East Cottage - Tarvit

Overall I would recommend this holiday location if you are looking for a scenic, peaceful stay and are happy to drive a few miles to use shops and eateries.

The manager and all the staff we needed assistance from throughout the week were very helpful.

Great accommodation on a fabulous NT site, giving access for lovely dog walks

We had a lovely stay at East Cottage at Tarvit.

The cottage is wonderfully cosy, spacious and very comfortable, with everything we needed for a relaxing break. It was spotless on arrival and felt like a home from home, especially enjoying the woodburning stove as the weather cooled. Set in the beautiful grounds of the Hill of Tarvit estate, the location is incredibly tranquil and ideal for long walks right from the doorstep — great for both us and our dog Izzy. It is peaceful, with lovely gardens and woodland paths to explore. The cottage is very well equipped, a good kitchen, all the amenities you need, and a private garden — perfect for longer stays. Being so close to Cupar meant easy access to shops, local restaurants and services, which made day-to-day life really easy. Overall, East Cottage was a brilliant base for our break — quiet, comfortable and beautifully set — and we’d happily return for another stay. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a peaceful getaway.

We had a lovely week at the cottage as always, everything you need is there, it is very comfortable and well presented, the bathroom is a bit dated and when we came home late in the afternoon it was very dark at the property, as it’s down a lane a light at the driveway and side of path going to the door would be helpful,thankfully I had my phone torch, apart from that it’s great

Having been to one of the other cottages here we thought it would be same, it is very similar but the shower in the bathroom needs attention it flooded as the shower screen on the bath wasn't long enough.

No scissors in the kitchen, the light above the cooker needs fixing . I dont know why but nts dont have guest books and its ashame as its good pass on info to other guests. Other than that, clean cosy, warm and quiet. We would visit again we love the area and the place itself .would definitely recommend.

We thoroughly enjoyed our week’s break at East Cottage in the beautiful grounds of the Hill of Target estate.

The cottage was very cosy and comfortable. We enjoyed the snug living room when the log burner was lit in the evenings - blissful! The location is extremely peaceful with only the distant sound of birds to be heard. The NTS staff on site are all very friendly and helpful. Lots of walks in and around the estate for the kids and dogs to enjoy. Cupar just a 5 minute drive away with lots of great eateries. Tesco, Aldi and Lidl also nearby so we could easily stock up on supplies for our week’s holiday. I would happily recommend this wonderful cottage. It provides the perfect family and dog-friendly retreat, to explore Fife. We would love to return in the future. Thank you for having us!

Very good accommodation which benefitted from full access to the policies of the big house and use of crochet and putting lawns.

Pity we were out-of-season for a tour of the big house. Very helpful and friendly manager on site. Very good for dogs - plenty of walks around policies and locally. Safe, quiet and well away from any roads. Only tiny quibbles were lack of kitchen-paper roll and hand towel in kitchen and flimsy toilet paper. Perhaps a little pricey?

wonderfully quite and peaceful location in the lovely forested grounds of a mansion, with carefully nurtured flower gardens, bushes and lawns.

The managers, whilst not being intrusive, were friendly and helpful at all times. Fresh vegetables from the estates green houses are usually on sale from the summerhouse, using the honesty box!!!

Cottage v good.

House grounds v good. Property excellent But listed as suitable for dogs with enclosed garden. But!! Massive drawback was garden (listed as enclosed)was far too open to contain dogs. Poor fence planning 20 metres of fence with only 5 strands of wire, dog easily wriggle through. Poor maintenance Hedge cut back from gate posts, leaving gaps. Hole at bottom of hedge. Not good enough when cost for a week was £1500

We do not like your Sykes policy of taking 1 or 2 night bookings very early in January to the disadvantage of customers who wish to book for 1 or 2 weeks.

We would have preferred to have had a fortnight in Middle Cottage but this was blocked at the time by one of these 2 day bookings crossing 2 weeks. The cottage was well furnished although the lounge chairs could have been more comfortable for 80 year olds. Also the car access to the cottage was difficult for a long car, VW Passat, a common car for visitors with dogs. We had to leave it on the grass at the end of the lane most of the time with an uneven walk for pensioners back and forth. The TV was also difficult to operate without any instructions but ok for teenagers no doubt ! However we did have an enjoyable holiday in a lovely situation.

A great wee cottage in lovely grounds.

A great place to relax and switch off.

We had a lovely stay at East Cottage.

The house was clean, well-appointed and comfortable. The setting is very peaceful and our children enjoyed being able to play in the woodland. I didn't have any trouble parking in the drive with our large 7-seater MPV (though I will accept that it is a little bit tight to get in). The cottage is very well located for access to the whole of Fife, Dundee, Perth and beyond.

