Holidaycottagescumbria.com are pleased to announce the addition of Hardcragg Hall to their portfolio of Lake District self catering properties.

Hardcragg Hall is the latest addition to Holidaycottagescumbria.com Cumbria portfolio of 5 individually owned luxury Lake District holiday cottages. Hardcragg Hall is the pinnacle of 5 star luxury self catering accommodation and can facilitate large groups of up to 14 guests with its 7 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms. This stunning Elizabethan manor house makes an excellent choice for luxury family holidays, short breaks, celebrations, special occasions, wedding guests, parties, large groups or for a get together of family or friends.

Hardcragg Hall is steeped in history and dates back to 1563 and this grade II listed country manor house is reputed to be the oldest building in the local area. There are several spacious reception rooms that all interconnect, including the dining room, drawing room, bar area, breakfast room, library, the oak panelled entrance hall area with its roaring log fire and the snug lounge with patio doors leading out into the landscaped gardens and grounds. The recently furnished farmhouse kitchen is superbly equipped with everything you will need to cater for large groups or couples alike and boasts a four oven Aga.

This large Lake District self catering accommodation sleeps 10+ is ideally located in Grange-over-Sands on the Southern edge of the English Lake District. Grange over Sands is one of Cumbria’s secret gems and is the Lake District’s principle sea side town. This is an ideal location for scenic fell and woodland walks, together with a mile long, traffic free promenade overlooking the sands of Morecambe Bay.
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The Eden Valley together with the western lakes has the most picturesque and dramatic scenery in the whole of the region. The Eden Valley has the magnificent Ullswater a stretch of water 14.5 kilometres long and which is surrounded by such famous mountains as High Street, Fairfield and Helvellyn and Lake District self catering properties are plentiful.

Alston, Newby and Kirkby Stephen are lesser know areas in the Eden Valley. Kirkby Stephen is a market town with cobbled streets and rural scenery leading to wild uplands. Kirkby Stephen has a great atmosphere and community making it a great place for a drink or a bite to eat. It has three public houses and individually owned shops.The distinctive local stone used is very different to the slate used in structures in south Cumbria.

Newby, with its Pennine backcloth, delightful Jacobean Hall, and surrounding landscapes really have a rather special unchanging beauty. Newby, neighbouring Lake Ullswater and picturesque Appleby in Westmorland, it is a small mediaeval market town of distinction.

Alston is the highest market town in the UK at 1000 metres above sea level. The road leading to Alston is a motor biker’s paradise, the A686 up Hartside Fell. The road climbs steeply and bends almost at right angles and has been voted by The AA as one of their “Ten Great Drives”. The views down into the Eden Valley are views to savour with the craggy Lake District fells to one side and the pennies to the other. Passing right through the Eden Valley is the Coast to Coast route which runs from St Bees on the West Cumbrian coast across to Whitley Bay so this area is very popular with cyclists.

The Eden Valley will surprise with its wide range of activities - strenuous mountain walks to gentle riverside strolls, watersports, golf and even activity centres where paintball shooting, archery and quad biking can be experienced. For such an activity packed holiday, Lake District cottages and Cumbrian cottages are a good choice of accommodation type. They give greater room for equipment, for cyclists especially, and are located in settings where a hotel or bed and breakfast would never be.

Self catering is anticipated to be a winner within the tourism industry in the current economic climate.
The appeal of a self catering holiday is growing. A self catering holiday can give a greater freedom and more space for families and allow multiple couples or friends to go away together, splitting costs and creating a good value holiday. Responsibletravel.com reported a 50% rise of self catering holidays compared with this time last year.

There are a number of plus points that make a self catering holiday attractive. Here are some examples:
1.    Of course, top of the list, kitchen facilities, allowing cooking to be done yourself. A huge money exercise especially for families. When in a group, the cooking can be shared and the it can actually be quite a fun event.
2.    Storage facilities and space. If having an activity holiday or a family holiday where there are bikes, walking gear or sailing equipment, most self catering properties have the space to store this equipment and space for drying is necessary.
3.    Lake District cottages are often set amongst fantastic scenery and tranquil locations, allowing a complete “get away from it all” holiday. A complete change from the hustle and bustle of a city and a chance to spend time in a property completely different from home.
4.    The ability to come and go when you please unlike a hotel when rooms need to be cleaned and door are locked at a certain time.
5.    Children can play with other family’s children and parents can take it in turn to babysit so that each set of parents can have a night to themselves.
6.    The more the merrier for fun and money saving. Clubbing together between 2 or 3 families, a group of friends or couples saves a huge amount of money. There is greater interaction compared with staying in separate hotel rooms.
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