Reviews

Simply Outstanding! Our American friend was in the UK for the Jubilee and Ascot and to stay in a ‘Barn’ was on her wish list. Hence our visit to Cumbria. Gill Beck Barn was perfect for many reasons. An extremely clean and very well equipped kitchen (with sensible pans, cutlery, crockery, kitchen towels and cleaning products) and a wonderful welcoming hamper was a delight with artisan bread and homemade raspberry jam.The large sitting / dining area is perfect for relaxing and entertaining and the dining table was already set ready for our arrival with white napkins. A lovely touch! The Aga was a joy to use. All the facilities in the barn were well thought out and very practical. The towels were fluffy and bathroom toiletries very pleasant. Beds and bedding were all comfortable and a good nights sleep was enjoyed by us all. Decor is simple, uncluttered and tasteful. A variety of books gave plenty of choice for all readers and the information folders were very useful. Only a scant collection of DVDs but this is not a complaint as there is much to do in this beautiful area. Our corgis had plenty of running space outdoors in the enclosed field and a dog waste bins were provided. Easy outdoor seating is provided with a large enough table to accommodate plenty of food/people. Parking is easy and safe, the road is not busy and the pretty garden a joy. The Village Bakery was wonderful and a visit is a must. Our stay at this barn was indeed a wonderful experience and we look forward to returning. All communication from Christine was friendly, very helpful and accommodating to all our personal needs. Highly recommended indeed. Do not hesitate to stay here!

We got married at Melmerby in June 2022 and hired Melmerby Hall and Stag cottage for our wedding weekend. I am a local girl so getting married in my home village was very special and Melmerby Hall was such a central part of our whole wedding. It’s such a personal, private venue with that allows so much scope for a DIY wedding which we wanted and having the whole venue to ourselves for four days allowed us to really host the perfect wedding weekend. We got married in the village church which is connected to the Grounds of Melmerby Hall via a private gate. We then had our drinks reception in the grounds of Melmerby Hall. The setting is just beautiful and the house itself is incredible, beautiful bedrooms and awesome billiards room and the ground floor reception space is fab. All our guests loved staying there and exploring my home village. We also hired Melmerby Village Hall for our wedding breakfast and ceilidh dancing which is just a few feet from Melmerby Hall entrance making it such a perfect place to host a wedding! Jo, Christine and all the team at Rowley Estates are wonderful to work with and really make the whole process very easy!

Fantastic stay at the Rowen Retreat shepards hut, Christine was on hand when needed and great communication all round. The breakfast hamper was a nice touch and very well received with fresh bread and homemade jam- very thoughtful. Unfortunately, the Wi-Fi did not reach our hut (the last one) and we had no signal whilst in the hut- although amazing for a digital detox! Would stay again and have recommended to friends and family 🙂

We had a great stay at Hawthorn Retreat over the weekend. It was in a beautiful setting, so peaceful and quiet.
The shepherd’s hut was lovely inside and stocked with everything we could possibly need, the BBQ and fire pit were a great bonus.
We definitely recommend a visit and hope to go back there some time!

Perfect venue for family celebration for Golden Wedding. Beautiful building, sensitively restored and very comfortable. Peaceful setting with lovely views. Lovely welcome basket and modern, well equipped kitchen. A really enjoyable and restful weekend in a lovely historic setting.

What an amazing place, the cottage was beautiful and had everything we needed and some, a big thank you to the owners and there team for making our stay amazing be back very soon.

100 percent recommend communication from the owner was brilliant

18 of us stayed at Melmerby Hall for my husband’s 60th birthday in Apri 2022 for 3 nights. The Hall is immaculate in every way, beautiful bedrooms all individually decorated and all ensuite. The downstairs rooms are all beautifully decorated and provided ample space for us all to mix together and there is a games/snooker room on the 2nd floor which proved very popular. The grounds and walks from the door are amazing. The welcome pack was well received and consisted of local and English treats including wine and the Rowley Estate’s own raspberry jam, delicious! The Hall was warm and immaculately clean on our arrival with the formal dining room set out ready for use. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed our stay and I would not hesitate to recommend The Rowley Estate, especially Melmerby Hall to anyone, we will be back as they have so many lovely properties to rent including shepherd’s huts which I am already considering for our 35th anniversary in August. Lastly most of the properties are dog friendly an added bonus as three dogs were able to come with us for what was a very memorable, special weekend. Made all the more special by the attention to every detail from initial booking to the completing of our weekend by all the staff at The Rowley Estate’s. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

From the moment we drove through the archway, we were in another blissful world with our nearest and dearest, to celebrate our marriage at the stunning Melmerby Hall. Christine and Joanna answered all our questions quickly and insightfully right from our first contact with them; recommending the very best suppliers for our needs and supporting us right through to the ceremony. Details like the thoughtful welcome pack were lovely, it really helped to know we didn’t need to buy milk, butter, eggs etc. and the homemade Rowley Estates raspberry jam was delightful! All the bedrooms are individually designed and have en-suite bathrooms – it was a pleasure to show all our guests to their rooms, they felt very spoiled as did we in the stunning master suite – the bathroom was especially impressive. The billiards room went down very well but I’m glad to say the weather was kind to us so the outdoor seating & firepit were a big bonus for us. We’d like to give special praise to Lynn Hilditch; an accomplished chef who uses local ingredients some of which she’s grown herself, Lynn is insightful and knew what we wanted before we did! We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect wedding breakfast, the beef wellington was the star of the show and resulted in complete silence whilst we appreciated every mouthful – it was truly delicious & cooked to perfection. She returned the following night with her pizza oven which she set up alongside our cricket match on the lawn. Delicious pizza in the stunning grounds rounded off our stay perfectly. Our photographer Peter Ostrowski put us all at ease from the moment he arrived. He got the best out of even the most camera shy amongst us. He even gave us a gift and sent a beautiful video of our day within hours of leaving us. Debbie Walker of DLW Hair & Beauty set up camp in the Orangery at 9am on the morning of our wedding and worked her magic. She understood exactly what I wanted and effortlessly transformed me whilst the hustle and bustle of the busy day carried on around us. Alison from Yewbarrow Flower Farm delivered the prettiest, most natural bouquet and displays for us – all grown by her and freshly picked and arranged that morning. We enjoyed breakfast barms which were delivered to the Hall by The Village Bakery. Delicious & best quality bacon, eggs, sausages and twice the size we were expecting. So now we’re home & it feels like a dream; we’re all trying to keep it alive by sharing photos and videos and remembering all the little details. What a wonderful time we all had, thank you to everyone involved.

A very well appointed, spacious and comfortable cottage set in an attractive garden in a quiet village. A great location for exploring north Cumbria and the Eden Valley, particularly the local walks in the adjoining countryside. The welcome hamper was very generous and helped us to settle-in on arrival. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Jenny’s Croft and would certainly wish to return in the future. The booking and housekeeping procedures were very well managed by the Rowley Estates team. As a suggestion, a few cushions on the out door seats would improve the enjoyment of the patio on sunny days. Overall, an excellent property for a quiet and relaxing holiday.