“Warm and Cosy for an autumn break”
The Annexe at Eastfield Hall is a delight, but not without its drawbacks- at first we wondered whether we had made a mistake as, having left two or three messages on theowners ( two)n mobile phone numbers provided by the booking agency, which appeared to be ignored, we eventually managed to contact the owners after a few days. However they were extremely polite if a little vague about the cottage's faciliites - (eg not sure if there was a shaver point in the bathroom!)
This is 2 bedroom stone built cottage with walls a foot thick, so the night store heating keeps it toasty warm. So warm in fact that we had to turn the bedroom heater off!
First impressions are a spacious lounge with a couple of comfy sofas and chair, tv/dvd player, cd player etc. Lots of books,fiction and otherwise, and useful information/maps about the area and even a chess set! Childrens games are also available so all ages are catered for. The carpets throughout the cottage looked a little tired but I suppose as this property accepts animals, this is to be expected. However the rest of the place was spotless.
The conservatory doubles as a dining area easily seating four people and on a cold October morning, we found that by opening the lounge door and turning on the electric heater whilst preparing breakfast, it soon became a bearable temperature.
The Kitchen is also spacious and well equipped - cooker, fridger (small freezer compartment only), microwave, espresso/filter coffee maker, loads of crockery and utensils - only thing missing (according to the visitor book) which some people would miss is a washing machine but this isnt really necessary for a short break - there is also a launderette in nearby Amble if needed.
The bedrooms were accessed by wooden stairs - beware if wearing socks instead of slippers these can be extremely slippery. One double and one twinroom - both a good size although the double bed was not the most comfortable and extremely squeaky - could be embarrassing but had a beautiful snuggley duvet! A reasonable amount of storage space in drawers and cupboards and hanging space in some wardrobes made out of cloth.
Bathroom - again spacious, lots of hot water but comments continually in the visitors book seem to go unheeded. Wonky loo seat and no shower were the ongoing theme - we couldn't understand this as both are easily fixed - even a rubber push on mixer/shower head would solve this, but at least a jug was provided for hair washing;
My only reservations about this cottage were - lots of light bulbs not working - particularly dangerous one over the stairs. We managed to find a couple and change them but not all. Also slightly annoying was the haphazard way things seemed to be stored. In the bathroom the bathroom cabinet held kiddies bathtime toys and old/empty hand soap dispensers so we had to leave all out stuff out on the top, not able to put it away. We found an iron the bedside cabinet upstairs(?) but the hairdryer downstairs in a lounge drawer unit. Instruction booklets, instead of being stored in one place altogether (I was looking for the expresso machine instructions) were found in various places around the kitchen/lounge. Also bits and pieced thrown into drawer units that you may need - it was all a bit hit and miss. An ongoing theme in the visitor book was the situation with the bins - generaly not being put out when they should have been, and a bit more info as to what goes into which bin (there were two to choose from, we have three in our county!) might have helped.
The cottage was a bit of a way from the main town and not, in our opinion, a particularly safe walk at night as it was about 2 dark miles but you could see the sea from the bedroom window (just) and conservatory. Garden was tidy and a free standing dryer for washing was available which would be used in or out.
All in all we enjoyed out stay here, and it was lovely to come back in the evenings after a busy day out - there is LOTS to do within a 2mile/easy drive radius - to this warm, cosy, comfortable nest. A box of local toffees left for our enjoyment was appreciated.
The town of Warkworth has a little village shop which was good for the basics (milk, bread and wine!) and there are several good eateries in the town. We would recommend the Masons Arms which did a very good steak night and also take away fish and chips which were scrummy We would definitely come back to this part of the world again, and we wouldn't rule out staying at the Annexe, thank you owners.
- Enujen, October 2010