Lovely quiet spot.

Great walks from the property. Snow drops in woodland stunning. Nearby Cupar had good restaurants and all shops needed. Train service to Edinburgh convenient, An hour or less to Waverly, Coastal villages and walking half an hours drive.

Well presented cottage, beautiful location

Had a lovely holiday the cottage and grounds where beautiful, only thing that spoilt it slightly was the fact the garden was not secure for our dogs.

If that got sorted it would be perfect .

We had a wonderful week, the dogs had a great time running through the woodland walks all around and the big house was beautiful as were the grounds, if your looking for a very quiet getaway this is the place

A lovely cottage in a peaceful setting.

Well furnished with a modern kitchen, plenty of crockery and cutlery. It took no time for the heating to warm up on the colder evenings. A shower over a bath is always going to be an issue, sorry the floor kept getting wet. But would choose a National Trust property again.

Another wonderful stay at the Hill of Tarvit.

We were pleased to see lovely new sofas and WiFi this time. The garden was well kept and it was great to go and buy some fruit and veg from the newly installed larder on the estate. The cottage was cosy and relaxing as ever. The only downside was no hand wash in the toilet, which would have been nice as other National Trust cottages do this as standard, along with some welcoming dog treats, poo bags and food. Also, the ironing board cover is the same one as five years ago and it’s very thin, so when any clothes are ironed, the diamond metal pattern transfers onto clothes. These are, however, minor details and we all had a fantastic stay. The staff at Hill of Tarvit are very friendly and are always happy to help. It was great visiting our usual beaches and walks at Tentsmuir and St. Andrew’s as well as Culross Palace, up to see the Selkies and an absolutely delicious meal at the Dory restaurant in Pittenweem. We will hopefully be back again next year.

Hidden gem.

I wish we were able to stay longer. Cottage is perfect for a quiet stay and surrounding estate is beautiful. We’ll definitely recommend the place to others.

What a peaceful place!

We loved the Estate and enjoyed the privilege of wandering around the grounds and gardens in the evenings - we were blessed with fine weather. It was our first time in Fife but we plan to return - the cottage is ideally placed to explore the area. Our stay was comfortable- I’d read others’ comments and we were happy to work round any minor niggles. Thank you NTS!

Our only regret was that the entrance to the driveway was rather awkward but we managed fine parking at the back of the stables - the overall experience was great being so close to the house and gardens

Lovely location and doggy paradise.

Helpful staff.

It was a well equipped cottage, was spotless and very comforting.

First class cottage. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

The property was fantastic, great size well appointed with kitchen appliances- to be honest one of the best cottages I have stayed in.

The estate is wonderful, lovely walks in your door step, fire for cold book reading days. And in a great location for local activities, trips to the sea side or Edinburgh. Good train link about 10 minutes away. Such a minor comment but small kettle, only because we enjoyed lots of hot drinks. Fantastic stay holiday -thank you.

We have stayed many times at hill of tarvit and at different times of year and we have enjoyed every stay.

We will book again

The cottage is lovely in a nice spot and easy to find , The reason I have given it 3 stars for cleanliness is the oven was filthy I had to get some cleaning products to clean it before I could use it , I dont want this published as it could be an oversight by whoever cleans it ,The last people who occupied it before us must of left it like that also the DVD player didn't work ,

WiFi would have made difference, and being able to leave later and get in earlier now we do not have to do covid cleans

Our 4th visit to hill of tarvit, just enjoy the peace and quiet.

The cottage is well placed for visits to Ceres, Cupar, St. Andrews and other national trust properties within easy travelling.

Excellent it was so good we stayed for 2extra weeks

When arriving at the cottage we were really surprised at how lovely the cottage and the grounds were, that we decided to stay another 2 weeks and would of stayed longer had the cottage been available.

The cottage was clean throughout a really lovely place to stay. We had a issue with bathroom sink (sink plug would not release) when phoned to report the issue maintenance was out to fix the problem within 5 minutes. The only thing that we could say is the tv reception was intermittent but not a big deal. Really great location for shopping, eating out and recommend Lorna at M&M Taxi's for getting us out and about the area. Thank You for a great holiday will be back.

It would have been very useful to have seen an inventory before hand.

We only had 3 forks between the four of us and therefore one of us had to use a spoon

Cannot fault this cottage, everything was just as you would want.

If I had to be really picky i would say the TV is a bit small and the parking space is very tight, however this is just nitpicking. A lovely, tranquil and cosy cottage.

The photos did not do the cottage justice, they should be improved.

