Facilities and Accommodation at The Larches
Access to the house is by four steps from the road. The cottage sleeps six people and has four attractive and comfortable bedrooms, with a double room, twin room and single room on the ground floor and a single room on the first floor with a magnificent view of Skiddaw. Six photographs of the interior can be seen below. These show two single bedrooms, the stairs and landing (leading to the back garden), the kitchen, the dining area and the sitting room area. Additional photos of all the rooms can be found in the Cumbrian Cottages photo gallery.
The cork-tiled bathroom with shower and WC and a separate toilet are on the ground floor. Outside the bathroom in the hallway there is shelving for up to 12 pairs of footwear. On the first floor there is a large sitting room (26 feet long) with a dining area at one end and a well equipped kitchen. There are great views to Skiddaw and the fells to the south; and sometimes you’ll see horse riders from the front door. All of the first floor has superb polished oak flooring – as have the double and single bedrooms downstairs.
In the sitting room there is a wall-mounted High Definition multichannel TV with DVD drive; and a hi-fi system with an extended lead and jack for an iPod. There is an extensive library of Lakeland and other books and a collection of games.
Incoming telephone calls can be received and there is a modem router and laptop PC available in the kitchen. This also allows you to make a direct internet connection for your own laptop computer. Lakeland Belvedere stationery and postcards are available for writing to friends and family.
On the mezzanine level a glass paneled back door gives onto a small porch and platform outside, which leads down the stairs to the boot-room/utility room with a washing machine, boot racks, Hi-tec haybox for slow cooking of stews, and good drying facilities. It’s ideal too for pets. Adjoining the bootroom, the garage provides secure storage for anyone using mountain bikes and other outdoor equipment.
The platform has a short flight of steps leading directly up to the ‘breakfast terrace’. At the top of the garden is the ‘Belvedere café’ deck (photo opposite). Garden furniture for the lower area – folding tables & chairs – is kept in the garage.
Parking is outside the cottage on the road. There is room for 2 cars and sometimes a third. Visitors are asked to keep as close to the low front garden wall as possible to allow other cars and vans to pass. It is best to turn the car round just above the cottage and park facing down hill with the driver’s seat on the outside.
Throughout the house there are paintings by local artists and intriguing artifacts and pictures from all over the world. (See clickable photos below for some of the items.) These include pictures or engravings of Derwentwater, Catbells, Skiddaw, Elterwater and Rydal Water; photos of the Mont Blanc massif and of Montserrat’s 1997 volcanic eruption; wall-hangings from Nepal and North America; a Persian kilim and an Ethiopian shepherd boy’s hat; a series of Abrams of Keswick postcards from the 1900s; and 19th century mugs and jugs.
