn’t try to dry clothes outside in the Lakes without a basket or pegs. I texted the caretaker number on the second day but got no reply. But I would still go back to Fair Rigg if some of these were addressed.

Our overall stay at Fair Rigg was, once again, fabulous.

There was only one issue worthy of mention. We stayed at the property in August 2020 and on arrival then everything was absolutely spotless. However, this time, there were cleanliness issues in virtually every room. There were cobwebs everywhere and if you moved items in the house we often found pockets of dust. Apart from the above issue everything else was brilliant and just as we remembered 2 years ago. We most certainly would come back to Fair Rigg again.

Having enjoyed a fantastic family holiday at Fair Rigg in 2021 we decided to return this year.

Ten people over 3 generations aged from 1 to 71 had another memorable holiday. Fair Rigg is an exceptional property in a peaceful location just minutes from the shores of Lake Windermere yet the shops, bars, restaurants and other holiday attractions in Bowness-on-Windermere are only a short walk, cycle or drive away via the ferry. Will we return next year? I'm not ruling it out!

The aga is a great feature however for us not the most practical.

The house is beautiful and well situated.

Although we had booked for 10 only 8 sets of towels were provided. We had to ring on Saturday morning to ask for a cafetière. In other cottages we have had ‘welcome packs’ with some basics in. There wasn’t one here and one with coffee pods would have been useful as a pod machine was provided.

Fair Rigg is a classy, spacious and well appointed property.

The numerous bath/shower rooms and bedding combinations enabled my family, 6 adults 4 children, to fit in very comfortably. The kitchen facilities were excellent with every appliance and utensil that a modern kitchen may conceivably need - with many duplicated. A delightful garden led down to the quiet road which in turn gave easy access to paths to the lakeside a few minutes walk away.

Fair Rigg is a beautiful property and the owners have renovated to a high standard.

Having visited The Lakes a number of times it was disappointing that some small details had been missed. This included not enough Prosecco glasses for the whole party (only 6 in the property for 10 guests) and no tea bags, salt, pepper or a few sachets of coffee to get us started on the first night. A little welcome pack with some of these items would have gone a long way for a property of this size when you have a larger number of guests. One final added extra would be some form of Christmas decoration for the festive period. Considering that the property is a premium let it would be nice to see this reflected with a simple tree or even a garland on the banister or over the sideboard. We really enjoyed our stay at Fair Rigg, especially evenings in the lounge on the big comfy sofas in front of the huge tv. We all commented on how comfy the beds were and using the aga on Christmas Day took all the usual stresses away with so many oven spaces to choose from. One day we had an issue with a lack of hot water when the baths were used and this meant cold water for the evening but didn’t seem to encounter this again on our stay. Perhaps, just bad timing. But if this is due to boiler timing it could be beneficial to mention in the house information folder. As reflected in the ratings above I think the house could benefit from a more thorough clean, especially the bathroom grouting (I cleaned this myself and it took seconds to do). It would really make all the difference for guests - especially during covid. We would stay at Fair Rigg again as we enjoyed the location and ability to head straight out the door for varied walks. There has clearly been lots of thought put into the renovation and it’s a beautiful home!

Loved the location and the property itself.

Enough room for 10 people to easily feel comfortable and find their own space. Only small issue that we had was the batteries had run out on one of the TV remotes! Would look at booking again. Thanks for a great stay

We had a fabulous stay at Fair Rigg with my children and grand children.

We will certainly be staying there again in the future. I only have one criticism - I called the management company 48 hours before arrival to ask if there was a high chair and cot and I was told there would be. On arrival I could not find either on an initial search of the property. I called the management company and they drove to Fair Rigg with a high chair and play pen! The management company then said to look in what I thought was a locked room (sticky door) on the ground floor - it contained a lovely wooden high chair and we eventually found the cot in the corner of a downstairs bedroom. To make life a little less stressful for guests requiring a high chair and cot I would suggest that the high chair is placed in the kitchen prior to arrival and the cot in a position where it can easily be found. Kind regards, Dr Nigel Burton

Brilliant property with fantastic facilities and fabulous views.

Only issue was the AGA, couldn’t cook on the first night as it took so long to heat up. The smaller electric cooker was just too small for a house sleeping 12.

A lovely house with great facilities, the electric oven was a god send.

Super location. The bedroom directly at the bottom of the stairs had a slightly foisty smell - not sure why. The range cooker is a bit difficult to operate if you aren't used to them. Interesting to see the enormous hike in prices! Glad we booked when we did!