The cottage was very clean, warm comfortable and cosy, the location was so peaceful and the grounds were beautiful to walk in. The Hill of Tarvit Mansion House was well worth a visit, fascinating history, and Dan the National Trust representative was very attentive , checking in on us to make sure everything was ok , Will definitely recommend

A superb cottage in a beautiful, tranquil location.

Highly recommended! The cottage is very clean, tidy and spacious with everything we needed. Had a warm welcome from members of staff when we arrived. The mansion visit was fascinating, the grounds are stunning and the location is perfect for exploring the area.

We thoroughly enjoyed our holiday to East Cottage.

This is the third time we’ve been and it is always clean, tidy and very relaxing. It’s also a great base to visit the rest of Fife. The facilities were great-the oven, tv and shower are easy to use and the cottage was very cosy and comfortable. The only downside was a note on Thursday about a PAT test on the plugs and all the electrical equipment on Friday. We weren’t given a time either, so we felt we needed to be out of the cottage as our dog is very nervous of strangers. We got up early on our last full day as we didn’t want to be in our pyjamas when they arrived. The PAT tester arrived at the adjacent cottage around 10am and was there for over an hour, by which time we had left for the day. However, it made us feel like we had to be out and really this should have been booked for the Saturday morning changeover. We had paid an awful lot of money for a week and felt like we couldn’t be in the property.

The 5pm entry means a lost day of the holiday, with a 10am exit gives 7 hours for cleaning, excessive.

The cottage is nice inside surrounded by tree making it gloomy and cold in the evening. Despite fabulous sunshine our entry was cold and it took time to get the chill off the place. Tastefully furnished. Spent matches from a previous user on the hearth. The mat on the main doorstep is a disgrace. The outdoor table is filthy. Thankfully the grounds were a delight. A gloomy place due to the proximity of trees. The price for two people using two thirds of the available space is robbery, some kind of stepped pricing would be fairer. When the Trust had their own holiday Department one felt part of the organisation with a welcome from the Property Manager, now there is a disconnect from the Trust.

I would not even give this cottage one star, however I was afraid anyone reading my review might think I had just forgotten to rate this cottage.

It was filthy dirty and not just areas that had been missed on the last changeover!!! The bathroom was filthy and a disgrace to be rented out in the condition it was!!! There were dead flies on the carpet and window sills and cobwebs and spiders everywhere!! I appreciate the cottage is in the country but there was no excuse for the conditions we found!!! I was brought up in the country and our house was never ever in this condition! This was meant to be a very a special family holiday that was definitely marred by the awful condition of this cottage.

3rd visit to hill of tarvit.

Excellent stay only slightly marred by leaking kerosene from central heating boiler. National trust staff in particular Claudia couldn’t do enough to help us with the problem. Won’t put us off going back, love the area. Plenty to do in surrounding area and lovely tranquil setting for the cottage to just relax in garden our walks around the main property.

What a Beautiful location.

Excellent accommodation with everything you need and lots of space. Great for dogs as plenty of walking right in the doorstep. Close to amenities you would need and a 20 min drive to the coast. Highly recommend and will be back.

Lovely stay in this cosy cottage.

Set in beautiful grounds of mansion house. Private garden and parking. Great walks from the doorstep. Short drive to local villages. Would certainly stay again b

Lovely cottage, will definitely stay again.

only minor criticism the sheets were bobbly! The extractor fan in the bathroom wasn't working

This is a very sweet cottage in a lovely quiet location.

It was well appointed and cosy. Great for dog walks straight from the front door and a nice garden for them to run around in. We had an enjoyable week in Fife. My only real gripe was the mattresses in the cottage. They were far too hard for me and I didn't sleep that well as a result. If they changed the mattresses or put toppers on I would definitely stay here again.

We had a amazing stay.

The property was really easy to find and everything was in working order when we arrived. It was quiet and peaceful with beautiful views and walks near by.

Beautiful cottage and surroundings.

Had a very enjoyable stay. Would highly recommend.

Charming

Lovely walks straight from cottage.

Able to visit mansion house and very interesting, volunteer very knowledgeable.

Lovely cottage, excellent grounds and great walks for the dogs.

Hi.

The cottage was ideal for our family of five's summer holiday. Nice peacefuk location. The only issue we had was the washing machine sounds like it needs repaired.

Lovely cosy cottage in beautiful surroundings.

Everything you could possibly need in the kitchen to cook a proper meal! We would all like to visit again!

It’s ungenerous to give such small jay cloths in the kitchen.

We would rather a big cleaning cloth and full dishwasher liquid and machine tablets, than the dog treats. We couldn’t make the towel rail work. You need more cutlery and plates and some coffee mugs, rather than those too - cooling cups Where were we meant to put our compost? BUT we love the location and for that we will return. Also like the key safe system. Sincerely Sue