The Ulverston Hideaway

Rooms

The house is arranged over 4 floors, with steep stairs twisting up through the middle. It’s an eclectic blend of old and new, and wherever we wandered we came across quirky touches - a Bass brewery mirror, old railway signage, lamps made from fairy lights curled into cubes.

The lounge is on the first floor. It’s a homely panelled room where assorted antique chairs mingle with sleek tables, metallic cushions and Chinese wall hangings. Across the hall lies a small double bedroom daubed in dove grey with flashes of red. Its giant wooden armoire provides plenty of storage, but the hangers inside rattle whenever anyone treads on the wobbly floorboards.

Up another level is the master bedroom, an all-white space with a low bed swathed in gauzy curtains, perspex Philippe Starck furniture, and a bank of mirrored wardrobes. The single room next door has colourful rugs, parrots on the wall, toys and teddy bears, and pint-sized robes for children. The top floor also contains the house’s only bathroom. Clad in shiny limestone, it has a tub, a walk-in rain shower, chrome fittings, and snazzy lighting which you can dim to suit your mood. You get plenty of towels, plus big bottles of Bath House smellies.

Back down on the ground floor is the kitchen-diner, an airy Farrow & Ball’ed conservatory, and a cosy library with a squashy sofa, a giant TV and a wall of books. A door leads to the cellar, where you'll find a sauna and gold floor cushions for post-sweat lounging. There's a second shower down here, plus a washing machine.

Beds throughout are deliciously comfy. Light sleepers should take the first-floor bedroom as it overlooks the garden, but we slept soundly in the master bedroom at the front despite occasional noise from the street.

Features include:

• Bathrobes
• Hairdryer
• Iron
• Washing machine
• WiFi

Eating

With its flagstone floors, steel counters and garden views, the kitchen was our favourite room in the house. It has an oven and hob, a dishwasher, a microwave, a Gaggia coffee machine, a kettle, a posh-looking toaster and a fridge; downstairs in the cellar is another, larger fridge with a freezer section. The glazed dresser is filled with pots, pans, crockery and cutlery, and there’s a Grundig radio to sing along to while you cook. In one corner stands a glass-topped table big enough for 6, with window seats decked in summery stripes.

You get a welcome pack with fruit, juice, milk, bread, tea and coffee, plus a little box of chocolates; i-escape guests also get a bottle of wine (Lesley will check in advance whether you’d prefer red or white). Cupboards are stocked with essentials such as dishwasher tabs, washing-up liquid and bin bags, and guests are welcome to pick herbs from the pots in the courtyard garden. You can pick up other provisions from the large Booths supermarket on the edge of town, and if you discover late at night that you’ve run out of T for your G, there’s a 24-hour Tesco round the corner from the house.

If you fancy a holiday from cooking, you can arrange for Lesley’s local housekeeper to deliver hearty hot meals to the house - lamb hotpot, Moroccan tagine, lasagne, that kind of thing. And there’s no shortage of options for eating out in Ulverston: you’ll find a detailed list of pub and restaurant recommendations waiting for you on the table. We enjoyed a tasty Ploughman’s lunch at Gillam’s, a local institution that sits somewhere between traditional tea room and New Age veggie café.

Features include:

• Coffee maker
• Dishwasher
• Fridge
• Full kitchen
• Hob or stove
• Honesty bar
• Kids' meals
• Meal delivery service
• Microwave
• Oven
• Restaurants nearby
• Toaster
• Welcome hamper

Activities

• Spend a morning wandering around Ulverston, with its independent shops and pretty market square. Sample real ale at the Ulverston Brewing Company, watch birds and butterflies along the banks of the canal, and take in the weird and wonderful collection of memorabilia at the Laurel & Hardy Museum (Stan Laurel was born in the town)
  
• Take to the hills. The Sir John Barrow Monument, set behind the town with sweeping views across Morecambe Bay, is a gentle uphill stroll; for more of a challenge tackle the Old Man of Coniston (marked trails leave from Coniston village). The Cumbria Way, a 70-mile low-level path through the central Lakes, also starts in Ulverston
  
• Take to the saddle. Horse-riding is available at the Moat Farm Equestrian Centre just down the coast, with beach rides along Morecambe Bay for riders of all abilities
  
• Take to the water. Glorious Coniston Water and Lake Windermere are both a 15-minute drive from the house and offer kayaking, boat hire, sailing lessons, windsurfing and pleasure steamers
  
• On the shore of Consiton Water stands Grade II-listed Brantwood, home of Victorian art critic John Ruskin. Other historic sites in the area include the Elizabethan Swarthmoor Hall and Conishead Priory, founded in 1160 and now home to one of the largest Buddhist communities in Europe
  
• Drive over the fear-inducing Kirkstone Pass from Ambleside to Ullswater, stopping for a break at England’s third highest pub (the Kirkstone Pass Inn) along the way
  
• Kids large and small will enjoy steam train rides on the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway, which runs from nearby Haverthwaite to the southern end of Lake Windermere
  
• Back at the house, relieve aching post-hike limbs in the sauna, stick on a DVD, and chill out in front of the fire with a drink from the honesty bar

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Birdwatching
• Boat trips
• Hiking
• Historical sites
• Horse riding
• Kayaking
• Museums / galleries
• Sailing
• Shopping / markets
• Windsurfing

Kids

The house is ideal for self-catering family holidays. There are plenty of treats for children - toys, teddy bears, board games, DVDs, even miniature bathrobes - and babies are well catered-for with a cot, a highchair, and plastic cutlery and crockery. Older kids will love exploring Lake Windermere and Coniston Water (the inspiration for classic children’s novel Swallows and Amazons), and they’ll be intrigued by tales of the resident spook - we didn’t meet him during our stay, but we’re assured he’s perfectly friendly, if a little mischievous.

The flagstone floors and steep stairs mean the house is less suited to wandering toddlers, but a stair gate is available on request.

Best for:

Babies (0-1 years), Children (4-12 years)

Family friendly accommodation:

The single room on the top floor is decked out in vibrant colours, with parrots on the wall, a giant bean bag, and baskets of toys. It's also right next to the bathroom. A rollaway bed and a baby cot are available and can be added to any of the rooms at no extra cost.

Cots Available, Extra Beds Available

Distances:

• Supermarket: 2 minutes
• Doctor: 5 minutes
• Hospital: 25 minutes

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

The house is in the centre of the pretty town of Ulverston, at the southern end of the Lake District, in Cumbria, northern England. It's a 15-minute drive from Lake Windermere and Coniston Water, and 25 minutes from the M6.

By Air:
The nearest major airport is Manchester (158km / 98 miles away), which has many international flights. There’s also a small airport at Blackpool (113km / 70 miles away), with flights from various airports in Europe. For a list of airlines serving these airports, click on the links at the bottom of the page.

From the Airport
Most guests hire a car and drive, but you can also reach Ulverston by direct rail services from Manchester airport.

By Car:
The house is a 5-hour drive from London, most of it on the M1 and M6. If you want to hire a car from either of the above airports, see our car rental recommendations.

You can pull up outside the house to unload your luggage, but you'll need to park on one of the streets nearby - you'll find a permit waiting for you in the kitchen.

By Train:
Ulverston is served by regular trains from Manchester, Carlisle and Lancaster. You can also travel by rail from London and elsewhere in the UK by changing at Preston or Manchester - see Seat 61 for more details. From the station it's a 5-minute walk to the house.

Detailed directions will be provided when you book through i-escape.com.

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